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Why some Indigenous people are not happy with the proliferation of psychedelic drugs

Coverage of tribal natural resources is supported in part by Catena Foundation

State-funded psilocybin research is coming to Arizona.

The state announced it will award $5 million in grants for researchers to conduct clinical studies on hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms for their potential mental health benefits — especially for veterans. 

And Arizona is just one of many states around the country that’s moving toward legalization or decriminalization of psychedelic drugs. 

But growing Western interest in these drugs has many Indigenous people sounding the alarm.  These are plants they have been cultivating relationships with for millennia and, to do it right, they say, Western medicine should create bridges with traditional knowledge holders. 

Keridwen Cornelius wrote about it recently for Science, and The Show spoke with her about it.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.