We Need a Cole Memorandum for Magic Mushrooms

In fall 2020, as the nation elected Joe Biden to be our Forty-Sixth President, Oregon voters also passed a noteworthy new drug law reform. Known as Measure 109, Oregon’s path-breaking law legalizes the use of psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance found in magic mushrooms. Measure 109 is designed to unlock the therapeutic potential of psilocybin, which advocates tout as an effective and safe treatment for depression and other psychological conditions. President Biden has yet to disclose how his Administration will respond to Measure 109. But as we mark the 100th day of the Biden Presidency, let me offer the Administration some friendly advice: decline to prosecute anyone that participates in Oregon’s nascent psilocybin program, as long as Oregon keeps the program under tight control. To make the case for tolerating Measure 109, I draw upon lessons learned from the federal government’s response to state marijuana reforms over the past twenty-five years. That experience demonstrates that attempting to quash state drug reforms is unlikely to succeed and might even prove counterproductive and that tolerating such reforms better serves the interests of the federal government.