City leaders in Ferndale, Michigan voted this week to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms and other natural psychedelics, making the city in the Detroit metropolitan area the fourth municipality in the state to reform laws prohibiting the promising drugs. The Ferndale City Council voted unanimously on February 27 to approve a resolution decriminalizing entheogenic plants and fungi including psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), all of which are psychedelics that show promise as treatments for a variety of mental health conditions.

The resolution passed by the city council does not legalize psychedelic drugs outright. Instead, the measure directs that the “investigation and arrest of persons for planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, or possessing Entheogenic Plants or plant compounds which are on the Federal Schedule 1 list shall be the lowest law enforcement priority for the City of Ferndale,” according to the text of the resolution.

The city council resolution was sponsored by Mayor Pro Tem Kat Bruner James. The measure was supported by Decriminalize Nature, a national organization working to reform psychedelics policies from coast to coast, and the Ferndale chapter of the activist group. 

“The Ferndale community continues to demonstrate mindfulness and integrity as we move towards collective well-being and community healing in allyship with nature and her medicines,” Decriminalize Nature Ferndale wrote in a social media post after the city council passed the resolution. “We are grateful for all the community support and to Ferndale City Council for passing the resolution to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi.”

Psychedelics As Plant Medicines

The two-page resolution includes findings from the city council recognizing that natural psychedelics have been used as plant medicines by humankind for thousands of years. The measure also notes that research has shown that the use of psychedelics can be beneficial to the health and well-being of communities and individuals.

“The use of Entheogenic Plants, which can catalyze profound experiences of personal and spiritual growth, have been shown by scientific and clinical studies and traditional practices to be beneficial to the health and well-being of individuals and communities,” the resolution reads.

After Monday’s vote, psychologist Billy Horton, the co-chair of Decriminalize Nature Ferndale, thanked the city council for the members’ unanimous support of the psychedelics decriminalization ordinance. The activist added that the group would continue to educate the public on the safe use of plant medicines.

“I just want to continue to emphasize the importance of psychedelic and entheogenic plants and the work that’s going on, the research and the science that’s supporting it for psychological and for physical wellness,” he told the council in a statement quoted by the Detroit Metro Times.

Ongoing research has shown that psilocybin has the potential to be an effective treatment for several serious mental health conditions, including PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety, and substance misuse disorders.

A study published in 2020 in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Psychiatry found that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy was a quick-acting and effective treatment for a group of 24 participants with major depressive disorder. And separate research published in 2016 determined that psilocybin treatment produced substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer.

This week’s approval of the psychedelics decriminalization measure in Ferndale marks the fourth time a Michigan city has decriminalized natural psychedelic drugs. Ann Arbor became the third city nationwide to decriminalize psychedelics with the city council’s adoption of a resolution in September 2020. That was followed by a similar move in Detroit in November 2021, while Hazel Park approved a measure last year. After Monday’s vote in Ferndale, the national headquarters of Decrimalize Nature took to social media to mark the occasion.

“Congrats again to the @decrimferndale team for all of their hard work and effort to pass the resolution in support of entheogenic plant practices in Ferndale Michigan last night,” the group wrote on Instagram. “That’s 4 wins in Michigan so far! Let’s get some statewide decriminalization legislation on the table!!! Go team Nature!”

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California’s famed Emerald Triangle cannabis-growing region was rocked by an earthquake early Tuesday morning, leading to the deaths of two local residents and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity. The earthquake, which registered 6.4 on the Richter scale, also caused about a dozen injuries and damaged homes and businesses in the region. 

The ground started shaking at 2:34 a.m., with the temblor centered near the town of Ferndale, a community about 210 miles northwest of San Francisco in Humboldt County. The epicenter of the quake was offshore, about 10 miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Humboldt County, along with neighboring Trinity and Mendocino Counties, make up California’s infamous Emerald Triangle, where for decades cannabis farmers have grown top-shelf marijuana famous around the world. Johnny Casali of Huckleberry Hills Farm reported that his legacy cannabis operation in southern Humboldt County lost electricity during the power outage but did not suffer any damage from the shaking. Chris Anderson of Redwood Roots said that southern Humboldt County was not hit very hard by the quake, but he had heard reports of broken water mains and homes being knocked off their foundations in the central part of the county.

More Than 70,000 Lose Power

Damage to buildings and infrastructure is still being assessed throughout the region. Approximately 72,000 Pacific Gas and Electric customers reportedly lost power as a result of the earthquake. By late Tuesday, the utility company had restored power to about 40,000 customers and expected electrical service would be restored for the remaining homes and businesses without power within 24 hours. The outage involved a main transmission line into the area and repairs were slowed by rain that prevented a helicopter from assessing damage sustained by the line.

In a news flash, the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services reported that “two individuals have died as a result of medical emergencies occurring during and/or just following the earthquake.” The dead include an 83-year-old and a 72-year-old, according to media reports. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reported that at least 11 people were injured during the quake. Injuries sustained in the temblor included a hip fracture and a head injury, according to media reports.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Humboldt County on Tuesday evening. Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, noted that two hospitals in the area had lost power but were running on generators. Ferguson also said that damage in the area appeared to be minimal considering the strength of the earthquake.

Residents in the Emerald Triangle are used to the relatively frequent earthquakes. But some said that Tuesday’s shaking was more violent than the rolling motion of many of the region’s tremors.

“You could see the floor and walls shaking,” Araceli Huerta told the Associated Press. “It sounded like a freight train was going through my house.”

Rio Dell Bears Brunt Of Temblor

Damage from the quake was reported in Ferndale, Rio Dell and Fortuna, Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said in a press conference in Sacramento. Damage was most extensive in Rio Dell, where at least 15 homes in the community of 3,000 were deemed uninhabitable. Another 18 homes sustained moderate damage, officials reported after a partial assessment of the area. Approximately 30 people have been displaced by the damage, but officials warned that number could climb to as high as 150 after a full assessment of the impact of the earthquake is completed.

Rio Dell’s water system was shut down and will remain out of operation for up to two days while leaks in the vital infrastructure are repaired. The local firehouse was distributing drinking water, and portable toilets were set up outside City Hall for area residents to use.

Local resident Cassondra Stoner said that she was shaken awake by Tuesday’s quake.

“It felt like my roof was coming down,” Stoner said. “The only thing I could think about was, ‘Get the freaking kids.’”

Other than the emotional shock of the early morning quake, Stoner’s family was not harmed. But when she arrived for work at a local retail store, ceiling tiles had fallen, and shelves had toppled over, strewing merchandise across the floor.

The earthquake occurred in an area known as the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates meet off northern California’s Pacific coast.

“We’re in this moment of geologic time where the most exciting, dynamic area of California happens to be Humboldt County and the adjacent offshore area,” Lori Dengler, professor emeritus of geology at Cal Poly Humboldt, told reporters.

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