California governor cancels bills to legalize coffeeshops and decriminalize certain psychedelic plants

This weekend, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill to legalize coffeeshops«, another aimed at decriminalizing certain psychedelic plants, and a third which would have imposed new restrictions on the labeling and packaging of cannabis products.

In its veto message concerning the draft law on cannabis cafés, which would have allowed cannabis dispensaries to sell soft drinks and food, Newsom said the measure «could undermine California's long-standing smoke-free workplace protections,» but urged the bill's author to address this concern in subsequent legislation.

In his veto of the bill to decriminalize certain psychedelic plants, including mescaline, DMT, psilocybin and psilocin, Mr. Newsom said that, while «peer-reviewed science and personal anecdotes» lead him to «support new opportunities to treat mental health through psychedelic drugs», he believes the state should first «start working to put regulated treatment guidelines in place», including «dosage information, therapeutic guidelines, rules to prevent exploitation during guided treatments, and medical clearance for the absence of underlying psychoses».

«I urge the legislature to send me legislation next year that includes therapeutic guidelines. In addition, I am committed to working with the legislature and the authors of this bill to develop legislation that would authorize their uses and consider a framework for possible broader decriminalization in the future, once the impacts, dosing, good practice and safety safeguards have been carefully studied and put in place.» explained Gavin Newsom.

Newsom's veto of the bill that would have prohibited cannabis product labels and packaging from being «child-appealing» was because he felt the term «child-appealing» was «too broad». He said that the state's medical and adult-use cannabis laws, as well as Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) regulations, already prohibited this type of marketing.

«By banning entire categories of images, this bill would encompass common drawings,» Newsom said in his veto message, «and I am not convinced that these additional limits will meaningfully protect children beyond what is required by existing law.».

Newsom added that he would ask the DCC to «strengthen and extend existing cannabis protections for young people».