mushrooms

In Oregon, some are seeking out psilocybin for relief from mental health issues. But tracking the effects of that treatment is very much a work in progress.

Australian physicians can prescribe doses of MDMA, aka ecstasy, for PTSD. Psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, can be given to people with hard-to-treat depression.

The market for gummies, powders and capsules containing extracts of the fungus is raising eyebrows, though, amid concerns from the FDA and in the absence of human clinical trials.

Hundreds of people have invested thousands of dollars apiece in this budding industry, and some worry that the rollout is proceeding too slowly.

Denver could be the first place to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms if voters pass a ballot measure today. Supporters point to research finding therapeutic effects from fungi containing psilocybin.