A wavy cap found on Capitol Hill (Image: CHS)

A home-grown culture of psilocybe cubensis (golden teachers). (Image: Colby Bariel)

By Colby Bariel/UW News Lab

A Capitol Hill expert has taught hundreds of people, from grandmothers to neuroscientists how to cultivate magic mushrooms guiding many into the world of psychedelics.

With years of teaching experience, they cover the responsible use of entheogens, contemporary psychedelic theory, and their therapeutic applications.

“Psychedelics are meaning-making chemicals,” the expert tells CHS. “Magic mushrooms are therapeutic, not medicinal.”

Their work is facilitated by a 2021 Seattle City Council decree decriminalizing the noncommercial cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms and several other entheogens. This decision has allowed Seattle residents to engage in home-mycology and explore the spiritual, religious, and therapeutic experiences offered by psychedelics.

But Seattle is not yet safe for psychonauts. And the shadows of the Trump administration have darkened the situation to the point where recent progress here is being slowed and rolled back.

While personal psilocybin cultivation is decriminalized, its use remains illegal. In February, a man on First Hill was busted for what police said was a “drug lab” with thousands of dollars worth of magic mushrooms set up inside a First Hill apartment unit.

Organizations like REACH (Responsible Entheogen Access & Community Healing Coalition) Washington are advocating for state-level entheogen decriminalization.

Oregon is already a step ahead.

Officials there are looking at ways to improve and grow its legal psilocybin industry that formed there focused on licensed clinics and supervised psychedelic trips.

Oregon voters in 2020 approved Measure 109 to create a legal system for psilocybin. Unlike pot, customers can only buy and use psilocybin mushrooms at an authorized clinic.

Meanwhile to the north, Vancouver, B.C. officials are grappling with retail sale of mushrooms.

The most recent legislation effort to more significantly change things here in Washington have burnt out.

This year, Senate Bill 5201 again proposed a treatment center model for psilocybin legalization, drawing inspiration from Oregon’s Measure 109, which decriminalizes the therapeutic use and manufacture of entheogens such as psilocybin. Under SB5201, psilocybin use would be confined to for-profit treatment centers offering wellness retreats guided by licensed facilitators. Clients with diagnosed mental health conditions would require additional supervision from a licensed healthcare provider.

According to SB5201, facilitators would adopt a “non-directive” approach, providing support and ensuring a safe environment without influencing the client’s experience.

“This bill will create a framework for safe, regulated access to psilocybin,” said Senator Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline) during a health and long-term care hearing in February.

The bill failed to make it out of committee.

REACH, initially supportive, ultimately opposed the bill due to its treatment center model.

“SB 5201 forces people to either break the law or pay thousands for state-approved access,” said Rachel Cervenak, co-director of REACH. “Meanwhile, decriminalization is a cost-free, evidence-based approach.”

Cervenak also has concerns about lawmaker reluctance to broaden psilocybin decriminalization.

“The reality is that people will continue using psychedelics outside of regulated centers,” Cervenak stated. “Criminalization only increases harm by discouraging open education, limiting access to safe peer support, and making people less likely to seek help when they need it.”

Washington’s mycologists, including the Seattle expert, share the concerns.

A map of Psilocybe mushroom observations around Seattle illustrates their urban tendencies (Source: iNaturalist)

Many champion a “cultivator-educator” model where individuals would have greater access to cultivating their own mushrooms within Seattle’s existing home-growing policy. Those seeking psychedelic experiences would have more educational resources for making safe and informed decisions about psychedelic use and its appropriateness for them, the expert explained.

Home grown drugs don’t have a lot of official support here. Case in point: Washington and Seattle’s path to legalizing pot was purely focused on retail by the time I-502 was passed. Unlike many other states that have legalized, however, Washington outlaws home cultivation of pot for personal use.

When it finally finds the right legislative recipe to legalize and regulate entheogens, Washington will likely have a similar focus with structured, licensed clinics. Colorado and Denver could be one model where new statewide law leaves room for “healing centers” ranging from “retreats to ‘social consumption venues’ or something more like a therapist’s office.”

There is one major complication for Seattle, however.

Magic mushrooms grow here — naturally and abundantly. On wood chips and in gardens across Seattle around the year but mostly in spring and fall, magic mushrooms will just magically appear. With a little education and the help of an identification app, powerful medicine could be right there along that park path.

The Journalism and Public Interest Communication News Lab at the University of Washington gives advanced journalism students an opportunity to build a dynamic clip portfolio by reporting for any of 70 client news outlets in the greater Seattle area. CHS is proud to work with young journalists and feature their work.

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