My Experience

My name is Kevin Matthews and I’ve been working as an advocate, citizen-lobbyist, proponent, consultant, and advisor for psychedelic policy reform efforts at the local and state level for the past 6 years.

• The Denver Psilocybin Initiative (I-301, May 2019) was my first campaign. We were bootstrapped, inexperienced, and total underdogs. There were many doubts, ridicule in the press, friends and family who had their reservations (why wouldn’t they!?), and mistakes made. But, despite all of that, we persisted and won that campaign. Denver was the first city in the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms for personal use, and it catalyzed a national movement at the local and state level to decriminalize and, in some cases, legalize psychedelics.

• This led me to being appointed to the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, where I served as the Panel’s President for 4 years. In that time I had the privilege of working directly with city officials and others. Our accomplishments there include submitting our 2021 Comprehensive Report to the City and County of Denver, and working with MAPS to deliver the nation’s first crisis intervention training for first responders.

• The Natural Medicine Health Act (Proposition 122, 2022) was my second campaign. As the co-Chief Proponent of that statewide ballot measure, and the Coalition Director of the campaign, I learned a ton more about polling, drafting, petitioning, messaging, focus groups, media engagement, advertising, fundraising at levels that far exceeded my work in Denver. It was a game-changer and opened up a whole new world of knowledge and expertise in this space. Colorado is still the freest place in the U.S. for adults to determine their own relationship with natural psychedelic medicine.

But, why did I get involved in this work? After leaving the United States Military Academy in December 2008 with an honorable discharge and medical retirement due to major depressive disorder, my life was in shambles. I had no purpose, no direction, and experienced a complete loss of identity. Experiencing this led me to digesting as much information I could with self-help, psychology, anything that would help me uncover the core of my trauma and heal it.

This seeking eventually led to exploring Jungian analysis, which led to spirituality, which led to plant medicine. Psilocybin mushrooms saved me. They opened doors into my subconscious that were previously closed, and reminded me that I have so much more autonomy over my mental health than I was told or believed. That single experience was the moment I became alive again, and I immediately began restructuring my life which led me to where I am today.

Now, I want others to experience the boundless joy that comes from talking to thousands of people and inspiring them to vote, or support, changing laws for psychedelics where they live.