Voters in Colorado approved a ballot measure to legalize “magic mushrooms” during Tuesday’s midterm elections, but shot down three ballot measures aimed at expanding access to alcohol.
Proposition 122, which allows for legal, regulated access to and growth of psilocybin mushrooms, was narrowly approved 51%-49%, results showed as of Wednesday afternoon. Propositions 124, 125 and 126, which would have increased the number of liquor licenses one individual could have, legalized the sale of wine in supermarkets and allowed for alcohol delivery services respectively, were all voted down.
riddle me this: coloradans voted to make shrooms legal, but not buying wine in a grocery store.
— MJ (@morganisawizard) November 9, 2022
The passage of Proposition 122 makes Colorado the second state to legalize psychedelic use after Oregon. Colorado was previously at the forefront of the movement to legalize recreational marijuana use in the United States. (RELATED: Red State Voters Widely Reject Marijuana Legalization In Midterms)
While the vote on shrooms was decided by just about two points, two of the three alcohol-related choices weren’t quite as close. Prop 125, on wine sales in grocery and convenience stores, came down to a razor-thin margin of 7,000 votes, or about 0.4%. Props 124 and 126 though, on liquor licenses and alcohol delivery, failed by about 25% and 5.5%, respectively.
The results of the alcohol-related propositions suggest that Coloradans feared the proposals would allow large out-of-state retailers to outcompete smaller local businesses selling alcohol.
A recent study showed that psilocybin may have medical benefits for depression treatment. Individuals suffering depression who did not see positive change from antidepressant use saw clear benefits from just a single dose of psilocybin in more than one-third of cases. There are currently well over 100 studies ongoing to research potential mental health benefits of psilocybin and other psychedelic substances.