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Let's talk about psychedelic therapy in medicine

Psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, may soon be approved for medical use in the land of enchantment, bringing relief to people suffering from depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and end-of-life anxiety, after a bill was shown unanimous bipartisan support in committee  late in the day on February 11th.
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Psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, may soon be approved for medical use in the land of enchantment, bringing relief to people suffering from depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, and end-of-life anxiety, after a bill was shown unanimous bipartisan support in committee late in the day on February 11th.

Let's Talk New Mexico, 2/27 8am: This year 14 states including New Mexico are considering legalizing medical psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, to treat a variety of disorders from depression and anxiety, to substance use disorder and cluster headaches. Psychedelic therapies using drugs such as LSD, also known as acid, and DMT, the main ingredient in ayahuasca, are gaining mainstream momentum across the country. Ketamine infusions have proven to be highly effective against depression and suicidal thoughts, MDMA, or ecstasy, has shown promise in fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. These drugs, however, remain largely illegal by state and federal laws.

This week on Let's Talk New Mexico we’ll be talking about using psychedelics as medicine, and we’d like to hear from you. Have you or a loved one benefited from these therapies? Do you think there is potential for genuine medical uses or is this just a fad in health care? What do you think should be done about the legal status of these substances? Leave a voice message by clicking the link below, email letstalk@kunm.org or call in live Thursday morning at 8am and share your thoughts.

GUESTS:
- Angie Allbee, Section Manager, Oregon Psilocybin Services
- Jeffery Holland, Executive Director, Endorphin Power Company, Co-owner, New Mexico Wellness
- NM Senator Jeff Steinborn (D-Doña Ana), Sponsor SB 219
- Deborah Thorne, DMSc, MS, PA, CIPP, Founder and co-owner, Medicina Del Sol Integrative Healthcare

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Daniel Montaño is a reporter with KUNM's Public Health, Poverty and Equity project. He is also an occasional host of Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Let's Talk New Mexico since 2021, is a born and bred Burqueño who first started with KUNM about two decades ago, as a production assistant while he was in high school. During the intervening years, he studied journalism at UNM, lived abroad, fell in and out of love, conquered here and there, failed here and there, and developed a taste for advocating for human rights.
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