Utah has a group that wants to legalize psilocybin. 

The aptly named non-profit Utah Mushroom Therapy has launched a petition to “strongly encourage Utah legislators to pass a bipartisan bill that allows the legal use of psilocybin for clinical and academic purposes, and includes protection for individuals practicing under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” 

Utah Mushroom Therapy said it will present the petition next month to state senators. The group’s efforts come almost a year after the state’s Republican governor, Spencer Cox, signed a bill that created a task force to study the use of psychedelics as a mental health treatment. 

According to the group, the creation of the task force means that “legalizing and decriminalizing Psilocybin in Utah is now very likely but still needs public support.”

Utah Mushroom Therapy offers a list of reasons to support legalization for mushrooms as therapy or research. They argue that they could increase mental health and help spiritual practices. 

“Numerous robust studies have shown that psilocybin therapy is beneficial in reducing treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, addiction, trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other mental health disorders. By a wide margin, it is better than synthetic pharmaceuticals. Psilocybin is also effective in relieving anxiety and fear in terminally ill patients. For instance, a groundbreaking study performed by John Hopkins Medicine found that psilocybin reported better moods and greater mental health after participating in a single clinical dose,” the group says on its website. 

“The use of mushrooms has been documented in 15 indigenous groups in America and various religious communities in Utah. The petition is for those who want to safely and sincerely use psilocybin as part of their religion. Use of psilocybin doesn’t contradict any other Utah culture and is protected both by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as well as first amendment. This petition is to advocate Utah law to protect the religious rights of Utahns,” the group continued. 

Additionally, they claim that legalizing marijuana would lower crime rates and serve as an effective and safe treatment.

“Psilocybin is a natural, non-toxic substance. It’s currently listed as a Schedule I chemical, despite this. Researchers have shown that it is a powerful medicinal substance and they believe serotonergic Hallucinogens help cognitive processes. Psychedelics can change perception and mood, help people soften their perspective and outlook, and process events that may otherwise lead to substance abuse, trauma, and criminal behavior,” the group says on its website. 

“Psilocybin mushrooms are considered one of the least toxic medicines known to man. It is rare to find a case of death that can be exclusively attributed solely to psilocybin mushroom. To put this in perspective, Internationally, there were 30,811 deaths from antidepressants between 2015 and 2020,” the group added. 

In urging Utah voters to sign, the group stresses that the “petition is in no way an endorsement of illegal drug use.”

“By signing this petition, you are supporting the safe and legal use of Psilocybin, a naturally occurring compound,” the group says. 

In the current legalization effort, hallucinogenics and psilocybin are the next frontier. State and local officials have begun to reconsider this once forbidden substance.

On New Year’s Day, Oregon became the first state in the U.S. to legalize psilocybin use for adults after voters there approved a ballot measure in 2020. 

That proposal, Measure 109, “allowed local authorities to opt out of Measure 109 by forwarding to voters either two-year moratoriums or bans on psilocybin services,” the Oregon Capital ChroniclePublished November

“Authorities in 27 Oregon counties and 114 cities and towns asked voters to consider two-year moratoriums or bans. Among the latter, only two – Phoenix in Jackson County and Wheeler in Tillamook County – authorized psilocybin services,” the outlet said. “Nevertheless, most of Oregon’s most populous counties and cities have cleared the way for psilocybin production by authorized facilities. According to supporters of psilocybin, the treatment with this hallucinogen should be accessible locally for nearly three million Oregonian residents starting in 2023. In all, 17 of Oregon’s 20 most populous cities are allowing psilocybin services along with 11 Oregon counties.”