Magic mushrooms decriminalization: Denver poised to become first in U.S. to loosen restrictions - Jon Murray, Denver Post:
May 8, 2019 - "Denver is poised to become the first city in the nation to effectively decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms. After closing an early vote deficit Tuesday night and early Wednesday, final unofficial results posted late in the afternoon showed a reversal of fortune — with Initiative 301 set to pass narrowly with 50.6 percent of the vote. The total stands at 89,320 votes in favor and 87,341 against, a margin of 1,979.
"The Denver Elections Division will continue accepting military and overseas ballots, but typically those numbers are small. Results will be certified May 16....
"Denver’s vote has attracted national attention. While efforts are afoot to get psilocybin-related measures on the ballot in Oregon and California in 2020, Denver hosted the first-ever U.S. popular vote on the matter, according to organizers. An earlier effort in California last year failed to qualify for the ballot.
"Though Initiative 301 attracted no organized opposition, critics of Colorado’s legalization of marijuana lamented the prospect of Denver blazing yet another trail they see as misguided and potentially harmful.... 'We’ll see what the final numbers are, but we’re a little stunned to see a 7,000-vote flip overnight on that,' said Jeff Hunt, director of the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University, who initially questioned on Twitter whether vote-tampering was involved....
"Supporters extolled emerging research showing potential health benefits with psychedelic mushrooms. The measure likely was put over the top by younger voters, who tend to cast their ballots closer to or on Election Day, even though all registered voters receive their ballots in the mail about three weeks earlier.
"Last fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted psilocybin 'breakthrough therapy' designation for its potential to help with treatment-resistant depression, a status that speeds up the development and review process for a medicine containing the substance....
"Some national media outlets as well as the Centennial Institute wrongly called I-301 a bust ... based on the early results. But the gap tightened throughout the night. By 1 a.m. Wednesday, when Denver Elections put out its last release before pausing counting for the night, the measure still was losing by 3.4 percentage points. It overcame that margin in the next — and final — round of results shortly after 4 p.m."
Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/08/denver-psychedelic-magic-mushroom/
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May 8, 2019 - "Denver is poised to become the first city in the nation to effectively decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms. After closing an early vote deficit Tuesday night and early Wednesday, final unofficial results posted late in the afternoon showed a reversal of fortune — with Initiative 301 set to pass narrowly with 50.6 percent of the vote. The total stands at 89,320 votes in favor and 87,341 against, a margin of 1,979.
"The Denver Elections Division will continue accepting military and overseas ballots, but typically those numbers are small. Results will be certified May 16....
"Denver’s vote has attracted national attention. While efforts are afoot to get psilocybin-related measures on the ballot in Oregon and California in 2020, Denver hosted the first-ever U.S. popular vote on the matter, according to organizers. An earlier effort in California last year failed to qualify for the ballot.
"Though Initiative 301 attracted no organized opposition, critics of Colorado’s legalization of marijuana lamented the prospect of Denver blazing yet another trail they see as misguided and potentially harmful.... 'We’ll see what the final numbers are, but we’re a little stunned to see a 7,000-vote flip overnight on that,' said Jeff Hunt, director of the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University, who initially questioned on Twitter whether vote-tampering was involved....
"Supporters extolled emerging research showing potential health benefits with psychedelic mushrooms. The measure likely was put over the top by younger voters, who tend to cast their ballots closer to or on Election Day, even though all registered voters receive their ballots in the mail about three weeks earlier.
"Last fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted psilocybin 'breakthrough therapy' designation for its potential to help with treatment-resistant depression, a status that speeds up the development and review process for a medicine containing the substance....
"Some national media outlets as well as the Centennial Institute wrongly called I-301 a bust ... based on the early results. But the gap tightened throughout the night. By 1 a.m. Wednesday, when Denver Elections put out its last release before pausing counting for the night, the measure still was losing by 3.4 percentage points. It overcame that margin in the next — and final — round of results shortly after 4 p.m."
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