CJ LoConte, an Army veteran, speaks in support of a ballot question that would decriminalize psychedelics. Question 4 supporters gathered for a … Question 4 supporters say people are using psychedelics already, and they should be legal
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BOSTON (SHNS) – Army combat veteran CJ LoConte credits psilocybin, a psychedelic substance found in “magic mushrooms,” for making him a better husband and father.
A doctor first recommended that LoConte, a Duxbury native who said he witnessed multiple soldiers attempt suicide while deployed to the Middle East, try psychedelics when he found himself hospitalized for suicidal ideation. LoConte said he had reached the “lowest point” in his life, after battling mental health issues including having nightmares, drinking, lashing out at others, and feeling numb despite seeking help through the VA.
Psilocybin also saved his life, LoConte said Thursday at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Boston Common, where veterans gathered to talk about their support of a ballot question that would decriminalize certain types and small quantities of psychedelic substances. The measure would establish licensed facilities where people could buy and take the drugs under supervision, and Bay Staters would also be permitted to grow and use them at home.
“I do credit my psilocybin experience with saving my life because seven days after my first experience, another former soldier of mine died by suicide, and that still hits hard,” LoConte, who was an Army officer, said. “That still hurts and it pisses me off, but that’s why doing this work is important. That’s why passing Question 4 is important.”
Veterans touted psychedelics as a critical mental health treatment option, particularly when other medications and therapies are ineffective. Elected officials gathered last week to discuss those same benefits , as they too sought to drum up support for Question 4 that would legalize psilocybin and psilocin found in mushrooms, and dimethyltryptamine, mescaline and ibogaine found in plants.
Jamie Morey of Marshfield said her husband, an Iraq combat veteran, suffers from debilitating PTSD and treatment-resistant depression.
Morey said she was inspired to advocate for psychedelic-assisted therapy after attending a trauma retreat outside of the United States, where she […]
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