Indiana Nurse Faces Ten Years in Prison for Microdosing Psilocybin Mushrooms |

Between the rise of luxury ayahuasca resorts in Costa Rica, billions of dollars funneled into psychedelic research and development, and bestsellers like Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind, it’s little wonder psychedelics have etched a mark on the collective consciousness. Once the target of smear campaigns and profoundly stigmatized, these mind-altering substances are now prolific in public discourse, with new studies on microdosing psilocybin mushrooms coming out every month. You can almost imagine wandering down to the corner store to grab a packet of magic mushrooms the way you might pick up a pack of tobacco.

Except you can’t. In most places magic mushrooms are still illegal. And even if you grow your own mushrooms, there is still a chance you can end up in prison.

For Jessica Thornton, who has lived with treatment-resistant depression since her senior year at high school, psychedelics represent a lifeline. Thornton, a mom of five and neonatal intensive care nurse, turned to psilocybin after twenty years of taking a smorgasbord of antidepressants with little to no effect. Desperate to find any solution, she tried microdosing psilocybin mushrooms after researching the practice online. However, her experimentation with psilocybin has come at an inconceivable cost. On August 1st, she will appear in court and may be sentenced to up to ten years in prison.

Thornton’s situation is symbolic of the crossroads that characterizes the contemporary psychedelic landscape in the United States. In Michigan, right next door to Indiana where Thornton lives, three cities have decriminalized psychedelics for personal use. Another neighboring state, Illinois, has opened up discussions about statewide psychedelic decriminalization. In Indiana, on the other hand, psychedelics are primarily viewed as illegal, dangerous substances. Those who dare use them risk having their lives upended should they be apprehended. For Thornton, however, microdosing psilocybin mushrooms was a question of life or death.

“I decided to try microdosing psilocybin for depression because nothing else was working for me,” explains Thornton. “I felt as if I was in a constant battle with myself. For the longest time, I felt like a part of me was missing, despite having it all —a good job, a home that was paid for, 5 beautiful children and my health. Eventually, I began having suicidal thoughts and knew I needed to do something about it. I didn’t want my kids to have to cope with the loss of their mother.”

The decision to try psilocybin represented an alternative when it felt like all other avenues had been exhausted. Thornton anchored her choice in evidence for her own peace of mind.

“I did a ton of research online and began listening to podcasts,” she reflects. “I found that Johns Hopkins and other major research universities were doing clinical studies on psilocybin and treatment-resistant depression.”

There’s a growing body of studies documenting the…