Jackson County, Oregon
CNN
—
First came Chrissi DelaCruz’s tough breakup with her boyfriend of nine years.
Then, her sister died.
The pain and loss led DelaCruz to traditional talk therapy. She also relied on alcohol.
But nothing really worked.
“I was feeling pretty sad and lonely and disconnected and was feeling pretty lost and hopeless in what I needed to do next in my life,” the 37-year-old told CNN.
Her next option would be a remedy the commercial real estate professional never imagined she’d end up advocating – and one that, while considered a therapeutic and healing drug by a growing number of health care professionals, has come under fire in Oregon ahead of next week’s election.
Psilocybin, also known as “magic mushrooms,” is a psychedelic used for centuries in ceremonies by traditional cultures, and interest in it by the modern medical and scientific community has grown since the ’50s.
DelaCruz signed up to try psilocybin to treat her mental health challenges in Jamaica – where using psychedelics is legal – on a retreat run by a company founded by an attorney in Oregon, where voters more than two years ago legalized its use on a protracted timeline, with licensing procedures set to launch in January.
As that date approaches, though, ballot measures Tuesday in roughly a third of the state’s counties and cities propose banning the psychedelic over concerns of a fraught rollout and problems it could stoke, from the substance’s effect on users to possible community consequences.
Opposing the bans and trying to educate voters about psilocybin are Oregonians – including the operator of the Jamaica center, Silo Wellness – who want to set up facilities in the state where it could be used under the strict guidelines already in place.
Before her Jamaica retreat, DelaCruz also wasn’t sure about psilocybin, even as Silo Wellness pledged an experience with psychedelics that would help find “peace and purpose.”
“I was totally nervous,” she admitted. “I didn’t know what to expect.”
Scientists are still exploring the how and the why behind the connection between psychedelics and improved mental health. What is known is…
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