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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — With the pandemic came a wave of people suffering from depression. One local group wants to solve that with an unconventional — and currently illegal — treatment.
Bay Staters for Natural Medicine is eyeing the decriminalization of "magic mushrooms" in Massachusetts, which they say will help as an alternative to traditional treatment.
James Davis, with the group, said that Massachusetts has a serious depression problem.
"People are really suffering... you can see a lot of people searching for alternatives when therapy isn't working for them," Davis said.
Read More: Somerville Taking Steps To Decriminalize Psychedelic Plants And Mushrooms
The mushrooms, which cause hallucinogenic effects, have already been recently decriminalized in Cambridge, Somerville and Northampton. The use of the mushrooms is illegal under both state and federal law.
"We feel a lot of hope in the air....even though federally, our drug laws are stuck in 1972, we see a bright future in creating a system where people can equitably access these plants," said Davis.
Residents can legally buy and possess spores to grow psilocybin mushrooms, but only for research purposes — they just can't legally consume them.
WBZ's Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) has more:
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