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Former Ann Arbor council member and local advocates urge Jackson to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi
Summary
Speakers at the Jan. 28 Jackson City Council meeting urged the council to consider decriminalizing certain entheogenic plants and fungi, citing Ann Arbor's unanimous vote, research institutions, and potential therapeutic benefits.
A group of speakers asked the Jackson City Council Jan. 28 to consider a resolution decriminalizing entheogenic plants and fungi, saying the move could expand therapeutic options and that other Michigan municipalities have taken similar steps.
Anne Bannister, who identified herself as a former Ann Arbor City Council member, described Ann Arbor's unanimous passage and the involvement of medical researchers and local public-health officials in her city's review. "In 2019 to 2020, the decriminalized entheogenic plants and fungi organization approached Ann Arbor City Council... and we did pass it unanimously," Bannister said, summarizing Ann Arbor's experience and urging Jackson to consider the same approach.
Charles Ring and Roger Mulford, local speakers, also urged action and described research and clinical interest at institutions such as Johns Hopkins and the University of Michigan. Ring framed the change as an avenue toward treatment alternatives for people with serious anxiety, depression and PTSD. Mulford offered to provide peer-reviewed research and said municipalities that have passed such measures have not experienced the negative outcomes some opponents predicted.
Council members did not take action on the subject at the meeting; speakers asked the council to consider a formal measure or seek staff analysis of legal and policing implications before any ordinance or resolution is drafted.
