Psychedelics and the state of Utah: The rise of psychedelic use for therapy, spirituality, and how it all relates to the state's predominant religion.

• Author: Alsever, Jennifer

FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE, Steve Urquhart thought he had all the answers. The former conservative Utah state lawmaker spent 16 years fighting for legislation that espoused the ethos of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, in 2016, he broke down. Urquhart became crippled by anxiety, depression, and doubt about the worldview through which he built his life.

Then, he found mushrooms--magic mushrooms, that is. Now, the once high-profile Salt Lake City lawmaker who spent his life thinking he truly knew God professes the profound religious experiences he's found through psilocybin, a mind-altering compound produced by many species of mushrooms. Those experiences were so life-changing they led him to start a church called The Divine Assembly, where the primary sacrament is psychedelics.

Urquhart is part of a broader movement of "Mormons" who have left the church and turned to mushrooms to find God. Like other religions, the LDS Church has witnessed a declining growth rate since 2012--no greater than two percent since 2013. In general, more people are leaving organized religion to find spirituality on their own terms, according to research by Diana Butler Bass, the author of "Grounded: Finding God in the World, A Spiritual Revolution." The spirituality and wellness industry has also blossomed since the pandemic.

"The most significant story in the history of religion at this time is not a decline in Western religion, a rejection of religious traditions or the growth of religious extremism; rather, it is a changed conception of God, a rebirthing of faith from the ground up," Bass writes.

Now, combine that trend with the explosion of MDMA, LSD, and magic mushrooms in the mainstream. Psilocybin and psychedelics have seen a resurgence in recent years, with Ayahuasca journeys depicted in movies, books, podcasts, and Netflix documentaries extolling the virtues of psychedelics. In Silicon Valley, startup executives are microdosing LSD and magic mushrooms. In Hollywood, celebrities are smoking frog venom.

Meanwhile, a stream of medical research shows promise for psychedelics to treat depression, anxiety, and trauma. Startups like TripField are opening ketamine clinics across the country. In 2018 and 2019, the Food and Drug Administration designated psilocybin a breakthrough therapy for treating drug-resistant depression and major depressive disorder. Trials are underway for psilocybin treatment for depression and MDMA treatment for PTSD, and...