The social landscape has shifted so quickly in the state that it’s almost unrecognizable and even some of the decision-making at the capitol is reflecting that.

Enter House Bill 3414, which provides for research into the medicinal and therapeutic value of psilocybin mushrooms, also known as “magic mushrooms” or “shrooms.”

“Universities, institutions of higher education located in Oklahoma, and research facilities that have entered into a memorandum of agreement with a university or institution of higher education located in Oklahoma are hereby authorized to conduct scientific research and medical trials on psilocybin and psilocin for the treatment of persons eighteen (18) years of age or older,” the bill reads.

The bill allows for psilocybin to be studied in patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression, severe anxiety, severe obsessive compulsive disorder, traumatic brain injury, early-stage dementia, palliative care, end-of-life care, opioid use disorder moderate to severe chronic pain, the bill states.

It’s almost as if the legislature has learned that plant-based remedies to medical issues are worth examining. Gee, I wonder what happened to change their mind in recent years?

Conspicuously absent from the discussion is overblown rhetoric, exaggerated hypotheticals and completely fabricated horror stories to try to drum up opposition on Lincoln Boulevard.

Even more baffling is that the bill was proposed by a Republican … from Lawton.

“I thought about, as we move beyond this pandemic, how we can address the mental health crisis our state faces. With so many folks who are struggling right now, I think we need to think outside the box, we need to think creatively,” Rep. Daniel Pae, the bill’s author, told The Oklahoman. “These trials are going to be very much in controlled environments with folks who are overseeing it. We are going to be micro-dosing.”

This is now the second Schedule 1 substance that will be legal in the state with some restrictions. On a windless day, you can hear the sound of Terence McKenna’s laughter from his California grave

  • or