Rantz: Push to legalize shrooms for ‘personal growth’ and shamans is a bad trip

At long last, Washington Democrats are finally tackling the key issue facing this state.

No, not the out-of-control crime, skyrocketing cost of living, or a paid family leave program that’s already facing financial insolvency.

Democrats hope to take Washingtonians on a groovy and colorful trip — literally. They’re moving to legalize ‘shrooms. This is an awful idea.

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Democrats deliver a bad trip

Under the Democrat legislation, Washington would allow for “service centers” to provide residents over 21-years-old “psilocybin experiences for wellness and personal growth.” 

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), aims for psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in magic mushrooms, to be easily accessible. Equity is important, even when helping someone get high.

Though Salomon touts the promising data behind using mushrooms for mental health treatment, he won’t judge you if you just want to take a “heroic dose,” hang out at Cal Anderson Park, and watch trees ride tricycles while a choir of animated pink elephants sings the soundtrack to “Hamilton.”

“Some people want to use it for their own self-exploration and betterment without having a diagnosis,” Salomon told a local news outlet. “Who am I to say they shouldn’t do that?” 

Well, one might say he’s a lawmaker who should curb the state’s movement to legalize drugs since the state continues to see skyrocketing fatal overdoses. But who am I to say he should show some professional judgment? 

No doctors necessary

If this bill passes as-is, you won’t need a prescription from a doctor to get ahold of the magic mushrooms. Actually, you won’t need to see a doctor at all. 

The legislation allows “a person who has knowledge regarding the indigenous or religious use of psilocybin” to hand out shrooms to customers eager to experience personal growth. They just have to be licensed by the state. Ironically, one can’t get a license if they are “in the habit of using … habit-forming drugs, or controlled substances to excess, impairing their fitness to safely perform their duties.”

Like everything progressives touch, this shrooms movement must be developed in terms of equity. This is a carve-out made, in part, for Native Americans. 

“Native, Indigenous societies have been doing this for thousands of years,” Salomon told WOKE 5 News. “We have to give them a way for their traditional shamans and practitioners to do this. We don’t want the barrier to be too high because asking someone to be a traditional healer and a Ph.D. is asking a lot of anyone.”

How dare society ask someone medically treating a patient to be a doctor!

It’s unclear which local tribes are handing out magic mushrooms.

What in the world are we doing here?

The state has so many serious issues to contend with, including anti-police bills that desperately need to be corrected. We also have a growing drug crisis in this state.

Is this the best use of a lawmaker’s time? We have a part-time legislature that makes massive mistakes because of the little time they have to pass legislation. This is frivolous, at best. But at worst, it’s dangerous.

Should we legalize magic mushrooms for recreational use now? They’re already effectively legalized in cities like Seattle because of a disinterest in prosecution. But opening it up for everyone will almost certainly mean a lot more folks will take some bad trips.

I’m not against legalizing some drugs. In fact, if this were merely allowing medical professionals — no, not shamans, or people who feign expertise in its religious use — to prescribe small doses for legitimate medical reasons, I’d likely be for it. But this is horrific timing. We have more important issues to focus on and a deadly drug culture that is spiraling out of control.

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