As a wave of marijuana legalization sweeps across the US (and all of Canada), the city where it all started may be taking legalization one step further.
A group called Decriminalize Denver has got 9,500 signatures on a petition to put magic mushroom legalization to a people's vote. The referendum, which would happen in may along with the normal election (an extra choice to make on the same ballot), is not a sure thing yet, but Denver's Elections Division is currently reviewing the signatures (they have 25 days).
The campaign director of Decriminalize Denver, Kevin Matthews, told CNN that "the main motivation" of the initiative is that "we want people kept out of prison, families kept together." This was the same line of thinking behind the Canadian government's recent legalization of weed (plus tax dollars) and, although this will likely work to some extent, they're being criticized for not properly pardoning those were booked back when it was banned.
Currently mushrooms are illegal everywhere in the US and are only used medically in some more experimental treatments, but the jury is still out on the risk/reward.
