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U.S. NEWS Thursday 6 June 2019
Oakland becomes 2nd

U.S. city to decriminalize

magic mushrooms

By SAMANTHA MALDONA- the substances, and the
DO Alameda County district
Associated Press attorney would stop pros-
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — ecuting people who have
Oakland on Tuesday be- been apprehended for use
came the second U.S. city or possession.
to decriminalize magic Council member Noel Gal-
mushrooms after a string lo, who introduced the res-
of people shared how psy- olution, had said decrimi-
chedelics helped them nalizing such plants would In this Friday, May 24, 2019 photo a vendor bags psilocybin
overcome depression, enable Oakland police to mushrooms at a cannabis marketplace in Los Angeles. Oak-
drug addiction and post- focus on serious crime. land City Council will vote Tuesday, June 4, 2019, to decrimi-
nalize the possession and use of entheogenic, or psychoactive,
traumatic stress disorder. Amendments offered by plants and fungi.
The City Council voted Council member Loren Associated Press
unanimously to decrimi- Taylor added caveats that
nalize the adult use and the substances "are not for undercover, underground, the use of such substances,
possession of magic mush- everyone," recommend- by doctors and therapists." including what exactly can
rooms and other entheo- ing that people with PTSD The Oakland Police De- be used, how to use them
genic, or psychoactive, or major depression seek partment did not respond and what the associated
plants. Denver voters ap- professional help before us- to emailed messages from risks are.
proved a similar measure ing them and that people The Associated Press seek- Entheogenic plants have
for people 21 and older last "don't go solo" but seek ex- ing comment before the long been used in religious
month. pert guidance and have a meeting. Alameda County and cultural contexts. Gallo
Speakers overwhelmingly trusted friend present dur- Deputy District Attorney Te- remembers his grandmoth-
supported the move, de- ing the use. resa Drenick declined to er treating his family mem-
scribing substances like The ordinance also directs comment. bers with plants, including
peyote as traditional plant- the city administrator to Magic mushrooms are still entheogenic ones, for a
based medicines. One come back within a year illegal under federal and variety of ailments.
man who described himself to provide the council with state law. Entheogenic "Growing up in the Mexi-
as a former heroin addict an assessment of the law's substances are considered can community, this was
said such plants saved his impact on the community. Schedule 1 drugs under our cure," Gallo said. Hemp
life. Some offered mystical "Entheogenic plants and the federal Controlled Sub- oils, mushrooms and yerba
descriptions of the halluci- fungi are tremendous for stances Act, which cat- buenas — an aromatic
nogens as providing spiri- helping to enable healing, egorizes drugs that have plant known for its medici-
tual healing. particularly for folks who potential for abuse and no nal properties — "that was
The vote makes the investi- have experienced trauma medical value. our Walgreens. We didn't
gation and arrest of adults in their lives," Carlos Plazola, Skeptics had raised con- have a Walgreens. We
who grow, possess, use chairman of the advocacy cerns about unsafe use, es- didn't have a way to pay
or distribute entheogenic group Decriminalize Nature pecially in schools. for any drugs. These are
plants one of the lowest Oakland, said before the To address such concerns, plants we have known for
priorities for police. No city council meeting. "These Gallo said, lawmakers thousands of years in our
money could be used to plants are being recom- would have to establish community and that we
enforce laws criminalizing mended pretty extensively rules and regulations about continue to use."q

Medicaid bought sex offenders' erectile

dysfunction drugs

By DAVID KLEPPER er payments for the drugs health officials to increase undermines any value that
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Reg- between 2012 and 2018, accountability and over- can be associated with its
istered sex offenders in according to the audit re- sight, DiNapoli said. findings," the department
New York received $63,000 leased by state Comptrol- The auditors "either ignored said in a formal, written re-
worth of erectile dysfunc- ler Thomas DiNapoli and the law or the facts, which sponse to the audit.q
tion drugs and other sexu- first reported by The Associ-
al treatments courtesy of ated Press. CAR RENTAL 5616944
the state's publicly funded According to the audit, 47
Medicaid program, ac- of those Medicaid recipi- Address: Paramira #30 (Oranjestad) - Email: yessrentalcar@gmail.com - Website: www.yessrentalcar.com
cording to an audit re- ents were also state sex of-
We Rent:
leased Wednesday. fenders, who are prohibit- Cars- Vans - SUV
Federal rules bar Medicaid ed from getting Medicaid-
coverage of sexual treat- covered sexual treatments
ments for all recipients, under a state law.
not just sex offenders. Yet The lapses identified in the
state Medicaid officials ap- audit show the need for
proved $930,000 in improp- immediate action by state