Cambridge, Massachusetts Decriminalized Psychedelics

Kyle Jaeger, writing for Marijuana Moment:

Cambridge, Massachusetts has become the latest city to decriminalize a wide range of psychedelics following a City Council vote on Wednesday. But lawmakers also used the opportunity to push for broader reforms that go beyond the entheogen-focused measures approved in other municipalities across the country, calling on police to stop arresting people for possessing or using any illicit drugs.

Local legislators approved the resolution 8-1, making Cambridge the second city in Massachusetts to adopt the psychedelics and drug policy change. The Somerville City Council advanced a similar decriminalization measure last month.

Massachusetts is on a roll now. It makes me wonder which city will be next in the state to decriminalize psychedelics? Surely there must be more that are actively working on initiatives like this one and the bill that passed in Somerville last month. And Cambridge has gone one step further here by encouraging police to stop arresting folks for the possession or use of any illegal drugs, which is an awesome addition to an already-progressive resolution.

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MDMA and Psilocybin Not Approved for Medicinal Use in Australia

Freya Noble, writing for 9News:

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has made an interim decision on whether some psychoactive drugs can be used to treat mental illness in Australia.

The TGA chose not to reschedule MDMA and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, from a prohibited substance (schedule 9) to a controlled medicine (schedule 8).

A reclassification would not mean the drugs could be taken home with a patient or change any restrictions on recreational use of the substances.

This is obviously a bummer for Mind Medicine Australia and Aussies across the country who could benefit from the therapeutic use of psychedelics, but the organization is already preparing to contest the TGA’s decision. The fight for legal psilocybin and MDMA therapy isn’t over yet.

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Federal Judge Decides Against Prison for Denver Mushroom Dealer

Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, writing for Westword:

A federal judge won't send Denver mushroom dealer Kole Milner to prison, instead sentencing the 29-year-old to three years of probation and a $5,500 fine.

"I don’t think putting this guy in prison for six months is going to accomplish much in terms of deterrence, or that it will benefit the community in terms of safety, or that it will provide any kind of benefit for the defendant," Judge R. Brooke Jackson of the U.S. District Court of Colorado said at the February 1 sentencing hearing for Milner. "I don’t see this guy being in prison."

Federal prosecutors had asked that Milner, who pleaded guilty in September 2020 to one count of possession with intent to distribute psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, be sentenced to six months in prison.

This might not seem like huge news at first glance, but it really is. The federal judge in this case has set a precedent that psilocybin mushroom dealers like Kole do not need to be sent to prison that may be used to decide similar cases in the future. We can argue until we’re blue in the face that Kole shouldn’t be given probation and a fine either, but for now it’s nice to see this progress, even if it’s not as far-reaching as many of us would like.

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Democratic Senate Leaders Announce Steps to Federally Legalize Marijuana in 2021

Kyle Jaeger, writing for Marijuana Moment:

Three leading champions of marijuana reform in Congress said on Monday that the issue will be prioritized in the new Democratic Senate this year and that they plan to release draft legislation in the coming weeks to begin a conversation about what the federal policy change will look like.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said in a joint statement that ending cannabis prohibition “is necessary to right the wrongs of this failed war and end decades of harm inflicted on communities of color across the country,” but that alone “is not enough.”

The lawmakers, each of whom has advocated for federal legalization, said that “we must also enact measures that will lift up people who were unfairly targeted in the War on Drugs,” especially as more states opt to legalize.

Now that the majority of the Senate is supposedly on board, 2021 looks like is shaping up to be the year of federal cannabis reform.

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Drug Decriminalization Goes Into Effect in Oregon

Jon Blistein, writing for Rolling Stone:

Oregon’s state law decriminalizing all drugs officially goes into effect today, February 1st.

The first-of-its-kind initiative, Measure 110, passed overwhelmingly last November, with 58.5 percent voting in favor. As the Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal notes, the law reclassifies possession of small amounts of drugs (e.g. less than one gram of heroin, 40 units of LSD, or 12 grams of psilocybin) as a civil violation that comes with a $100 fine, though that fine can be avoided if the person agrees to seek treatment. For possession of slightly larger amounts of some drugs (such as one to three grams of heroin, or two to eight grams of cocaine), the penalty has been reduced from a felony to misdemeanor possession.

Based on successful decriminalization models implemented in Portugal and Switzerland, proponents of Measure 110 see it as a chance to prioritize drug treatment over police enforcement. New treatment services — including 15 addiction recovery centers to be opened by October 1st — will be funded with excess marijuana tax revenue, which stands at over $45 million now and could grow to $129 million by 2027, per the Drug Policy Alliance. Additionally, Oregon will fund these services with the money it’s expected to save by no longer arresting, incarcerating and prosecuting people for drug possession.

February’s off to a good start.

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