It’s more than just a new policy. This is the beginning of a paradigm shift: replace fear with healing and stigma with science. Replace punishment with care.
By Victoria Cvitanovic, former narcotics prosecutor
New York has introduced multiple bills that would legalize the use of psychedelic mushroom for medical purposes. Now, they’re gaining momentum.
The legislation, should it be passed, will allow health professionals to supervise patients, provide legal protections to participants and healthcare providers, as well as allocate grant money to help financially-vulnerable communities gain access. This is not just about a new policy. This is the beginning of a paradigm shift: replace fear with healing and stigma with science. Replace punishment with care.
It was not a direct or predictable path for me to become a proponent of psilocybin.
My career began as a drug prosecutor in New Orleans. I saw first-hand that the laws against drugs criminalized people who were in pain, rather than helping them. A freak accident changed everything. When I fell while doing aerial silks and broke my spine, my entire life changed. My life was ruined by chronic pain, despair and depression. Treatments failed. They dulled the symptoms but did not heal.
One day, I received an offer from a client. He was a psychodrama-assisted therapy. The moment that I saw it was the beginning of a new journey. Then I realized that I didn’t need to suffer.
This shift changed everything. I underwent ketamine-assisted therapy, and gradually my worldview—and professional life—transformed. As a plant and psychoedelic medical counselor and disability rights activist, I took on the roles of both. Now, I see that my work in life is about standing up for people against a system which too often criminalizes or denies their medicine.
Science has a solid foundation for psilocybin. Clinical trials conducted under strict guidelines have shown that patients suffering from treatment-resistant depressions, PTSD and existential stress, as well as addiction, can experience lasting responses. It’s not speculation that we’re looking for, it’s access to regulated treatment.
This bill includes critical safeguards, including: training for facilitators and certification of them, screening patients, standards in cultivation, reporting data, and continuous oversight. The guardrails will not stifle the access to cannabis; instead, they ensure safety and integrity.
But legal frameworks alone are insufficient without equity. Anyone can instantly join the disability community. Healing can’t be restricted to the wealthy. The psilocybin trend is not a “tech bro” thing. The grant program is important, and supporting veterans, underserved community members, and first responders are essential.
It is not enough to legalize treatment if it can only be accessed by those who have the means.
Change is slowly happening, but we are already in an era where the stigma surrounding psychedelics has been challenged. Although I openly discussed professional and guided psychoedelic therapy during interviews, there was pushback. During job interviews I was also asked if my work is “evil”. I am worried about potential reputational damage.
Fear is the reason why I and others like me must raise our voices. It is important that practitioners, legislators, and the general public have a serious and compassionate conversation about healing, justice, and suffering.
New York has the opportunity to be a leader. This would make New York the fourth State to provide a path for patients to access this treatment. The passage of this bill will turn psilocybin from a dangerous, illegal treatment into a safe, effective, evidence-based, compassionate, rigorously regulated, socially equitable, accessible therapy.
This is our chance to bring science, dignity and healing into the policy forefront.
Victoria Cvitanovic was a narcotics prosecutor at Orleans Parish in Louisina. She is currently a psychedelic medicine attorney and a cannabis attorney with Rudick Law Group.