Vivian Ho, writing for The Guardian:
A California lawmaker has introduced legislation that would decriminalize psychedelics in the state, the latest bold step in a movement to end America’s war on drugs.
Scott Wiener, the state senator who authored the bill, hopes that in following the lead of places such as Oakland, Santa Cruz and the District of Columbia – all cities which have decriminalized psychedelics – California will move one step closer to decriminalizing the use and possession of all drugs, something that Oregon passed by voter initiative in November.
“People should not be going to jail for possessing or using drugs,” Wiener told the Guardian. “It’s a health issue, not a criminal issue, and I hope that we get all the way there.”
Although this bill is similar to the typical natural psychedelics decrim efforts that have been pushed recently by groups like Decriminalize Nature, it would go one step further by also decriminalizing synthetic psychedelics and expunging criminal records for possession and use:
This bill, unveiled on Thursday, would decriminalize possession and personal use of psilocybin, psilocyn, MDMA, LSD, ketamine, DMT, mescaline and ibogaine – all drugs that can be used for medical treatment. While the decriminalization would apply for any kind of possession or use, not just medical, the bill makes a point to tout the medical benefits of psychedelics, a strategy familiar to drug policy reform advocates. […]
The bill would also expunge criminal records for people convicted of possession or personal use of these substances. It would create a taskforce to recommend which regulatory body would oversee personal and therapeutic use of these substances for mental health treatment.
Wiener did not include peyote as one of the substances because of a shortage of the drug among indigenous practitioners, he said. Peyote is a sacred plant for many indigenous tribes, and at the behest of the native community, the bill will not decriminalize peyote, or mescaline when it is sourced from peyote.