Research shows psilocybin can help New Mexicans overcome alcoholism

Our families and communities are hurting from the devastating and stealthy disease of alcoholism. According to the New Mexico Department of Health, New Mexico has the highest death rate in the nation from alcohol. The effects of alcoholism spread beyond losing our loved ones; it also increases violence in homes, keeps us poor, and leaves those suffering from alcoholism feeling that there is no hope. But there is hope to solve this horrible disease. “Magic mushrooms” hold the potential to save lives and heal our families and communities.

The time is now to change our laws and policies about psilocybin so that adult access is possible.

Psilocybin mushrooms bring on mystical-like experiences that may be vital to healing alcoholism. Psilocybin is a powerful psychoactive compound found in certain mushrooms. Humans have utilized this naturally occurring medicine for more than 6,000 years to experience healing. The effects are likely caused by changes in serotonin activity and new connections that form in the brain. The healing is immediate and long-lasting for many.

New research out of the University of New Mexico is astounding. In 2022, the school’s researchers found that among adults suffering from alcoholism, just two doses of psilocybin with therapy resulted in an 83-percent decrease in heavy drinking days, and half of the participants had stopped drinking by the end of the eightmonth study. This is phenomenal news, as current medical treatments are often unsuccessful, and relapse rates are high.

Access to psilocybin remains illegal under federal law. This makes accessing psilocybin outside a research study or with certain religious groups illegal. President Joe Biden’s administration has stated that regulators will approve psilocybin as a breakthrough mental health therapeutic drug in the next two years. Action at the state level is necessary now for New Mexicans’ well-being while we wait for federal approval.

Already, pioneer states like Colorado and Oregon are creating a legal pathway to access psilocybin, and at the start of this year, Oregon began offering therapeutic access. Some may argue against changing our laws. They may have fears that this medicine isn’t safe, that it could be addictive, and that society will fall apart as a result of making it more widely available. But two years after Denver decriminalized psilocybin, they created a Psilocybin Mushroom Council with various stakeholders including law enforcement, mental health professionals and city officials to look at the impact of psilocybin decriminalization. The council found that no significant risks to public health or safety occurred.

New Mexico must be part of this paradigm shift and establish a legal path at the state level to ensure access to psilocybin for adults 21 and older. New Mexico House Bill 393 was introduced partly by our District 42 House Rep. Kristina Ortez. This bill will establish a working group to study psilocybin access in New Mexico. This is a deliberate and cautious first step to explore regulation at the state level with various stakeholders speaking up for access to this medicine for New Mexicans.

As a critical care nurse across this state in Taos, Gallup, Zuni Pueblo and other rural communities, I have witnessed the rawness of this disease firsthand — and I know we are all affected directly and indirectly.

In 2020, I lost my uncle Charles to complications of alcoholism. He was 50 years old. Our family was shaken, but his yellow eyes at our last meeting should have been a grave warning. My uncle Charles was a mental health therapist, empath, comedian and artist. Before he died, he sent me a painting he created of blue magic mushrooms. It is a reminder for me of the powerful and urgent need to help bring this medicine to others.

As the pandemic ends and we look around, we must ask ourselves, how are we doing? What I see as a nurse is that we are not well. Access to this medicine is needed more than ever to reconnect and recover. Please write to Rep. Ortez and tell her you support her bill and others like it. Share with her your story of the effects of alcoholism and how you believe this medicine has or will benefit you or a loved one. Then call a friend to help break the stigma of this disease and share what you know about this potential life-saving new medicine. If we don’t start to encourage, support, share and ask for access to this medicine, many more will die in our community and our families. Together, let’s stop suffering and start healing magically with mushrooms, as guided by science and our community.