In a major, historic move for state legislation, California lawmakers have introduced a bill that would decriminalize psychedelic drug use within state borders.
Senate Bill 519 covers most of the popular recreational psychedelic substances, including psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, MDMA, ketamine, mescaline, ibogaine and DMT.
This bill was filed by State Senator Scott Wiener and three Assembly cosponsors. In addition to legalizing possession of psychedelics, it would expunge criminal records of those who were charged for possession or use in the past. Also, while this system would legalize psychedelics possession only, not set up a recreational market, it would set up a tax force that could make recommendations about legal psychedelics.
“Policy should be based on science and common sense, not fear and stigma,” Wiener said in a press release regarding this newly proposed bill. “The War on Drugs and mass incarceration are destructive and failed policies, and we must end them. Moreover, given the severity of our mental health crisis, we shouldn’t be criminalizing people for using drugs that have shown significant promise in treating mental health conditions.”
The bill language makes it clear that this is not a bill that should lead to a recreational market, explaining that the bill “does not imagine a ‘cannabis model’ or lay a foundation for retail trade in psychedelics” but instead “proposes to end the failed War on Drugs approach to addressing psychedelics while building on the science and research in the psychedelic field to create the potential for a therapeutic framework that could help people struggling from the effects of depression, anxiety, PTSD and other health conditions.”In addition to the bill, there is also an initiative in California to put psilocybin use on the state ballot, following in the footsteps of similar initiatives as seen in areas such as Denver, Colorado.
