Ballot Trip: Can We Legalize Psychedelics Without Colonizing them, Too?
Cannabis has been legal in Colorado for close to a decade. In 2019, Denver decriminalized psilocybin. Soon, voters will be asked to consider changes in the regulation of psychedelics statewide. But before Colorado has the chance to capitalize on this latest potential drug policy shift, some experts are sounding the alarm. Will historic inequities that followed other legalizations play out with psychedelics, too?
In the second episode of Ballot Trip, a new four-part series from City Cast Denver, award-winning investigative reporter Chris Walker digs into the potential impacts of plant medicine legalization. He talks with plant medicine healers, ancestral knowledge keepers, and advocates who fear that if the legalization and decriminalization of psychedelics isn’t laid out carefully, communities could be harmed.
As Chris mentioned in the episode, here are Kuthoomi Castro’s resources for listeners interested in decolonization work in the psychedelics space: Dr. Rocio Rosales Meza, a Seer, Medicine Woman, Counselor, and Educator, and Puma Fredy Quispe Singona, an Andean Medicine Man.
This reporting is supported by the Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Reporting Fellowship.
More news you can use in newsletter form. Read and Subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/
Have psychedelics helped you? Tell us about your experience on Twitter: @citycastdenver
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Stay connected to City Cast Denver and get ready to join the local conversation.
Latest Episodes
Downtown's Ups and Downs, Liquor License Losers, and Mesa Verde's Massive Repatriation
Thirty-six years after the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, Mesa Verde National Park is returning m...
Will Denverites Move Downtown For This Developer's Utopian Dream?
While office vacancies remain high downtown, one developer thinks this excess of commercial real estate could be better used as housing....
‘Your City Could Be Better’: How Las Vegas Is Handling Record-Breaking Heat — Presented By City Cast Denver
It may not feel like it right now, but extreme heat is coming for Denver, and Las Vegas might have the answers you need. An already sizzl...
Anti-Trans Hysteria Coming to Your Ballots, Victor Marx's AI Fail, and No Comedy Fest This Year
Ballots will be in the mail in less than a month, and there are a lot of initiatives for voters to consider – including Proposition 134,...
Who's Ready for Another Mayor's Race? Plus, a DPS Phone Ban Mega-Mailbag
Mayor Mike Johnston officially rolled out his campaign for reelection earlier this week with a big party at Town Hall Collaborative and a...
10 Years in Prison for Manipulating More Than a Thousand DNA Investigations
After pleading guilty to four felonies in June, a Jefferson County judge sentenced former Colorado Bureau of Investigation scientist Yvon...
The Aurora Report: New Data Center Regulations, a Massive 'Teen Takeover,' and City Council Hijinx
What’s up in Aurora lately? Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman has been taking a new and low-key approach to homelessness; data center regulations...
‘Your City Could Be Better’: How Nashville Is Beating Flock — Presented By City Cast Denver
Do you know what kind of surveillance technology is being used in Denver? In Nashville, the city government has blocked numerous measures...
De-Gooping Sloan's Lake, Going Viral in Denver, and Water Narcs: Data Center Edition
Denver is finally getting serious about saving Sloan’s Lake, with Mayor Johnston announcing Wednesday a new $50 million proposal to dredg...
Previewing Friday’s Anti-ICE Walkout, a Creepy New Meme, and 'Governor for a Day'
With school starting and phone bans going in effect, kids in Colorado already have a lot on their plates this fall. Over 160 schools acro...