WCCO Staff, Allen Henry
Jul 21, 2023
Minneapolis police will spend less time investigating and arresting people who use natural psychedelics like magic mushrooms.
Mayor Jacob Frey signed an executive order Friday making it the lowest priority for law enforcement. That means police won't investigate, detain or arrest people just for using or growing them.
The mayor says the order is aimed at helping people.
Kristen Paradise is a therapist who works using low doses of legal ketamine to treat numerous conditions, including anxiety, depression and addiction.
"What it allows people to do is sit in that a little differently and then process through that within that experience and then when they come out on the other side, they actually feel lighter and as if that is not such a heavy weight anymore," said Paradise.
Clinical trials on other psychedelics are underway as a potential way to help veterans suffering from PTSD.
"It's not common," Frey said. "Largely, officers are already not prioritizing this but this is making it very clear, it's putting it in writing, so that everybody knows what to expect and what not to expect."