Minneapolis Democratic mayor orders police to scale back arrests for psychedelic plants

Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey has ordered the city police department to stop enforcing most laws against using hallucinogenic plants.

Frey in announcing the order Friday pointed to the potential benefits of taking hallucinogenic plants to treat mental illnesses such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Experts are telling us that these plants help people, and that’s the business we should be in – helping people,” he said. “With a rise in deaths of despair in our city, and in our society, the data is showing that these plants can help be a remedy.”

However, the Minnesota city will still enforce laws against selling psychedelic plants, bringing them to schools and consuming them while driving.

Despite what appears to be promising results for using psychedelics to treat such disorders, medical experts warn that more research is needed to determine the drugs’ efficacy and the extent of the risks of psychedelics, which can cause hallucinations, according to AP News.

The American Psychiatric Association has not endorsed the use of psychedelics, and the Food and Drug Administration has yet to make a final determination on their medical benefits.

The FDA released guidelines in June for researchers developing clinical trials testing psychedelic drugs as potential treatments for several medical conditions. The Biden administration has also provided funding to the National Institutes of Health and other agencies for projects studying psychedelic drugs with potential mental and behavioral health benefits.

Oregon became the first state in the nation to legalize the use of psilocybin, the compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, for adults. Colorado voted to decriminalize psilocybin last year.

Denver became the first city to decriminalize personal possession and consumption of psilocybin in 2019.