“There is a lot of tension right now between the city and the unhoused community,” said Alex Williams, an organizer on the Berkeley campaign. “And obviously there are many people struggling with debilitating mental illnesses, and so the incredible power of these sacred medicines to expand consciousness and empathy can be very powerful in bridging certain cultural…
“Psilocybin mushrooms are decriminalized nationally by 2026,” he [Kevin Matthews] said. “And then we’re looking at what’s possible in addition to decriminalization. There is a regulatory landscape that’s evolving out of this conversation and so I think as long as individuals are no longer being imprisoned for using mushrooms and other psychedelics [while]… there are…
The prospect of psychedelic drugs gaining approval as treatments will force a reckoning for our existing system of drug control. While current policies characterize any use of these substances as illicit abuse, acknowledging that these drugs may offer meaningful benefits will require more flexible approaches. Psychedelic medicine may prove to be the thin end of…
Movements don’t happen in places where people are comfortable with the way things are happening around them. Movements do happen in Oakland, where people aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. That’s been the case time and again, including Oakland’s treatment of marijuana, as it was one of the first places to decriminalize it long…
A resolution to decriminalize psilocybin and other psychedelics will go before a Berkeley, California City Council … Councilmembers Rigel Robinson and Cheryl Davila are sponsoring the resolution, which does not allow for commercial sales or manufacturing. The lawmakers provided background information on the measure in a report to their colleagues and the mayor, describing the medical potential…
The heads of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) coauthored a new letter describing that status of research into psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin, LSD and ibogaine. The letter… contains surprising admissions about the therapeutic potential of these federally prohibited controlled substances. It comes in response to an…
From 2016 to 2018, the Denver Police Department arrested about fifty people per year for psilocybin-related offenses. The Denver City Attorney’s Office is still analyzing the ballot language and will present its findings to law enforcement and the mayor’s office. “We’re set to hear expert input in coming weeks to understand what ‘personal use’ and ‘possession with…
This amendment was the first tribal cannabis amendment ever offered and passed on the House floor. This would prohibit Department of Justice from spending money to interfere in any tribal cannabis programs, or interfere with tribal cannabis programs within states that have legalized. Under current law, tribes do not have existing protections for state medical…
The State Cannabis Commerce Act would protect all state licensed cannabis industries from federal interference, and specifically shields commerce between states that have entered into trade agreements. It opens the door to us to show that allowing legal states to move cannabis from markets where it is abundant to markets where it’s needed. Original Article (Craft…
The United States House of Representatives approved a far-reaching measure on Thursday (6/20/2019) to prevent the Department of Justice from interfering with state marijuana laws, including those allowing recreational use, cultivation and sales. The inclusion of adult-use programs represents a significant expansion of an existing policy that protects only local medical cannabis laws from federal intervention which was first enacted in 2014…
