California Committee Advances Psychedelic Decriminalization Bill

The California Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday advanced a measure to decriminalize psychedelics in the state – including psilocybin, LSD, ketamine, DMT, MDMA, ibogaine, and mescaline – for adults 21-and-older, Courthouse News reports.

The proposal would also expunge criminal records for crimes now legal under the law and include new criminal penalties for providing drugs to minors.

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D) said during the hearing that the reforms are “not inviting people to use” the substances, rather taking the state on a “health-minded approach” to their use, the report says.

The bill includes provisions to create a working group to study the safety and efficacy of the use of psychedelics.

In 2019, the Federal Drug Administration authorized psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy for Usona Institute’s psilocybin program for major depressive disorder. The FDA cited preliminary evidence that psilocybin could be a tool to treat severe depression.

During the November election, Oregon voters approved ballot initiatives to decriminalize all drugs and legalize medical psilocybin – becoming the first state in the nation to enact such broad reforms. That same night, Washington, D.C. voters approved a question to decriminalize all psychedelic plants.

The committee also approved plans to allow San Francisco and Los Angeles counties to run safe injection sites with the intent to prevent overdoses and public drug use.

The psychedelic decriminalization measure moves next to the Senate Health Committee.