“It is declared the policy of this act to make investigation and arrest of adults [18+] for non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, possessing or engaging in practices with entheogenic plants and fungi among the lowest law enforcement priorities for the District of Columbia…” this is a notable accomplishment for advocates, as Congress has previously…
Health Canada hasn’t publicly explained what’s behind the apparent freeze on Section 56 exemptions… [Bruce] Tobin says the current process of essentially requiring someone to be at death’s door is unworkable. Still, he anticipates that psilocybin access will go the way cannabis first did, through new regulations making it available for medical use. “My intuitions…
What kind of policies could we enact instead? The failure of the war on drugs has led to new ideas and alternative models, including: Decriminalization: While drugs remain illegal and drug use is a prohibited behavior, violations are considered misdemeanors or administrative offenses. Treatment services can be scaled up and people are more inclined to…
That such a proposal passed one half of the legislature in the most populous state in the country might have been shocking as recently as a decade ago––and it serves as another sign of the evolving national conversation surrounding drugs in the United States. …aims to make other sweeping reforms related to psychedelics. “Existing law…
…people all over the world are talking about decriminalizing natural… [visionary] plants known as entheogens… the first agricultural societies were talking about mushrooms the way we are now, 7,000 years later. It’s essential to understand why advocates… aim for decriminalizing… a decriminalized status means that people who grow, gather or give away mushrooms won’t be…
Every year over $100 billion is spent on global drug law enforcement. This is more than 500 times the amount invested in harm reduction services for people who use drugs… a political choice made by many governments. Combining crime and drugs frames the issue in a way that impedes any real progress. As a result, we see a focus on…
For psilocybin specifically, the legislation would repeal provisions in California statute that prohibit the cultivation or transportation of “any spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material” that contain the psychoactive ingredient… …this means the psychedelics reform measure will be taken up by the full chamber by June 4, 2021. If it passes…
Advocates and stakeholders have been closely following [Ron] Wyden as he and his colleagues prepare to introduce a bill to end federal cannabis prohibition. The senator didn’t quite reveal new details about the forthcoming proposal, but he did reiterate the three policy “pillars” it will aim to address. With respect to the economics of legalization,…
…lawmakers introduced legislation [in May 2021] that would federally legalize and regulate marijuana, saying the proposal was necessary to ensure “individual liberty” and protect states’ rights. The bill would remove cannabis from the Federal Controlled Substances list; instruct the government to create a regulatory framework for marijuana similar to the alcohol industry; allow the Department…
The U.S. Supreme Court on [5/17/2021] refused to make it easier for police to enter a home without a warrant for reasons of health or public safety… The case centered on a legal doctrine that gives officers leeway to engage in “community caretaking” to ensure public safety. In its ruling, the Supreme Court, which has…
