Getting Answers: Question 4 - Legalizing some psychedelic substances

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Voting ‘yes’ on Question 4 could legalize the use of some psychedelic substances for the treatment of anxiety and PTSD.

“Access to these psychedelic plant medicines is what made my life possible,” said Ana Demi.

Demi said her life was saved by the use of psychedelic drugs after she slipped into addiction and mental health crisis. “My OCD was really acting up and I went to Dartmouth’s psychology department to go get help in way we’re taught to go get help. They immediately prescribed me some medication and, about two months later, I began to develop side effects to the medication,” she explained.

Demi said that her OCD and mental health became unresponsive to a “cocktail of medications” she was prescribed. She found herself using recreational drugs to cope and eventually overdosed in 2019. Her friend then introduced her to psychedelics and the results were immediate.

“This is the stark example of how neurologic therapy can rewire someone who was on eight different psychiatric meds, all of these different street drugs, for a total of six years, and was able to have cold-turkey cessation with no detox symptoms,” Demi noted.

Now, others could have access to it legally. By voting ‘yes’ on this year’s ballot Question 4, Massachusetts residents legalize the use of five different types of psychedelics and give them the chance to grow them at home.

“This ballot question is poorly written and ill-conceived,” said Chris Keohan with the Coalition for Safe Communities.

The Coalition for Safe Communities has voiced opposition to the proposal, citing private donors and an industry exploiting vulnerable populations. “To use the people like her as their prop…I find disgusting…I would work with her. I would lobby at the legislature right now to say, ‘Let’s find a way to make this happen in a way that’s thoughtful and protects the very people that need it,’” Keohan added.

Keohan is quick to acknowledge that, if done responsibly, psychedelics can help those is desperate situations. He said the at-home growing option is certainly not that. The proposal also invites residents to see what they can do with psychedelics or fungi within a 12’ by 12’ space and access to 144 square feet. The passing of Question 4 could allow residents to grow psychedelics in their homes.

“144 square feet is astronomical. You can order the grow kit online right now, it’s totally legal...144 square feet will inevitably lead to a gray market,” Keohan said.

It‘s something that Ryan McCollum, coordinator for the ’Yes on Question 4’ campaign, admits some residents are already doing illegally. “Decriminalizing it is the first step. To decriminalize people from growing it at home, which many are already doing, is the first step in this as well,” he said.

Psilocybin is a psychedelic that the Drug Enforcement Agency has not approved for medical use and can result in abuse and dependency. Psilocybin can come with hallucinations, possible panic attacks, nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness, and a lack of coordination, and an overdose could result in psychosis or death.

Several local elected officials have already endorsed voting ‘yes’ on Question 4, including Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia and West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt.

“From where I sit, I don’t see a reason to have something be illegal that could potentially help people and then to have safeguards on something like this. Moving forward and taking the next steps, I believe, is really important and I’m happy to support it,” Reichelt said.

“We have an opportunity here in the Commonwealth to lead the charge in responsible psychedelic use,” Garcia added.

However, Keohan and the Coalition for Safe Communities don’t see this as a responsible route for alternative medications. “If this ballot question were written in a more thoughtful way…if this ballot question did not allow for home growth, required a medical professional on site, and required price caps in affect for people with PTSD, end stage-cancer and psychosis, the very people the other side is providing this false hope to, I would be working on the ‘yes’ side.”

Two states have already legalized the use and growth of psychedelics. Oregon was the first to do so in 2020 and Colorado followed shortly after in 2022.