The U.S. Treasury Secretary said the magic mushrooms that she ate in a Chinese restaurant last month were “delicious,” yet she did not experience a psychedelic trip, despite the fact that the fungi had psychedelic qualities.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in an interview with CNN, laughed at the meal. She explained that it was only afterward that she learned that the dish was made from the psychoactive Lanmaoa asiatica fungus, a native species to Asia.
I went with a large group, and it was the person who organized our dinner that did the ordering. She said, “There was a delicious dish of mushrooms.” I didn’t know that these mushrooms were hallucinogenic. “I learned that later.”
The mushrooms are not the usual psilocybin-containing varieties that people are familiar with.
“I read in a book that if mushrooms are properly cooked–which they were, I’m certain, at this excellent restaurant–then they don’t have any impact,” Yellen stated. “We all enjoyed the mushrooms and the restaurant. We felt no ill effects.”
A few people have reported that eating raw mushrooms could cause a hallucinogenic experience that could last several days. This could have been problematic for the Secretary as she tries to sell President Joe Biden’s economic agenda after a turbulent year marked by rising inflation and federal rate hikes.
Yellen expressed frustration over the ongoing barriers to financial services that the marijuana industry faces under federal prohibition. She said earlier this year, “unfortunately,” it was the case , that banks are reluctant to work alongside state-licensed cannabis business. Regulators “have been searching for solutions.”
She said last year that it was “extremely disappointing” that Congress had not passed legislation such as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE), and Treasury “supports” the proposal.
In the case of psychedelics the story about a Biden cabinet official eating hallucinogenic mushrooms is one of many recent examples of how reforms are entertaining the mainstream. The story comes as states move to legalize and regulate the access to well-known psychedelics and bipartisan members of Congress are reexamining federal laws that govern these substances.
Marijuana Moment asked another cabinet official, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was asked about his department’s thinking on psychedelics issues. He deferred the question to NIDA, which is under HHS.
Nora Volkow, NIDA director, said last month that psychoedelics had “promising therapeutic potential” but research into them was stymied due to ongoing federal prohibition.
NIDA called earlier this month for research on the impacts of changing laws surrounding psychedelics. This includes the effects of allowing controlled access to substances such as psilocybin.
Separately, the agency announced in May it was soliciting proposals to fund a series research initiatives to investigate how psychedelics can be used to treat addiction to drugs. The funding will total $1.5 million.
In 2021, Volkow said to Marijuana Moment that researchers should prioritize psychedelics research because more people will use the substances as they are exposed to studies that show their therapeutic potential.
Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to promote research on psychedelic therapy. The agency has recently released the first draft of its guidance for scientists to best study entheogenic compounds in the interest drug development.
Study: States with Legal Medical Marijuana Experience ‘Significant and Sizable Reductions in Health Insurance Premiums’
The post Treasury Sec. Yellen Says the Magic Mushrooms she Ate in China Were Delicious’, But Didn’t Make It to Her Trip first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
