Psychedelic enthusiasts, activists and researchers in Colorado will be sad to know that there won’t be two measures to legalize psychedelics on the November ballot. Two separate campaigns have pushed their own psychedelic measures since the start of the year, with only one campaign managing to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
In late July, activists behind the Natural Medicine Health Act submitted around 100,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office. The measure wants to legalize the possession of specific psychedelics, seal the records of people with prior psychedelic convictions and create a framework for psilocybin treatments.
However, nearly a month after the Natural Medicine Colorado campaign turned in the signatures, activists from the Decriminalize Nature Colorado campaign have revealed that the chances of their measure qualifying for the ballot are slim. Although the campaign will still turn in the signatures it has collected so far to the secretary of state, it is unlikely that the alternative psychedelics initiative will qualify for the ballot.
At a recent press conference, Decriminalize Nature Boulder County founder and Initiative 61 co-proponent Nicole Foerster said that the campaign doesn’t have an official signature count and that the initiative had little chance of making it to the ballot this year. Initiative 61 sought to decriminalize the possession, cultivation, delivery and gifting of entheogens such as ibogaine, psilocybin, DMT and mescaline for adults aged 21 and over. The measure would have also allowed the use of psychedelics in harm reduction, therapy, spiritual and guidance purposes with or without monetary payment. The legislation would not have legalized the sale of psychedelics or created a framework for a legal psychedelics market.
Foerster said that while it was disappointing that the initiative failed to qualify for the ballot, the group would be fine. The activists only campaigned for Initiative 61 as a challenge to the Natural Medicine Health Act because they did not support that act. Foerster argued that plenty of people were not included in early discussions and that the organizers behind the Natural Medicine Health Act made key policy decisions without sufficiently consulting the communities that would be most impacted by the policies.
As such, the group drafted Initiative 61 as a contrast to reach people who didn’t know much about psychedelics and include those who would be affected in the discussion. The campaign will now switch its focus to advocating for “legacy communities” that could be affected by the other psychedelic measure that qualified for the upcoming ballot.
The failure of the second initiative notwithstanding, reform activists can take comfort in the knowledge that at least voters will have a chance to make a decision about psychedelic reforms, and that in itself is a big step since it moves the state a step ahead on the journey to creating policies that enable companies such as Silo Pharma Inc. (OTCQB: SILO) to focus on developing various treatments to help those suffering from various indications, including mental health issues.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Silo Pharma Inc. (OTCQB: SILO) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/SILO
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