In his floral-patterned shawl, Benji Dezaval places hallucinogenic mushrooms on the tongues of the faithful of his Colorado "psychedelic church," like a wafer. He believes this can help them fight depression, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress.
This fervent advocate of psychedelic therapies should be delighted by Donald Trump's new Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy Jr., because "RFK," as he is nicknamed, is a nonconformist open to these substances, which are currently attracting renewed interest in research.
But Mr. Dezaval sees this as mere "hot air."
"I believe RFK's history of disinformation will do more harm to our movement than it will help," he told AFP. "If disinformation were a disease, he would be patient zero."
The support of former President John Kennedy's nephew for conspiracy theories is well documented: this former environmental hero has notably established a link between vaccination and autism, claimed that Covid-19 was designed to spare "Ashkenazi Jews and the Chinese," and assured that AIDS was not caused by HIV.
A strong critic of the pharmaceutical industry, this former Democrat also advocates for the legalization of psychedelics.
"I would be inclined to make this available, at least in therapeutic contexts and perhaps more generally," he explained in late 2023.
– “Eye-opening experience” –
Long associated with counterculture antics, hallucinogenic mushrooms remain illegal in the United States.
But in recent years, major American universities and the government have revived research on their active ingredient, psilocybin.
It shows promising potential in the treatment of certain depressions and addictions, but the consequences of chronic use are still poorly evaluated.
Without waiting for a federal change, two western states, Oregon and Colorado, recently legalized the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms.
In his hometown of Colorado Springs, Mr. Dezaval jumped at the chance. He founded his "church" in the basement of his home, where the walls are lined with plastic plants.
This thirty-year-old with blue glasses distributes "magic mushrooms" during group and individual sessions that he supervises. Over the past year, he has received "more than 1,000 people."
Many of them take modest doses: enough to provoke fits of laughter and a slight distortion of the senses, without dissociating the mind from the body.
Luna Valentine, a transgender woman with depression, changed her life. After ten years of ineffective antidepressants, she tried magic mushrooms last June.
A “revelatory experience,” she says.
Thanks to psilocybin, which she now takes in microdoses every other day, she has regained the motivation to get up, take care of herself, and cook.
Mushrooms "helped more than any other pharmaceutical product," insists the 28-year-old bakery saleswoman.
– “Broken Clock” –
In Colorado, the law does not allow the free purchase of hallucinogenic mushrooms. They must be ingested under the supervision of a "facilitator" at approved centers—the first of which are scheduled to open in the summer of 2025.
Already in use in Oregon, this model involves significant training and licensing fees, resulting in sessions costing up to $3,000.
A system rejected by Mr. Dezaval. He distributes his mushrooms for free, financing their cultivation with donations from his community. His choice to found a "church" allows him to comply with the law, which authorizes their use in the case of a "spiritual ceremony."
"It's free because it has to be, because people are dying every day," he argues, referring to the high suicide rate in the United States.
With his initiative, he hopes to convince Americans, for whom psychedelics retain a sulphurous aura. Mr. Kennedy's arrival in government is therefore far from helping him.
The minister is like "a broken clock" that "is always right twice a day," he says, saddened that his speech on psychedelics is drowned out by the rest of his untruths.
"I don't expect anyone to examine what he says and treat it with the respect it deserves."
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