Join Our Team!
How can you help advance our campaign?:
1. Sign and share our petition (please include a comment on how entheogens have benefited you or someone you know).
2. Initiate and sustain engagement with your city council representative as well as councilmembers at large, prioritizing members of the Public Safety and Public Health & Human Services committees, ideally every other week.
3. Participate in our meetings and events.
4. Organize gatherings with friends and take 10-20 minutes to make a brief phone call or send a succinct email to your councilmember.
5. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a curation of articles, op-eds, scientific reports, national and international research and policy developments, local events, and more that you can share with your elected representatives and use to craft your own correspondence with them. Please amplify our message.
6. Volunteer to gather petition signatures at farmer's markets and other events.
Not sure what to say/write?
Use our call/email template below!
Hello,
My name is [Name] and I'm one of [Councilmember[ ] ]'s constituents. I am [calling/writing] to voice my support for [Councilmember [ ] ] to sponsor or co-sponsor a public hearing and a resolution to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi in Philadelphia.
Entheogens are plants and fungi that “inspire a feeling of the divine within” and have been used by many cultures around the world for thousands of years in spiritual traditions. Recent evidence shows that entheogens have incredible potential to treat drug and alcohol addiction, even cases of treatment-resistant opioid and methamphetamine addiction. Their ability to bring forth profound personal and spiritual growth also make them effective tools in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
Decriminalize Nature Philadelphia, a local 501(c)4, has a resolution identifying 5 different groups of entheogens to decriminalize in Philadelphia. These are the tools that can help us end the opioid crisis, reduce violent crime, and treat the chronic trauma that so many Philadelphians live with.
In 2020, 1,214 Philadelphians died of an overdose with 85% of cases involving an opioid, as reported by Philadelphia's Department of Public Health. In 2019, 270 Pennsylvania veterans took their own lives due to untreated trauma, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. In July 2021, CBS News reported that Philadelphia had the highest murder rate per capita among the 10 largest cities in the US. The COVID pandemic greatly worsened these problems, but research shows that entheogens are able to help.
For me, this issue matters because [tell a brief personal story in a short paragraph or two]*
We must follow other major cities including Denver, Oakland, Washington DC, Seattle, Detroit, San Francisco, et al. in decriminalizing the personal and spiritual use of entheogenic plants and fungi. Since the early 1970s, federal law has made it a felony offense to use these natural medicines but today we have an important opportunity for Philadelphia to take a step forward in addressing the addiction, violence, and mental health issues plaguing our community and our country.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response on this important matter, again my name is [Name] and you can reach me at [Phone Number and/or Email]. For more information about entheogens and to review our resolution, please visit www.decriminalizenaturephilly.org or contact us at decriminalizenaturephilly@gmail.com.
*Please exercise discretion when disclosing sensitive personal information such as details on recent experiences with entheogens if they occurred in places where they are not decriminalized.
