- In a 4-2 vote, Jackson City Council approved a resolution Tuesday night making enforcement of laws against psychoactive plant products "the lowest priority" for law enforcement.
- The resolution urges that prosecution of individuals for possession, use, and distribution of the plants be stopped.
- It says the plants "have been found to benefit psychological and physical wellness" and help address "substance abuse, addiction, trauma, post-traumatic stress, chronic depression, postpartum depression, severe anxiety, grief, and other debilitating conditions."
Jackson City Council voted Tuesday night to decriminalize psychoactive plant products like those containing psilocybin. That is a hallucinogenic substance that produces altered states of consciousness, and proponents say is useful for treating many maladies.
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After the meeting, I asked one of Jackson's leading proponents of decriminalization, Roger Maufort, how he was feeling about the decision by City Council.
"Well, we're really excited about it," said Maufort, who sells mushroom and cannabis seeds at his East Side shop, Seed Seller. "We've been working on this for 3.5 years, approximately....We've come a long way in understanding what these plants and fungi can help with."
Quite a few people addressing Council during public comment were from out of town.
"They were here to testify about how it has not had a negative impact in their areas and how it has helped a lot of the people that live there," said Maufort.
"This is a really helpful, you know, plant medicine for a lot of people. How can we get it out to more communities?" said Elaina Sims from Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor, she says, is "one of the cities within Michigan where 'entheogenic' plant medicines are decriminalized....For the last couple of years we've been seeing how that has really benefited the community."
The resolution says prosecution of individuals for possession, use, and distribution of the plants should be stopped, with the caveat that the resolution does not authorize or enable any of the aforementioned activities on school grounds, while driving or operating machinery, or by individuals younger than 18 years of age.
The resolution stops short of legalization. It directs law enforcement simply to "deprioritize" enforcing existing laws against psychoactive plants.
But there were also concerns.
"Without proper regulations and long-term clinical trials, accidental poisoning and overdoses will increase," said Christy Davis.
"You know, if we become another city like Ann Arbor, we're just going to be another place where people know that they can go to do even have more drug options."
"What they probably need, instead of being put in handcuffs, is a ride home," said Chris Tooling of Ann Arbor.
The pros outweighing the cons of decriminalization in the minds of City Council Members Tuesday night — the resolution passing by a vote of 4 to 2.
"Whatever can help somebody, if they're saying it's going to help them, we should try to remove the barriers so that they can get the help that they deserve," said Mayor Daniel Mahoney.
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