Psychedelic Mushroom Opponents Worry About Denver's Future

DENVER (CBS4)- Opponents of psychedelic mushrooms are worried about what will happen now that Initiative 301 has passed. Earlier this year, a group supporting the measure gathered enough signatures for the question to be added to the ballot in Tuesday's election and voters approved the decriminalization.

"Colorado is clearly going the wrong direction when it comes to drug use in this state," said Jeff Hunt.

Hunt is the Vice President of public policy at Colorado Christian University and the director of the Centennial Institute, which spoke out against Initiative 301. He worries about a rise in drivers being under the influence and an influx of drug users in Denver.

"What I'm afraid we're going to see happen now is people go, 'Well, Denver is a place where I'm not going to get prosecuted, so we're going to increase the use of these drugs.' People are going to be coming in from out of our state," Hunt told CBS4.

Patients using psilocybin mushrooms to treat terminal conditions say the vote to approve an initiative decriminalizing the drug will help others feel safe about using the treatment when they have likely run out of options.

Opponents like Hunt say they respect the will of the voters but say education will extremely important so people know the potential health risks when it comes to psychedelic mushrooms.

"We're getting a bad reputation; we're getting a reputation as the illicit drug capitol of our country."