{"id":48518,"date":"2021-06-28T12:44:18","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T20:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/06\/28\/california-senator-rallies-support-for-bill-to-legalize-psychedelics-possession-ahead-of-key-vote\/"},"modified":"2021-06-28T13:45:24","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T21:45:24","slug":"california-senator-rallies-support-for-bill-to-legalize-psychedelics-possession-ahead-of-key-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/06\/28\/california-senator-rallies-support-for-bill-to-legalize-psychedelics-possession-ahead-of-key-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"California Senator Rallies Support For Bill To Legalize Psychedelics Possession Ahead Of Key Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

On the eve of a key committee vote, a California senator was joined by military veterans, medical professionals and former law enforcement officials at a press conference on Monday to build support for his bill to legalize possession of psychedelics in the state.<\/p>\n

The Senate has already approved the legislation, which faces its first Assembly hearing on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Sen. Scott Wiener (D), sponsor of SB 519, held the event days after opponents\u2014including a candidate for state attorney general\u2014rallied against the proposal.<\/p>\n

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Right-wing anti-science voices \u2014 the ones who push the failed War on Drugs \u2014 are spreading flat-out lies on our bill to decriminalize psychedelics.#SB519<\/a> is being driven by combat veterans & parents who\u2019ve seen psychedelics\u2019 life-saving power to treat mental health & addiction.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 28, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re here today to talk about solutions\u2014real solutions for our veterans, real solutions for Californians of all backgrounds struggling with trauma, with depression, with anxiety, with addiction,\u201d Wiener said at his press event. \u201cPsychedelics have shown huge promise in treating mental health and substance use disorders and have been a lifeline for so many.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cMental health is a critical reason to decriminalize psychedelics,\u201d the senator said. \u201cBut let\u2019s be clear that there\u2019s another reason, and that is that the racist war on drugs, which has fueled mass incarceration and torn apart communities, particularly communities of color, but has not made us any safer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marine Corps veteran Juliana Mercer, Heroic Hearts Project Founder Jesse Gould and Law Enforcement Action Partnership\u2019s Diane Goldstein were among those who participated in the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecriminalizing psychedelics will allow law enforcement to prioritize serious threats to public safety and redirect resources away from ineffective drug control strategies to strategies that actually work and are grounded in evidence-based practices,\u201d Goldstein, who served as a lieutenant in the Redondo Beach Police Department, said. \u201cOur current system fails to recognize the medical uses of psychedelics and prevents so many of our vulnerable veterans from seeking the care that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gould said that she \u201ctried all that was offered to me by military medicine\u201d to treat mental health conditions that he developed after his time in service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was barely hanging on,\u201d he said. \u201cI turned to psychedelics as a last ditch effort to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Proud to stand w\/ veterans & healthcare professionals in support of #SB519<\/a>, our bill to decriminalize psychedelics.<\/p>\n

Psychedelics have shown great promise in treating PTSD, depression, anxiety & more. This is a critical mental health & criminal justice reform bill. pic.twitter.com\/i8eLIRk10P<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 28, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The Senate approved the bill earlier this month<\/a>, and it\u2019s scheduled for action in the Assembly Public Safety Committee\u2014one of two panels it\u2019s been referred to in the chamber\u2014on Tuesday. Wiener has described its prospects going forward as \u201cvery challenging,\u201d but he made the case at Monday\u2019s conference that it is a necessary policy change to advance mental health reform and end criminalization.<\/p>\n

The measure would remove criminal penalties for possessing or sharing numerous psychedelics\u2014including psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, ibogaine, LSD and MDMA\u2014for adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n

The state Department of Public Health would be required to establish a working group \u201cto study and make recommendations regarding possible regulatory systems that California could adopt to promote safe and equitable access to certain substances in permitted legal contexts.\u201d Those recommendations would be due by January 1, 2024.<\/p>\n

For psilocybin specifically, the legislation would repeal provisions in California statute that prohibit the cultivation or transportation of \u201cany spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material\u201d that contain the psychoactive ingredient.<\/p>\n

The bill<\/a>\u00a0originally included record sealing and resentencing provisions for people previously convicted of psychedelics possession offenses, but that language was removed in its last committee stop prior to the Senate floor vote as part of an amendment from the sponsor.<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,100 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wiener said the reasoning behind that deletion was that the policy \u201cended up generating a huge price tag\u201d based on a fiscal analysis, but it could be addressed in separate legislation if the main bill passes.<\/p>\n

Speaking at an event hosted by the Psychedelic and Entheogen Academic Council (PEAC) this month, the senator said advancing the legislation would be first step toward decriminalizing all currently illicit drugs<\/a>. He reiterated that point on Monday, stating that \u201cthis bill is one step in the direction of ending the failed war on drugs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the bill does ultimately clear the Assembly, it still remains unclear whether Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) would sign it\u2014though the governor has long been an outspoken critic of the war on drugs.<\/p>\n

Wiener said this month that one possible amendment that could be expected in the Assembly would be to remove ketamine from the list of psychedelics that would be included in the reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are disagreements within the psychedelic world on it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt might come out. My view as you keep things in until you have to make a give, and that\u2019s one that we could potentially give on. You don\u2019t want to spontaneously give on things without getting some ability to move the bill forward as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mescaline, a psychoactive compound derived from peyote and other cacti, is another controversial psychedelic.<\/p>\n

It was specifically excluded from the bill\u2019s reform provisions in peyote-derived form, but the possession of the compound would be allowed if it comes from other plants such as \u201cthe Bolivian Torch Cactus, San Pedro Cactus, or Peruvian Torch Cactus.\u201d<\/p>\n

That decision on the peyote exclusion was informed by native groups who have\u00a0strongly pushed back against decriminalizing the cacti<\/a>\u00a0for conservationist reasons and because of its sacred value for their communities.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a group of California activists announced plans earlier this year to put an\u00a0initiative to legalize the use and retail sale of psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0on the state\u2019s 2022 ballot. That group, Decriminalize California, said that it would first work to convince lawmakers to pursue reform and then take the issue directly to the people if the legislature fails to act.<\/p>\n

The psychedelics effort in the California legislature, which\u00a0Wiener first previewed back in November<\/a>, comes as activists are stepping up the push to enact psychedelics reform locally in cities in the state and across the country. The bill notes those efforts in an explanation of the proposal.<\/p>\n

The Northampton, Massachusetts City Council\u00a0passed a resolution<\/a>\u00a0in April\u00a0to deprioritize enforcement of laws against the possession, use and distribution of a wide range of psychedelics such as psilocybin and ayahuasca. It\u2019s the third city in the state to advance the policy change, following\u00a0Somerville<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cambridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These are some of the latest iterations of a national psychedelics reform movement that\u2019s spread rapidly since\u00a0Denver became the first city to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms<\/a>\u00a0in 2019.<\/p>\n

Besides the cities in Massachusetts, four others\u2014Oakland<\/a>,\u00a0Santa Cruz<\/a>,\u00a0Ann Arbor<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Washington, D.C.<\/a>\u2014have also decriminalized possession of plant-and fungi-based psychedelics.<\/p>\n

In Oregon, November\u2019s election saw the passage of a historic initiatives to\u00a0legalize psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic purposes<\/a>\u00a0and more broadly\u00a0decriminalize possession of all drugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The governor of Connecticut signed legislation this month that includes language requiring the state to carry out a study into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Texas also recently enacted a bill to require the state study the medical benefits of psychedelics for military veterans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A New York lawmaker introduced a bill this month that would require the state to establish an institute to similarly\u00a0research the medical value of psychedelics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Oakland, the first city where a city council voted to broadly deprioritize criminalization of entheogenic substances, lawmakers\u00a0approved a follow-up resolution<\/a>\u00a0in December that calls for the policy change to be adopted statewide and for local jurisdictions to be allowed to permit healing ceremonies where people could use psychedelics.<\/p>\n

After Ann Arbor legislators passed a decriminalization resolution last year, a county prosecutor recently announced\u00a0that his office will not be pursuing charges<\/a>\u00a0over possessing entheogenic plants and fungi\u2014\u201cregardless of the amount at issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aspen, Colorado City Council\u00a0discussed the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin and proposals to decriminalize such substances at a meeting last month. But members said, as it stands, enacting a reform would be more better handled at the state level while entheogens remain strictly federally controlled.<\/p>\n

Seattle lawmakers also recently sent a letter to members of a local task force focused on the opioid overdose epidemic, imploring the group to\u00a0investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like ayahuasca and ibogaine in curbing addiction.<\/p>\n

\n

Delaware Marijuana Legalization Effort Dead For This Session, Bill Sponsor Says Following Equity Disagreements<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia\/Mushroom Observer<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post California Senator Rallies Support For Bill To Legalize Psychedelics Possession Ahead Of Key Vote<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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