As pills jingled around in a bottle, Samba Jargu opened bottle after bottle to take over 16 medicines, even having to take some twice a day.
He used to take more, but is turning to other forms of therapy and plant medicine such as marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms. Shrooms are something he said has helped his health issues like PTSD, depression, and nerve damage.
Its helped a lot with neurogenesis, helping me rebuild my brain, he said. “Also helped me function on a day to day basis, meaning I dont have the same amount of anxiety and PTSD issues as I function throughout the day, meaning being able to travel outside.
His caretaker and partner Kelly Davis said taking shrooms has helped control her blood pressure and seizures.
To help myself, my psyche move past the pain so I can start healing different ailments, she said.
The State gave the Department of Health Services $5 million for three phases of psilocybin clinical trials focusing on physical and mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, autoimmune disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse and addiction disorders, chronic pain, and seizure disorders. The trials would have to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In Senate Bill 1570, the Arizona Senate is considering a bill that would legalize psilocybin mushrooms for medicinal purposes at psilocybin therapy centers. It would require establishments that want to get a license to go through a training course. If it were passed they could start applying in January 2026.
If the bill became law, it would create an advisory board for making recommendations about the mushrooms. That board would have people like a veteran or active duty military member, psychologist, a representative of Arizona firefighters and a nurse practitioner.
Davis feels like psilocybin should only be legalized for medicinal purposes.
Just due to the fact of overuse and abuse, she said.
However, Jargu thinks it should be legalized as medicine first then for recreational purposes such as a ceremony where it is used to achieve a breakthrough in someones personality and mind. Its something he said has been practiced in his family for generations.
If somebody wants to experience ego death, that is not always just because they have depression or PTSD, he said.
If the bill passed, therapy centers would have to be at least 1000 feet away from schools.
However, Marylaura Lind Thomas, who is listed as against the bill in official documents, said they should be further. She said she also doesnt agree with state laws legalizing drugs that federal laws have not.
I don’t think states should be spending time on legislation trying to circumvent the FDA and writing legislation in conflict with federal laws. I believe Arizona has more important topics to spend the limited legislative time and state funding on than policies about illegal drugs that have yet to be rigorously demonstrated to be safe and effective with no reliable source supply, she said in a statement.
Right now a Senate committee recommended that the bill should pass but it still has to pass through the Arizona House.
Jargu and Davis feel like plant medicines are a good alternative to pharmaceuticals and could even save lives. Jargu said it already saved his.
Not only do they get you more in balance, but they reconnect you with your soul, he said.