Zero Psilocybin Arrests in Denver First Month After Decriminalization

The City of Denver appears to be abiding by the will of the voters. Between May 16 and June 18, or the month or so after magic mushrooms were decriminalized, the Denver Police Department made zero psilocybin-related arrests.

"That’s great news. That’s exactly the number I was hoping they would say," says Kevin Matthews, who led Decriminalize Denver, the campaign to make possession, consumption and growth of psychedelic mushrooms a low law enforcement priority.

From 2016 to 2018, the DPD arrested about fifty people per year for psilocybin-related offenses. And of the 9,000-plus drug cases filed in Denver between 2016 and 2018, only three led to charges for possession of psilocybin with intent to manufacture or distribute.

The Denver City Attorney's Office is still analyzing the ballot language and will present its findings to law enforcement and the mayor's office. "We're set to hear expert input in coming weeks to understand what 'personal use' and 'possession with intent to distribute' should possibly mean under the law," wrote Ryan Luby, spokesman for the city attorney's office, in an email to Westword.

Read more: https://www.westword.com/news/denver-police-made-zero-psilocybin-arrests-in-first-month-of-decriminalization-11387822