Authored by Amy Pomeroy, Criminal Justice Policy Analyst
Mental illness has been on the rise in Utah and the United States at large. And yet most psychiatric drugs provide only short-term symptom relief rather than modifying the course of mental illness.
Research demonstrates that ancient psychoactive medicines may be an important part of addressing the current mental health crisis. One particular psychedelic, psilocybin,has been shown to be a safe, effective, and long-term way to treat a variety of mental illnesses, most notably treatment-resistant depression and PTSD.
A majority of states have already taken tentative steps towards varying degrees of legalization. in lieu of waiting for action from the Federal government since it may never come.
Utah should take a cautious approach by narrowly legalizing the use of psilocybin in approved therapeutic settings with appropriate medical safeguards, giving Utah patients another option to address their mental illness. This would open the door to veterans, first responders and other mental health patients to a potentially life changing treatment.
