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The Amherst, Massachusetts Town Council has punted on a proposal to decriminalize psychedelics and other currently illicit drugs, sending it back to committee on Monday despite advocates\u2019 hopes that the full body would enact it.<\/p>\n
The activist-backed resolution as proposed went beyond decriminalizing drugs for personal use, too, by specifically aiming to provide protections for researchers in the city who study controlled substances like LSD and MDMA. But following discussion and the rejection of a proposed amendment, the Council referred the measure back to the Governance, Organization & Legislation Committee.<\/p>\n
\nMultiple cities throughout the Bay State have enacted policies to make enforcement of laws against psychedelics and other drugs among their lowest law enforcement priorities. The Amherst measure, if enacted, have been the latest victory for that localized movement.<\/p>\n
Separately, the campaign Bay Staters for National Medicine (BSNM) is also supporting a statewide reform push to force state lawmakers to file legislation to both legalize entheogenic substances for therapeutic use and otherwise decriminalize certain psychedelics.<\/p>\n
Back in Amherst, local lawmakers ultimately declined to act on the resolution<\/a> calling for the decriminalization of psychedelics specifically and other controlled substances more broadly. Members also defeated a proposed amendment<\/a> to include possession limits on controlled substances that would be decriminalized.<\/p>\n\n What makes this measure unique compared to others that have been passed in the state and elsewhere is that it specified that the \u201cinvestigation and arrest of credentialed researchers working in university laboratories to test controlled substances, and produce and analyze controlled substances shall be amongst the lowest law enforcement priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n The resolution further stated that the town council \u201cexpresses support for state legislation decriminalizing possession of all controlled substances without punitive civil penalties that will reverse local progress and further expresses support for said legislation to include the legalization of entheogenic plants and fungi to prevent this worthy cause from being unnecessarily delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n Some members of the council said they support decriminalization in principle but had a problem with passing a measure on the local level on an issue that they see as more of a state responsibility. Presumably the resolution will need to be reworked in committee, and its provisions changed somewhat, in order to get the majority of support on the full council that\u2019s needed to pass it.<\/p>\n Despite this Amherst hiccup<\/a>, psychedelics reform has moved quickly at the local level in jurisdictions throughout Massachusetts.<\/p>\n For example, BSNM is in the process of collecting signatures to put a decriminalization measure on the ballot in the state\u2019s second largest city, Worcester<\/a>.<\/p>\n If either the Amherst or Worcester efforts are ultimately successful, the jurisdictions would be joining four other Massachusetts cities that have already enacted similar policy changes: Somerville<\/a>,\u00a0Cambridge<\/a>,\u00a0Easthampton<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Northampton<\/a>.<\/p>\n BSNM is also helping to organize a statewide effort, leveraging a unique legislative process in the state whereby citizens are able to make the legislators who represent them file bills \u201cby request\u201d even if the sponsor doesn\u2019t personally back the policy.<\/p>\n BSNM\u2019s James Davis told Marijuana Moment in April that they had about 500 people who\u2019ve signed up to file<\/a>\u00a0a \u201cby request\u201d bill that would create regulated access to certain psychedelics for therapeutic use, legalize cultivation of entheogenic substances and otherwise decriminalize low-level possession of any currently controlled substance.<\/p>\n The proposed state legislation would further seek to promote criminal justice reform by expanding expungements policies and creating a task force to recommend additional policies to aid those most impacted by criminalization while also expanding support for mental health programs.<\/p>\n \u2014 Meanwhile, Massachusetts lawmakers last year heard testimony on separate proposals to\u00a0decriminalize drug possession and establish a pilot program<\/a>\u00a0for safe injection facilities where people could use illicit substances in a medically supervised environment to prevent overdose deaths and facilitate treatment.<\/p>\n The decriminalization bill would\u00a0replace criminal penalties for the possession of any controlled substance<\/a>\u00a0with a civil fine of up to $50.<\/p>\n The separate, less far-reaching bill would direct the Department of Public Health to simply \u201cevaluate the feasibility\u201d of safe consumption sites and then report back to lawmakers.<\/p>\n With respect to psychedelics, Rep. Mike Connolly (D) also filed a bill last year\u00a0that received a Joint Judiciary Committee hearing<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0studying the implications of legalizing entheogenic substances like psilocybin and ayahuasca<\/a>.<\/p>\n None of those bills have received votes.<\/p>\n Psychedelics reform is also advancing outside of Massachusetts in state legislatures across the country.<\/p>\n For example, the governor of Colorado recently signed a bill to align state statute to legalize MDMA prescriptions<\/a> if and when the federal government ultimately permits such use.<\/p>\n Maryland\u2019s governor recently allowed a bill to go into law without his signature to create a state fund to provide \u201ccost-free\u201d access to psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury.<\/p>\n The Maine Senate approved\u00a0a bill in April to to create a medical psilocybin program<\/a>\u00a0in the state, but the House of Representatives refused to go along.<\/p>\n Also that month, Georgia lawmakers advanced a bipartisan resolution that calls for the formation of a House study committee to\u00a0investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin and make recommendations for reforms.<\/p>\n The governor of Utah signed a bill in March to create a task force to study and make recommendations\u00a0on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs<\/a>\u00a0and possible regulations for their lawful use.<\/p>\n A Missouri House committee also held a hearing that month on a GOP-led bill to\u00a0legalize a wide range of psychedelics for therapeutic use<\/a>\u00a0at designated care facilities while further decriminalizing low-level possession in general.<\/p>\n The Washington State legislature recently sent a budget bill to the governor\u2019s desk that includes a proposal to\u00a0direct $200,000 in funding to support a new workgroup<\/a>\u00a0to study the possibility of legalizing psilocybin services in the state, including the idea of using current marijuana regulatory systems to track psychedelic mushrooms.<\/p>\n In March, the Hawaii Senate approved a bill to set up a state working group to\u00a0study the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms<\/a>\u00a0and develop a \u201clong-term\u201d plan to ensure that the psychedelic is accessible for medical use for adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n Also that month, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill to\u00a0decriminalize low-level possession of psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0and promote research into the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic.<\/p>\n Rhode Island lawmakers introduced\u00a0a pair of drug decriminalization bills in March<\/a>\u2014including one focused on psilocybin and buprenorphine that would authorize doctors to prescribe the psychedelic mushroom.<\/p>\n An Oregon Senate committee also recently advanced a bill to ensure that equity is\u00a0built into the state\u2019s historic therapeutic psilocybin program<\/a>\u00a0that\u2019s actively being implemented following voter approval in 2020.<\/p>\n A bill to decriminalize a wide array of psychedelics in Virginia was taken up by a House of Delegates panel in January,\u00a0only to be pushed off until 2023<\/a>. A separate Senate proposal to decriminalize psilocybin alone\u00a0was later defeated in a key committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n California Sen. Scott Wiener (D) told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview that his bill to\u00a0legalize psychedelics possession<\/a>\u00a0stands a 50\/50 chance of reaching the governor\u2019s desk this year. It already cleared the full Senate and two Assembly committees during the first half of the two-year session.<\/p>\n Washington State lawmakers\u00a0also introduced legislation in January<\/a>\u00a0that would legalize what the bill calls \u201csupported psilocybin experiences\u201d by adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania bill meant to promote research into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms for certain mental health conditions may be in jeopardy, with the sponsor saying that the chair of a key House committee is\u00a0expressing reservations even after the legislation<\/a>\u00a0was amended in an effort to build support.<\/p>\n New Hampshire lawmakers filed measures to\u00a0decriminalize psilocybin and all drugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Legislation was\u00a0also enacted by the Texas legislature<\/a>\u00a0last year requiring the state to study the medical risks and benefits of psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and a military-focused medical center.<\/p>\n At the congressional level, bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to DEA in January, urging that the agency\u00a0allow terminally ill patients to use psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0as an investigational treatment without the fear of federal prosecution.<\/p>\n Activists and patients were recently\u00a0arrested at the DEA headquarters<\/a>\u00a0after engaging in civil disobedience during a protest over the agency\u2019s refusal to provide a waiver granting those patients access to psilocybin under Right to Try laws.<\/p>\n New Mexico Marijuana Company And Patients Sue For Insurance Coverage For Medical Cannabis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Local Psychedelics Decriminalization Measure Stalls In Amherst, Massachusetts<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Amherst, Massachusetts Town Council has punted on a proposal to decriminalize psychedelics and other currently illicit drugs, sending it back to committee on Monday despite advocates\u2019 hopes that the full body would enact it. The activist-backed resolution as proposed went beyond decriminalizing drugs for personal use, too, by specificallyContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":55236,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55235"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55237,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55235\/revisions\/55237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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