California: Senate committee approves plan to legalize possession of psychedelics

A bill aimed at decriminalizing psychedelic substances in California and establishing a task force to study broader reform was passed by a Senate committee last week. The committee also approved separate legislation to allow for the temporary opening of safer consumption sites (SCMRs) for illegal drugs.

The psychedelics legislation proposes to remove criminal penalties for the possession or sharing of a wide range of psychedelic substances, including psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, ibogaine, LSD, and MDMA, for adults aged 21 and older.

The measure also provides for the expungement of prior convictions for offenses that it will make legal.

Legalization of possession and consideration of full legalization

The state Department of Public Health would be required to establish a working group «tasked with studying and making recommendations regarding regulatory systems that California could adopt to promote safe and equitable access to certain substances in authorized legal settings,» according to the text of the bill. These recommendations are to be submitted by January 1, 2024.

The bill has undergone several revisions since it was introduced in February. Some of the changes are technical in nature, while others are more substantial, particularly the one that would bring state laws into line with the CBD and psychedelic substances under federal law if such substances are removed from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

With regard to psilocybin, the legislation would repeal the provisions of California law that prohibit the cultivation or transportation of «any spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material» containing the psychoactive ingredient.

Meskalin derived from peyote is specifically excluded from the reform provisions of the bill «due to the near-threat status of the peyote plant and the special significance that peyote holds in Native American spirituality.».

While the bill is described by lawmakers and advocates as a simple «decriminalization,» the proposal states that it would «legalize» personal possession and social sharing of these substances.

An undercurrent

Meanwhile, a group of California activists recently announced its intention to introduce a ballot initiative to legalize the use and retail sale of psilocybin during the state’s 2022 election. This group, Decriminalize California, said he would first try to convince lawmakers to move forward with the reform, and then put the issue directly to the people if the legislature fails to act.

American activists are stepping up their efforts to push for psychedelic reform in cities across the state and the country. The Northampton City Council in Massachusetts passed a resolution last week to deprioritize the enforcement of laws against the possession, use, and distribution of a wide range of psychedelics, such as psilocybin and ayahuasca. It is the third city in the state to propose this policy change, following Somerville and Cambridge.

Denver (Colorado) was the first city to decriminalize mushrooms on psilocybin in 2019.

In addition to the cities in Massachusetts, four others—Oakland, Santa Cruz, Ann Arbor, and Washington— have also decriminalized the possession of psychedelics made from plants and mushrooms.

In Oregon, the November elections saw the passage of a historic initiative to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic purposes and, more broadly, to decriminalize the possession of all drugs.

In Oakland, the first city where the city council voted in favor of the general decriminalization of entheogenic substances, In December, lawmakers approved a follow-up resolution calling for this policy change to be adopted statewide and for local jurisdictions to be authorized to permit healing ceremonies during which people could consume psychedelic substances.