By Guy Borgford

From microdosing soccer moms to veterans healing from the traumas of war, intentional psychedelic medicine use is being widely adopted as a tool for healing and a door to deeper meaning and purpose.

Human beings have been engaging with psychedelic plants and fungi for thousands of years, with archeological evidence pointing to predominantly ceremonial and spiritual use across various cultures. In ancient Greece, the Eleusinian Mysteries were based on the kykeon, a psychoactive compounded brew, many believe was based on ergot, a psychedelic fungus and precursor to the classic psychedelic, LSD. The historical accounts of the Eleusinian Mysteries noted that participants entered the pilgrimage with the promise that they would experience the gift of “dying before they die” upon drinking the kykeon and go on living a life of knowing.  

In the 1950s, researchers began studying psychedelics for a host of mental health issues including substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, and other challenging conditions. Despite impressive early results, this class of medicines was swept into the ubiquitous “War on Drugs” in 1971, which turned out to be a politically motivated war on people of color and the peace movement. With one fell swoop of Richard Nixon’s pen, decades of promising research was stopped dead in its tracks and the medicines, and those who understood how to work with them, retreated deep into the underground.

Fast forward to the past five years and it’s been difficult not to run into stories covering the potential power of plant medicine. In 2018 author Michael Pollen covered psychedelics in his bestselling book, How to Change Your Mind, which then became a successful Netflix mini-series in 2022. This mainstream launch into popular culture spiked interest in plant medicine, as the number of people struggling with mental health challenges—including addiction, depres-sion, anxiety, and PTSD—skyrocketed. 

According to the 2024 State of Mental Health in America Report, in 2021–22, 23 percent of adults experienced a mental illness, equivalent to nearly 60 million Americans. In the same report, data showed that more than 5 percent of the U.S. adult population (12.8 million people) reported experiencing serious thoughts of suicide. After slight decreases in suicide deaths in 2019 and 2020, the number of individuals who died by suicide in 2022 was the highest number ever recorded in the U.S. 

Current treatments aren’t able to meet the needs of those suffering. Furthermore, multiple research studies looking into the efficacy of antidepressants illustrate that these pharmaceuticals simply numb our symptoms at best, while packing a host of negative side effects such as weight gain and sexual dysfunction that often exacerbate the patient’s suffering. 

In an study published by researchers from University College London, researchers found no clear evidence that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance—specifically low serotonin levels—concluding that depression is likely not caused by a simple chemical imbalance in the brain. This narrative has been promoted by pharmaceutical companies for decades, and this particular study reviewed a large amount of data from previous research on serotonin and depression across tens of thousands of participants to illustrate that this approach and marketing buzz phrase was misinformed at best, and possibly criminally fraudulent on a massive scale. With more than $17 billion in global antidepressant sales in 2022, there’s a lot at stake for big pharma, and people healing without a daily assortment of pills is not good for business. 

Despite the FDA awarding breakthrough status to MDMA for treating PTSD, and granting two more breakthrough awards to psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms” for treatment-resistant depression, regulations remain stuck back in the 1970s and the misinformed and tragic “War on Drugs.” Ironically, traditional psychedelics are considered to be the most promising tools we have available in fighting the addiction epidemic that continues to destroy families and decimate communities.

A recent decision by the FDA threw out a legal path for MDMA and its efficacy in treating PTSD. Although not a natural medicine or a true psychedelic, the decision struck a blow for policy reform for natural medicines and many advocates, particularly in the veteran community, were heartbroken by the setback. Concurrently, veteran organizations like Heroic Hearts and Vet Solutions are getting war heroes the life-saving access to these medicines they need, and recent decriminalization of natural plant medicines in Colorado brings state-side support and healing, reducing the need for international travel and expenses, which further limit treatment accessibility.

The latest legal developments show some additional progress, with cities like Seattle, Port Townsend, Olympia, and most recently Tacoma adopting decriminalization frameworks for natural plant and fungi-based psychedelics. Rather than legalization, which requires huge lifts from governments and communities and exponentially increases cost and decreases access, decriminalization codifies the will of the people and makes natural plant medicines the lowest priority of law enforcement.

Community sharing and ceremonial service become the foundation under this framework. With personal possession no longer deemed criminal, people working with plant medicines don’t need to fear legal repercussions for working with, and possessing, medicines still defined as Schedule 1 drugs by the DEA.

Reach WA, a grassroots organization, is looking to bring plant medicine decriminalization to all of Washington in the next major election cycle in 2026. As they note on their Web site, reachwa.org, “Washington can better promote the health, healing, and wellness of its residents and make better use of its law enforcement resources by shifting away from a criminalization paradigm and moving toward a policy of promoting safety and responsibility in the use of natural psychedelics and in the provision of related supportive services.”

Despite progress, many looking into plant medicine find their current options limited. International retreats held in plant medicine-friendly countries like Mexico and Costa Rica run in the thousands of dollars as the underground here in the U.S. flourishes and a host of edgy entrepreneurs offer gummies, chocolates, capsules, and tinctures with promises of psilocybin held therein. A recent rash of hospitalizations from consumers imbibing Diamond Shroomz’s magic mushroom gummies found no psilocybin in the gummies at all, but another fungus called Amanita Muscaria, the famous red-capped/white polka-dotted mushroom common in mushroom art and iconography. Other samples in the market procured from a recent study of mushroom edibles have shown many with only synthetic psychedelic compounds present, the most prominent being 4-AcO-DMT.

Plant medicine experts warn consumers to be aware. Know and trust your source; these medicines should not be taken lightly. 

Eric Negherbon, plant medicine advocate and CEO/Founder of mushroom startup Knowledge Brands, notes that “Plant medicines can be incredibly helpful tools in improving the human condition, from alleviating suffering from mental health challenges to connecting us to something much bigger than ourselves. It’s important to approach these molecules with reverence, set intentions, and reflect on what you want to learn, be incredibly mindful of your mindset and your setting, and always start low and go slow—small doses to start, working your way up to bigger experiences as you become familiar with these non-ordinary states of consciousness.”

Whatever your view is on plant medicine, it’s a good idea to be informed and understand the opportunities and the risks. These are powerful medicines and should always be taken seriously. 

To learn more, visit the Web site for natural plant medicine advocacy and access, Decriminalize Nature, at decriminalizenature.org.

Guy Borgford is a minister with Psanctuary Church, a mushroom church founded and based out of Kentucky. Reach him at guywborgford@gmail.com or linkedin.com/in/guywborgford.

Guy Borgford shows some love for Bluey Vuitton, a custom strain of psilocybe cubensis, somewhere in “the brilliant Nature of the North Cascades.” Submitted photo.

An Enigma strain, a rare mutation of psilocybe cubensis, known for its ability to connect to Self. Submitted photo.

Microdosing—regularly taking sub-perceptual doses—helps with various mental health and spiritual benefits without any psychotropic effects. Submitted photo.

Mushrooms are fairly easy to grow, and many are using home cultivation to make their own medicine. Submitted photo.

Guy Borgford at his home near Concrete, Washington.