DENVER, CO –In final vote tallies, Denver voters appeared to approve to a ballot initiative decriminalizing the psychedelic party drug known as “magic mushrooms.”
Final unofficial vote totals released around 4:20 p.m. by the Denver Elections Division showed 89,320 votes for the measure and 87,341 votes against. Earlier vote totals released throughout Tuesday and Wednesday had shown the measure failing.
Denver backers of Initiated Ordinance 301, led by Kevin Matthews of Decriminalize Denver had campaigned on new psychiatric research in small trials showing psilocybin can be effective in decreasing opioid abuse and dependence, which federal health officials have said has reached epidemic levels. The National Institutes of Health has said the use of psilocybin is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicide in the United States.
“What we’ve accomplished in Denver is a clear signal for a broader conversation of psilocybin and its benefits,” Matthews said Wednesday.
The psychedelic drug is favored by Burning Man festival attendees and is at the center of new psychiatric science in the U.S. and Great Britain.
Some city leaders were squarely opposed to the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Initiative.
Mayor Michael B. Hancock opposed the initiative, as did Denver District Attorney Beth McCann, who told the Denver Post, “Until we have had a longer period to learn more about the impact of marijuana legalization, I do not support the legalization of another federally-banned substance.”
Opponents of the measure call it “misguided” and “ahead of the science.”
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Peter Droege, the marijuana and drug addiction policy fellow at the conservative Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University said, “Just turning this loose on the streets is the wrong approach,” in an interview with Colorado Public Radio.
Supporters were exuberant Wednesday. “We just made history Denver!” tweeted a supporter.
“We look forward to working with the city and continuing to educate the residents of Denver,” Matthews said.
Related: Denver Mayor Election 2019 Results
Update: An earlier version of this story said voters appeared to have rejected the initiative, based on early voter tallies.