Jets QB Aaron Rodgers calls for psilocybin decriminalization

Aaron Rodgers was a featured speaker at the Psychedelic Science 2023 conference in Denver on Wednesday and suggested more states should join Colorado in decriminalizing psilocybin, or "magic mushrooms."

"I know in Colorado that psilocybin has been decriminalized. Is it not ironic that the things that actually expand your mind are illegal and the things that keep you in the lower chakras and dumb you down have been legal for centuries," he asked the audience.

It is a bit like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife, but there has been a push in recent years in the medical community at destigmatizing psychedelics. Research has shown psilocybin benefits terminally ill patients with anxiety over their prognosis. 

In May 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave psilocybin a breakthrough therapy designation, which "is a significant milestone for psilocybin therapy and psilocybin research."

Rodgers noted his improved numbers after experimenting with ayahuasca, a plant-based psychedelic, going from 26 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2019 to 48 touchdowns, five interceptions and his third MVP in 2020.

Of course, Rodgers isn't the only athlete to benefit from psychedelics. Even more impressive was MLB pitcher Dock Ellis in 1901 when he threw a no-hitter while on LSD.

When discussing his experience with ayahuasca, Rodgers annoyingly told the audience that "It's going to be hard to cancel me," as if he were a Netflix series with a minority lead. Of course, the complete opposite is true. No one is canceling Rodgers. The New York Jets, in fact, traded for him this offseason, pretty much the exact opposite of being canceled. 

Still, it's rare for an NFL QB to use his platform to promote and normalize psychedelics, which given their potential benefits, makes Rodgers' appearance at the conference more admirable than kooky. 

Plus, there's a shift in the NFL around drug use, specifically when it comes to marijuana. 

On Thursday, the league and Players Association awarded grants to the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience and Emory University to "fund investigations into innovative, first-of-their-kind, alternative pain management methods that could benefit NFL players and society at large." That study will involve researching the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) and nerve stimulation treatments on concussion symptoms.

We're likely far away from the league following Rodgers' lead on the psychedelic front but when it's ready, Rodgers will be waiting to take it on a magic carpet ride.