The Portland Psychedelic Health Act seeks to create more safety and education in psychedelics while making the possession and use of these natural substances the lowest priority for law enforcement in our city. This policy and movement acknowledges millennia-old, cross-cultural traditions of engaging with psychedelics for individual and community healing, building connectedness, creative expression, spiritual insight and personal growth, and supports the autonomy to explore one’s consciousness and connection to other humans and the Earth.

The healing potential of these plants is deeply interwoven with Indigenous communities all over the world who have been the protectors of psychedelic plant medicines for thousands of years, including them in culture, relationship to land and Indigenous science. More recently in the Global North, academic studies on natural psychedelics (like psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca brew, wachuma, mimosa tenuiflora) have continued to demonstrate that these plants have considerable potential in addressing mental health conditions like addiction, depression, end-of-life anxiety, and severe long term post-traumatic stress.