Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, writing for Westword:
A Denver man accused of dealing psychedelic mushrooms is facing up to twenty years in prison and a $1 million fine. On July 23, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado charged 28-year-old Kole Milner with one count of possession with intent to distribute psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms that is classified as a Schedule I drug by the federal government.
Milner pleaded not guilty during his appearance in court that same day, and was allowed to leave on bond.
The charging of Milner restarts a long-dormant case that began when Drug Enforcement Administration agents searched Milner's Denver apartment in September 2019, and left with 906 live psychedelic mushrooms and 20.42 ounces of dried mushrooms. An attorney representing Milner declined to comment on the charge, as did the U.S. Attorney's Office.
It never ceases to boggle my mind that anyone thinks it’s reasonable to throw someone behind bars for having or selling magic mushrooms. They’re just psychoactive mushrooms, not lethal weapons!
But even though Denver decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms last year, it didn’t legalize sales. And since the state and federal governments didn’t change their stance, that means anyone in the city who possesses, manufactures, and/or distributes psychedelics is still at risk with the state police and the DEA.
Bear in mind that this is happening at the same time William Leonard Pickard and Clyde Apperson are being released from prison for manufacturing LSD 20 years ago, which means that the drug war probably isn’t ending anytime soon, even though it should.