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SAN DIEGO – California legalized medical marijuana 25 years ago when voters approved an initiative that ultimately helped overturn the cannabis ban in all but three of the states today.
The legalization movement that brought high-end marijuana stores to Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco is now focused on psychedelic drugs. A voters’ initiative to decriminalize magic mushrooms was recently approved for signature collection, and a legislative proposal is expected to be considered next year.
Some members of the decriminalization movement say legalization of psychedelic drugs is inevitable, pointing to Oregon, where voters approved the decriminalization of magic mushrooms last year, and Denver and Oakland, Calif., Which passed laws. similar laws in 2019.
“I think it’s possible that eventually a critical mass or even a majority of states will legalize or decriminalize some or all of these psychedelics,” said Ismail L. Ali, acting director of policy and advocacy at the Multidisciplinary Association of Santa Cruz. Psychedelic studies, in an email.
The founding of MAPS by Harvard Ph.D. Rick Doblin predated California’s medical marijuana law by 10 years. The nonprofit funded research into ecstasy which in the spring showed that the drug, combined with individual therapy, could provide relief for people with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
Ali said much of the hard work towards a decriminalization goal is yet to come.
“Policy change regarding psychedelics is not inevitable,” he said. “We are in an early and sensitive phase of the process, and much remains to be seen on how individual states navigate the emerging political landscape.”
The state attorney general on Thursday approved collecting signatures for a proposed initiative to decriminalize magic mushrooms for those 21 and older. Supporters are aiming for the 2022 poll, but they face the challenge of millions of dollars in fundraising typically needed to collect enough signatures to be eligible for voter consideration.
The proposal’s campaign manager, Ryan Munevar, did not respond to an email request for comment and declined to be interviewed by phone.
Supporters of the initiative imagine psilocybin, the psychoactive metabolite found in magic mushrooms, sold in various stores. But the proposal’s website warns, “On a practical level, some companies might not want to sell psilocybin due to the fact that psilocybin would remain a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law.
Some influential voices in the California decriminalization movement, including MAPS, support Senator Scott Wiener’s bill that would allow people 21 and older to own and share small amounts of psychedelic drugs without fear of arrest.
These drugs include psilocybin, psilocyn, ecstasy, LSD, DMT, mescaline (except peyote), and ibogaine.
“We believe that Senator Wiener’s legislation is a the way forward, “Ali said.” This offers the state a gradual step away from criminalization. “
The bill cleared key hurdles during this year’s legislative session, and Wiener said he would bring it back next year after having had the chance to educate members of the Assembly and the public. ” to ensure the success of the bill, “according to a statement from his office. .
Opponents could use the time to argue that decriminalization is a slippery slope towards greater drug use, a notion dismissed by researchers and even by the federal government, which in a 2018 analysis of studies on drug theory. “Drug gateway”, concluded that there was “no causal link between the use of cannabis and the use of other illicit drugs.
“First marijuana, now hallucinogens and tomorrow heroin,” said Kevin Sabet, who has advised three presidential administrations on drugs and now heads the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana. “This is part of a strategy to legalize all drugs, and people will suffer.”
Proponents of decriminalization disagree, but they say psychedelic drugs should come with a healthy respect for the sometimes mind-blowing nature of substances.
MAPS would like to see “drug education and harm reduction alongside decriminalization,” Ali said.
Matthew W. Johnson, associate director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research, said he supported decriminalization, but added that it comes with “risks.”
He said last year that unhindered access brought him “real concerns about the very real risks of psychotic disorders – what people call a bad trip.”
In an interview on Friday, Johnson said decriminalization should be combined with more research and public education regarding the effects of the drug.
“If someone uses it, the best way to deal with it is not to commit a felony or misdemeanor,” said Johnson, who teaches psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “I am in favor of the decriminalization of drugs in general, but that does not mean that I want to encourage their use.”
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