Worried about psychedelic use? The Psychedelic Wellness and Healing Initiative of 2024 is the solution

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When critics tell Dave Hodges that use of psychedelics is growing unchecked so now is not the time for legalization, the proponent of safe access to psychedelics for medical, therapeutic and spiritual use doesn’t hold back.

“Now is the time for safe, controlled medical access for patients in need,” Hodges declares. “The way to solve the problem is not by continuing to ignore it.” The solution, he said, is to create a structure for use that includes proper dosages and access to experts who can help users benefit from appropriate treatment.

Achieving psychedelic access has become Hodges’ mission, one now embodied in the Psychedelic Wellness & Healing Initiative headed for the 2024 ballot. The initiative language, updated today, emphasizes safety and will give doctors and mental health specialists the right to recommend psychedelics to ease the debilitating symptoms of a range of conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, addiction, suicidality, traumatic brain injury, and much more.

Research by the University of Michigan and Columbia University shows non-LSD hallucinogenic use on the rise. That increase, in turn, is being reflected in news stories about societal problems that critics link to psychedelic use. Hodges said that increase means that the initiative providing guidelines for use is needed more than ever. And some studies are showing benefits of psychedelics when administered safely.

Richard A. Friedman, professor of clinical psychiatry and director of the psychopharmacology clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, touched on a few of those studies in a recent issue of Atlantic Monthly, noting that psilocybin produced powerful antidepressant effects and that MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, relieved symptoms of PTSD when used in concert with psychotherapy.

Hodges said he hopes Californians will read the initiative, share their thoughts about it over the holiday week and offer feedback via the initiative website, PW4CA.com, by Nov. 27, the deadline for modifications.

“Now is the time to provide medical and therapeutic access to psychedelics,” Hodges said. “The way to do this is through the initiative.”

Link to initiative filing announcement: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231027290005/en/Oakland-activists-file-statewide-ballot-initiative-seeking-safe-and-legal-access-to-psychedelics-for-medical-and-therapeutic-uses