Dehydrated psilocybin mushrooms
The Anthropology Department of University of Colorado-Denver is looking for Black, Indigenous people, people of color and/or low-income people in Colorado between the ages of 21-75 to participate in a cutting-edge study aimed at learning more about patterns of psilocybin use, indigenous knowledge about psilocybin, and reduction in the stigma surrounding its use.
In 2022, Colorado became the second state in the country to legalize the use of psilocybin at state-regulated centers and under the supervision of licensed facilitators.
Participants in the study will complete an hour-long videotaped interview about about their use of psilocybin to improve wellness, address trauma or increase spiritual development. In exchange for their participation they will receive through regular U.S.P.S. mail a $50.00 King Soopers (City Market) gift card.
To participate, you must be between the ages of 21-75, have used psilocybin mushrooms within the past 12 months, and self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or a Person of Color), or a member of a marginalized community who is unable or uninterested in paying for psilocybin-assisted therapy sessions that cost between $200 and $1,500 in Colorado.
Anthropological studies like this play a useful role in boosting the collective knowledge base and helping devise new policies in areas new to society, like legalized cannabis to psilocybin. Evidence-based research and thoughtful anthropological studies can help inform people who work in areas like public health, mental health, politics, consumer awareness, workplace safety in businesses that handle psilocybin, industry accountability, ecological costs of cultivation, ethical tourism and other areas.
To participate in the study:
- Complete the eligibility e-form
- After study team members confirm your eligibility, review and complete the consent e-form.
- Schedule a day and time for an in-person, videotaped interview.
- Prior to the in-person videotaped interview, complete the recording release e-form
Want more information?
If you need additional information or have more questions, contact study organizers:
Marty Otañez, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Chair and Associate Professor, Anthropology Department, University of Colorado Denver, email marty.otanez@ucdenver.edu
(Don’t be intimidated by the degree or titles. Marty is a very cool guy.)
Mac Ervin, Research Assistant, Undergraduate Anthropology Student and Student Assistant in the Education Through Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (EURēCA!) Program, University of Colorado Denver, mckaylyn.ervin@ucdenver.edu
(Mac is very cool, too.)
I’m surprised to see you normalizing psylocibin after how strongly you opposed the ballot measure. Any change in your viewpoint?
Hi I am the faculty researcher on this study and I also voted against the ballot measure primarily because of the potential of white investor capitalist class members benefitting at the expense of local community members, the lack of indigenous perspectives in the discussions leading up to the measure and fear of overregulation and medicalization of a natural medicine that have been used for thousands of years.
Hey! Those are good concerns. Anne had others that I respectfully disagreed with so I was wondering if her opinion had changed. Best of luck with your study.