Advocacy groups respond to [New Approach PAC] Massachusetts psychedelic ballot campaign
Three Massachusetts community groups are responding to the psychedelic ballot campaign formed this month by New Approach PAC, a Washington, DC-based political action committee. The organizations include Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, New England Veterans for Plant Medicine, and Parents for Plant Medicine… issued a press release… to express concerns… “It seems like this Super PAC wants to turn mushrooms into the new version of for-profit ketamine… In Oregon, this PAC claimed insurance and Medicaid would eventually cover costs. The truth is this is highly unlikely to happen. Remember medical cannabis has been legal in some states for almost three decades and that has yet to occur, instead, the ‘grow, gather, gift’ model promoted by groups like Bay Staters for Natural Medicine would be affordable and accessible,” said Noah Heller.
The advocacy groups worry about New Approach’s lack of consultation with them, the potential for the out-of-state PAC to distract from locally-developed legislation, and the risk that given New Approach’s history with Oregon’s over-budget psilocybin program, its Massachusetts ballot campaign could produce an expensive psychedelic program that shuts locals out while costing taxpayers money… On July 3rd [2023] , a never-before-seen entity, “Massachusetts for Medical Choice,” filed paperwork for a referendum on psilocybin mushrooms in the Commonwealth. The organization, funded by the Washington D.C.-based “New Approach” PAC, continues to hold closed door meetings across the state but has not yet released the text of the proposal to local community groups. The referendum is being proposed at a time when state lawmakers are already considering their own reforms. Last month, dozens of partner groups and hundreds of residents testified in support of An Act Relative to Plant Medicine, a bill sponsored and supported by Senator Patricia Jehlen (D-Medford), Representative Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton), and Representative Boldyga (R-Agawam). “Rather than helping out with our existing efforts, this PAC is distracting from the local work here of bay staters,” remarked Michael Botelho, a disabled U.S. Marine Corp Veteran and Co-Founder of New England Veterans for Plant Medicine. “If they won’t allow veterans like myself to microdose at home without paying them thousands of dollars, like they did in Oregon, then their motives are clear.”
Original Article (Psychedelic Week):
Advocacy groups respond to Massachusetts psychedelic ballot campaign
Artwork Fair Use: Lyndseymc
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