Seattle City Council Promotes Psychedelics As Potential Tool Against Opioid Epidemic

Seattle lawmakers on Monday sent a letter to members of a local task force focused on the opioid overdose epidemic, imploring the group to investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like ayahuasca and ibogaine in curbing addiction.

All but two members of the Seattle City Council signed off on the letter to the Overdose Emergency and Innovative Recovery (OEIR) Task Force. It recommends that the group “add to their work plan an examination of public policy governing psychedelic medicines,” or entheogens.

“The OEIR Task Force work will expand efforts for solving the local overdose crisis, drug user health inequities, and region-wide safety and health by proposing and evaluating recommendations in order to build evidence and enhance practices on innovations in recovery and person-centered interventions,” the letter, led by Councilmembers Lisa Herbold and Andrew Lewis, states. “Given the potential of entheogens as treatments for substance addiction and behavioral mental health conditions, we believe this topic is a suitable addition to the Task Force work plan.”
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