As a therapist who wants to use the psychedelic drug psilocybin in his practice, Rick Barnett of Stowe walks a fine line. He advocates for legalizing the therapeutic use of psychedelics, but he understands that some peers in the medical establishment are skeptical about drugs such as psilocybin, ketamine and MDMA. With psychedelic therapy gaining prominence, it's becoming easier for him to walk that line. On September 21 and 22, Barnett, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology, led a national conference in Stowe on the topic for health professionals. He is also chair of a legislative advisory group that is considering whether Vermont should allow supervised medical use of psilocybin, a hallucinogenic substance found in mushrooms that is illegal in Vermont. The group will submit its recommendations to lawmakers in November. "It's just a matter of time," said Barnett, who cofounded the 200-member Psychedelic Society of Vermont in 2021. "People believe in science, and that's why more mainstream people are opening their eyes to the possibility that these drugs aren't just from the 1960s for people who just want to trip." Psychedelic mushrooms, including several species of fungi that contain psilocybin, have been used for centuries in therapy and recreation. In the past few decades, they've drawn the attention of mainstream health care providers and patients seeking relief from anxiety, depression and other conditions. Many people have recently discovered psychedelics' potential through books such as Michael Pollan's How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, a No. 1 New York Times bestseller that's now a Netflix documentary. Psilocybin is the most popular hallucinogenic in the U.S., according to the Rand Corporation, which surveyed adults this year. About 12 percent of respondents said they'd used psilocybin at some point in their lives, according to Rand, which estimated 8 million American adults used it in 2023. That same year, there were more than 3 million Google searches related to microdosing, or taking very small amounts of a psychedelic, according to a study by the University of California San Diego. That's a twelvefold increase from 2015, the study found. Skeptics, including the American Psychiatric Association, say more research is needed. "Clinical treatments should be determined by scientific evidence ... and not by ballot initiatives or popular opinion," the group maintains. If used judiciously, psychedelics can ease anxiety and…