Psilocybin and Driving- A New Kind of Road Trip?

While doing some research, this article about microdosing while driving in Colorado appeared on my radar. Although the article focuses on microdosing cannabis, it does mention psilocybin (as well as MDMA & LSD) at the start of the second sentence in a conspicuous way. This is a clear indication that state governments are aware of the increasing likelihood of people microdosing psychedelics behind the wheel.

Since the Colorado Department of Transportation published the article, the state of Colorado seems to be giving its residents the “I know, that you know, that I know” treatment. So what’s up with microdosing psilocybin and driving in Colorado and nationwide?

Psilocybin is Riding High Nowadays

Psilocybin’s accelerating popularity in the United States drives this conversation. According to NPR “…3% of the American public – approximately 8 million adults – have used psilocybin in the past year, making it the most popular hallucinogen in 2023.”

Tailgating psilocybin’s popularity explosion is the possibility that hundreds of thousands of people across America are now microdosing. Although there’s no data to ascertain the number of psilocybin microdosers in America, this demographic is going full throttle.

My best friend just moved to Colorado, and within the first month of living there, he met a couple in their 50s. The first time he met the couple, they told him about their psilocybin microdosing regimen. Despite this being anecdotal evidence, it offers a glimpse into how microdosing has become socially acceptable and widespread- at least in Colorado.

Thus with so many people microdosing across the country, especially in psychedelic progressive states, we know many of these people must be driving. This can’t be more true than in Colorado-  a state with sparse public transportation. This begs an obvious question…

Is Driving and Psilocybin Microdosing Legal? Take One Guess.

The Colorado Department of Transportation page doesn’t make an explicit statement that psilocybin microdosing and driving is illegal, which is kind of odd.

However, rest assured that psilocybin microdosing and driving is illegal. Referring to alcohol and marijuana, the Colorado Department of Transportation website states that if “…you drive under the influence, you put yourself and others on the road in danger, and risk getting a DUI that can cost more than $13,000.” One must assume this includes psychedelics by default. Current laws may create uncertainty for some.

Psilocybin confusion exists in Colorado, as well as other psychedelic progressive cities.

Why?

Because Denver decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms. This means if you are 21 or older, you can legally possess mushrooms for personal use and not get arrested. In turn, a police officer may find mushrooms in your car, and can not arrest you. However, it is still illegal to be high and drive. Look no further than what legal websites are saying.

This Denver law firm drives home the point saying, “You are at risk of getting charged with a crime called driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). The law treats a DUID the same way they deal with a drinking and driving conviction.” However, the law firm offers information not found on the Colorado Department of Transportation website. “For a first offense treated as the equivalent of DUI, the judge could suspend your license for nine months, fine you up to $1,000, order you to perform up to 96 hours of community service and/or imprison you for up to a year.”

Another Denver law firm corroborates adding, “You are not allowed to drive while under the influence of psychedelic mushrooms, nor any of their psychoactive ingredients (psilocybin, mescaline, DMT, and ibogaine).” Furthermore, this law firm notes, “Colorado Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) are trained to recognize impairment in drivers under the influence of all sorts of drugs, including alcohol.”

The DRE can make life more difficult from there. This insurance company discusses driving under the influence of psilocybin, mescaline, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and ibogaine (in a sardonic quip, the company says “..if they’re any good.”) The insurance company states that a DUID case penalty can also require you “…to attend drug and alcohol awareness classes or victim impact panels. And those aren’t free.”

If the point wasn’t clear already, the company mentions “It’ll also ding you for twelve points on your driver’s license, and cause your car insurance company to jack up your premiums, or even drop your coverage outright.” All this sounds like microdosers risk a macrodose of the law if found guilty.

Since Colorado is one of the country’s leaders in psychedelic decriminalization, Colorado might also be leading the charge in enforcing DUID by default. What do other states have to say about the issue?

Other States Ready to Harsh Your Trip

From east to west, other states are catching onto the (microdosing) psilocybin craze and seem to be getting out in front of the popular trend.

This Florida attorney appears to have seen enough under the influence of psilocybin driving cases that he created an entire website page about it. The website lays out all the possible penalties for a DUID in Florida, which are akin to a DUI. It is interesting that Florida is aware of the situation, considering that it is not a psychedelic friendly state- yet. So, the psilocybin awareness may be coming from a pure law enforcement initiative.

This is not surprising as Florida may be one of the easiest places to find psilocybin mushrooms growing in the wild. Cattle ranches cover much of Florida’s interior. Where there are cattle ranches, there are cow pies, and where there are cow pies, there are probably angry ranchers waiting to expel you from their property before you forage. Hope that your car starts fast.

This brings us to an interesting Florida side note.

The Florida attorney mentions being penalized with an ignition interlock device in the wake of a DUI. Such a device measures blood alcohol content via breath. So if your breath is higher than the limit, your car will be locked, and prevented from starting. This raises an interesting question. What if a person gets a DUID? Can interlock detection devices measure psilocybin levels for example?

Interlock detection devices can’t detect psilocybin or drugs by breath. But states are prepared for alternative measures. Take California for example. This Alameda County law office explains that presumed violators face submitting to a blood or urine test. California police officers are ready to detect psilocybin use in the field, by asking the driver questions about “the perceived passage of time, disorientation, and hallucinations.” So if there’s an officer detaining you, and you see stars, you may be seeing bars soon instead.

For the record, much like Florida and Colorado, the legal office states that, “It is unlawful for a person who is under the influence of any drug to drive a vehicle,” in California. And they do mean any drug. The right hand side navigation on their website offers a laundry list of drug and plant medicine DUI offenses. If you happen to be in the Navy and on a naval base in California, there’s an eye out for you too.

Psilocybin aand Sailors- A Different Kind of High Seas?

Driving under the influence of psilocybin, plant medicine or drugs isn’t just a civilian issue. The law applies to military service members with equal weight as well. The United States Navy is smart to what’s going on in the zeitgeist.

In the December 2022 edition of the Navy Drug Detection and Deterrence Newsletter, it includes a section entitled, “Psychedelics: Tripping and Driving.” The newsletter states, “ Even if psychedelics are decriminalized in a location a sailor resides or visits, they are still considered prohibited since they are federally illegal. Use of psychedelics and other prohibited substances puts sailors at risk of separation.”

The newsletter mentions “…psychedelic fungi and plants such as “magic mushrooms” (psilocybin) and ayahuasca.” Is it odd to find a mention of these plant medicines in a Navy newsletter? The answer is a firm maybe, and let’s not kid ourselves. Military service members have a reputation for enjoying themselves. I’ve heard stories from a Marine Corps veteran that would shock people.

The affinity for a good time isn’t something found within the Navy alone. All the service branches face the same issues. Let’s just hope that an active duty service member isn’t doing psilocybin, much less ayahuasca, and driving off somewhere. The odds that someone, whether in the military or not, is driving on psychedelics isn’t as small as you might think.

Driving  and Psychedelics- The Science Says…

According to the paper, “Driving while under the influence of hallucinogens: Prevalence, correlates, and risk profiles,” a healthy percentage of Americans are mind manifesting and driving. “Nearly 1/10 hallucinogen users drove under the influence of hallucinogens (DUIH).”

The demographics at higher risk for DUIH include regular users, and men among others. Also DUIH violators also were more likely to report mental health problems, along with use of other illicit substances. However, there’s one big catch to this paper.

This paper used a latent class analysis. This method employs breaking the study group into subgroups; in this case 3 subgroups. One subgroup for the study analyzed driving under the influence of cannabis.

So depending on one’s perspective, this might bias the results. Is cannabis a psychedelic? For argument’s sake, let’s say no. In this case, the nearly 10% figure of DUIH may be quite lower.

Avoid the Bad Trip Down Memory Lane

Driving under the influence of psychedelics isn’t advised. If anyone is even thinking about driving while using psychedelics, your psychic check engine light may be on. Or like the insurance company said above, “maybe they’re not even any good,” which is why you’re driving in the first place. In this case, as Bon Jovi sang, you’ve got “bad medicine.”

Regardless, there seems to be new competition to the old question, “Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly?” Don’t be a crash test dummy for psychedelics. Stay in the driver’s seat of your life. Avoid the backseat to an involuntary overnighter. Who wants to take a bad trip down memory lane for the rest of their life?