2 drug legalization measures on Oregon ballot

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — War veterans with PTSD, terminally ill patients and others suffering from anxiety are backing a ballot measure that would legalize controlled, therapeutic use in Oregon of psilocybin mushrooms, which they say has helped them immeasurably.

“After chemo failed, I went to a pretty dark place,” said Mara McGraw, a Portland woman who has terminal cancer. “I was feeling hopeless about treatment and about the future.”

Then she tried the psychedelic mushroom, more commonly known as “magic mushrooms," with a trained facilitator standing by.

“It was a very safe and nurturing experience for me. I immediately felt a release from the fear,” McGraw told a video news conference.

On the national level, a clinical trial of psilocybin is underway to test its potential antidepressant properties, the U.S. government's National Library of Medicine says. Backers of Measure 109 say the state, which was the first in the nation to decriminalize marijuana, should lead the way in legalizing therapeutic, regulated use of psilocybin, often referred to as magic mushrooms.

A second Oregon ballot question, Measure 110, would decriminalize possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, LSD, oxycodone and some other drugs. Its backers say drug addiction is a health issue and should not cause people to be imprisoned and saddled with criminal records. If Oregon voters approve Measure 110, the state would be the first to decriminalize those drugs.

The psilocybin initiative, however, is about overcoming depression, supporters say.

“An estimated 1 in every 5 adults in Oregon is coping with a mental health condition," 20 doctors and other health care workers wrote in the voters pamphlet. “We support Measure 109 because it provides a new treatment for many that might...