Our Primary Principles
- The wave of psychedelic legalization is inevitable in the US, driven by an overwhelming number of scientific studies demonstrating their benefits for health and wellness.
- The choice by the DC Council and, to some extent, Congress, will determine if legalization occurs in a way that allows equitable access for all people, or only those who can afford expensive clinical treatments.
- The choice by the DC Council and, to some extent, Congress, will determine if we strengthen our connection with nature at this critical moment, or continue to deconstruct this relationship, legalizing one compound at a time.
- Entheogenic plants and fungi are sacred, and should not be commodified or taxed.
Our Primary Positions
Why should we decriminalize all entheogenic plants and fungi on Schedule 1?
- They are not addictive, in fact, they can be helpful in addiction treatment. Attention to the appropriate set, setting, and dosage, can greatly reduce potential risks and negative impacts; and can be beneficial in treating trauma, and reducing intimate partner violence and recidivism.
- Thousands of years of practices across the globe highlight entheogens healing and spiritual potentials.
- People should have the inalienable rights to engage with naturally occurring plants and fungi in the manner they feel appropriate for themselves
- These plants and fungi were placed on the Federal Schedule 1 without any scientific research, based on Nixon’s intention to arrest the leaders within the African American civil rights movements and the leaders of the anti-war movements and we should correct this historic wrong.
Why should we ensure equitable access to all people?
- The global drive to prioritize clinical and medical settings is inaccessible in both cost and ethos for those most in need, costing thousands of dollars for treatment to access material naturally occurring in plants.
- Basic human rights must include personal sovereignty, the capability to choose our own human experience. Adults are not children, and with proper education can be empowered to make their own decisions, a potent first step toward healing.
Why should we support a decriminalization approach that reconnects our roots to nature?
- While science, technology, and industrialization have expanded our capacity, they have also disconnected us from nature. We believe in the need to reconnect to nature now that we are at the crossroads of global climate change.
Our Commitment as Decriminalize Nature DC to the Residents of Washington, DC:
We commit to working with DC civic and community leaders and residents to pass a ballot initiative as well as develop an educational framework and program to ensure all residents can receive information, provided in a culturally relevant way, about effective and proper use, practice, set, setting, dosage, risk, and benefits in a way that enables greater personal choice and agency in healing.
