Thomas Edward

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a 34-year-old nonprofit research and educational organization “that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana,” announced in a press release on Monday that it “has partnered with the City and County of Denver to provide comprehensive training on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention to the city’s first responders.” 

The Psychedelic Crisis Assessment and Intervention training was “commissioned by the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel (DPMPRP), a first-of-its-kind panel that was formed after the passage of Ordinance 301 in May 2019, which effectively decriminalized the personal use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms in Denver,” MAPS said in a statement. 

Per the press release, the training will cover topics including: “The history, usage, psychological and physiological response, and potential adverse effects of psilocybin ingestion”; “The legal considerations and implications of decriminalization and the role of first responders”; “The standards and protocols for effective psilocybin or psychedelic-related crisis response planning, training, and deployment”; and “The best practices and techniques for assessing, de-escalating, and managing psychedelic crises.”

According to the local publication Westworld,  the training program “became even more important in 2022, when Colorado became the second state (after Oregon) to legalize medical psilocybin use and the first state to decriminalize specific psychedelics, including psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline.”

“Created as part of the 2019 voter initiative decriminalizing psilocybin, the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel took a brief hiatus in 2023 after Prop 122 passed,” Westworld reported this week. “But the panel is meeting again and is expected to take a leading position in Denver’s approach to its medical psilocybin rules.”

After Prop 122 passed in 2022, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed the measure into law last year. The law directs “the department of revenue [to create] the natural medicine division for the purpose of regulating and licensing the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, storage, distribution, transport, transfer, and dispensation of natural medicine or natural medicine product between natural medicine licensees.”

The measure requires the natural medicine division to: “Regulate natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including healing centers, cultivators, manufacturers, and testers, and issue licenses for such businesses; Promulgate rules necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses; and Perform duties necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including investigatory and disciplinary authority.”

Kevin Matthews, former President of the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, celebrated the launch of the training program.

“I’m proud of my hometown for stepping into a national leadership role with this training. It represents a giant leap forward for public health and safety with psilocybin and natural medicines in Denver and is a perfect example of what cities can do to better integrate emerging psychedelic policies into their existing infrastructures. I’m looking forward to the city continuing its collaboration with MAPS to monitor outcomes and educate Denver residents on this exciting new issue,” Matthews said in a statement.

Sara Gael, a former MAPS Harm Reduction Officer, said the group is “honored and excited to collaborate with the City and County of Denver to provide this groundbreaking training program on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention.”

“We believe that this program will equip first responders with the necessary knowledge and skills to handle psilocybin and psychedelic related crises in a safe and compassionate manner and ultimately improve the health and well-being of the community. This program is also a testament to the progressive and visionary leadership of Denver, which has taken a bold step to decriminalize psilocybin and create a model for other cities to follow,” Gael said.

MAPS said in the press release on Monday that its “training aims to enhance the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of first responders to quickly recognize and effectively respond to emotional and behavioral crisis incidents involving psilocybin and other psychedelics.” The group also said that the “Denver Harm Reduction training initiative has been well received by the City of Denver leadership, who recognize the importance and value of providing first responders with the necessary tools and skills to handle psychedelic-related crises in a safe and compassionate manner.”

“The program also seeks to enhance responder safety and reduce risk and liability in situations where individuals are experiencing a psychedelic-induced crisis,” the group explained. “After three years, a team of over 20 MAPS and subcontracted professionals with backgrounds in law, medicine, psychiatry, mental health, neuropsychopharmacology, law enforcement, crisis response, quality improvement, and education developed the curriculum. The final training is customized for law enforcement, mental health, and emergency medical service personnel and will be delivered through asynchronous videos and corresponding assessments.”

Calling it a “nation-leading effort,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey on Wednesday announced her intention to take executive action to pardon misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions in the commonwealth. 

If it is approved by the “Governor’s Council,” Healey’s office said it “would be the most comprehensive action by a governor since President Joe Biden pardoned federal marijuana possession convictions and called on governors to take similar actions in their states,” and “could impact hundreds of thousands of people.”

Per the official state website, the Massachhuestts Governor’s Council is “composed of eight individuals elected from districts, and the Lieutenant Governor who serves ex officio,” and it “provides advice and consent on gubernatorial appointments, pardons and commutations, and warrants for the state treasury.”

The governor’s office said that, if approved, the pardon “will apply to all eligible convictions, and most people will not need to take any action to have their criminal records updated,” as well as “to all adult Massachusetts state court misdemeanor convictions before March 13, 2024 for possession of marijuana (sometimes referred to as possession of a “Class D substance”).”

“Nobody should face barriers to getting a job, housing or an education because of an old misdemeanor marijuana conviction that they would not be charged for today,” Healey, a Democrat who is serving her first term after being elected in 2022, said in a statement on Tuesday. “We’re taking this nation-leading action as part of our commitment to using the clemency process to advance fairness and equity in our criminal justice system. We’re grateful for President Biden’s leadership on this at the federal level and proud to answer his call to take action in the states.” 

Other top state officials in Massachusetts, including Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, hailed the announcement of the pardon.

“Marijuana laws have significantly changed over the past decade, and it’s essential that our criminal justice system adjusts with them. Governor Healey’s proposed pardon represents an important step toward righting historic wrongs, particularly around our country’s misguided War on Drugs,” said Driscoll. “We thank the Governor’s Council for their careful consideration of this recommendation and look forward to continuing our progress to make Massachusetts a more fair and equitable home for all.” 

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell applauded the “Healey-Driscoll administration’s efforts to rectify historic racial disparities, including with this proposed pardon, and President Biden’s leadership at the federal level on the same issue.”

“Convictions for simple marijuana possession – which someone could not be charged with today – have led to the disproportionate incarceration of Black and brown people and made it nearly impossible for them to obtain a job, housing, educational opportunities and more. As the AG’s Office also works to address injustice and close the racial wealth gap, this proposed pardon meaningfully moves the Commonwealth in the right direction,” the attorney general said.

Democratic House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano, meanwhile, said the “decision from Governor Healey to pardon certain marijuana convictions is the right one, as it is another step towards rectifying decades of injustices stemming from the criminalization of cannabis.”

“This announcement is consistent with the Legislature’s intent during the passage of the 2018 criminal justice reform law, which was updated in 2022 when the Legislature passed further cannabis reforms, that allowed residents to seek expungements for convictions that are no longer crimes following voter-approved reforms,” Mariano said. 

As the statements from Healey and other officials referenced, the pardon takes a cue from President Biden, who in the fall of 2022 issued a pardon to thousands of Americans who were convicted of violating federal cannabis laws.

“Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” Biden said in a statement then. “Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”

At the time, the president also urged governors to take their own action to clear the records of such individuals at the state level.

“In October 2022, President Biden issued a presidential proclamation that pardoned many federal and D.C. offenses for simple marijuana possession offenses. In December 2023, the President expanded that pardon to include more offenses He also issued a call to Governors to take action to pardon marijuana convictions in their states and, in the State of the Union last week, the President directed his Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana,” Healey’s office explained. “Governor Healey has already taken historic action on pardons. She became the first Massachusetts Governor in decades to recommend pardons in her first year in office. She has pardoned a total of 13 people to date. She also issued new clemency guidelines to center fairness and equity in the criminal justice system.”