To the Editor:

As a Maine resident, I would like to encourage Maine voters to support the passage of LD 1914 – the Maine Psilocybin Health Access Act – which would make a positive impact on the mental health of Maine’s residents. For many Mainers, passage of this measure could change – and even save – their lives.

LD 1914 creates a state-regulated therapeutic system for adults over 21 to access natural psychedelic medicine under the guidance of a licensed and supervised facilitator at designated healing centers and health-care facilities like palliative care.

Johns Hopkins, NYU, UCLA, and other first-class research institutions around the world are posting groundbreaking results showing psilocybin as effective mental health treatment for those who have exhausted every treatment and lost hope. And clinical trials show that the safety profile of psilocybin is excellent.

What has become clear is that people experiencing depression and PTSD should have access to any potential healing approaches that might work for them.

I encourage you to contact your state legislator and encourage them to support LD 1914 and help provide patients with a real opportunity to resolve the mental health challenges in front of them.

Nettie Gentempo

Sumner