As Activists Push To Decriminalize Psychedelics In Massachusetts, Doctors Support More Research

In January, the Somerville City Council unanimously agreed to decriminalize psychedelic plants, like psilocybin mushrooms, becoming the first city in Massachusetts to do so.

Now, several other communities in the Commonwealth are following suit. There is a corresponding shift in the medical community, as doctors and researchers begin to support rigorous studies of how these substances affect the brain, and their potential for therapeutic benefits.

We discuss with Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum, director of the Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics at Massachusetts General Hospital. We also take listener calls with James Davis, co-founder of Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, a grassroots organization pushing for the decriminalization of psychedelics, and Jennifer Stell, a registered nurse and a co-founder of Bay Staters for Natural Medicine.