California’s governor is about to sign a bill that would legalize some psychedelics to adults over 21.
The Senate adopted Assembly amendments on Thursday after it passed the original bill by Sen. Scott Wiener, D. earlier this year. Now, the finalized measure will be sent to Governor. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has not made public his position on the reform.
The passage of this legislation is a major victory for those who have worked to raise awareness about the therapeutic potential and consequences of substances such as psilocybin, mescaline and others.
On January 1, 2025, the bill would legalize possession and cultivation of certain entheogenic fungi and plants for adults. The California Health and Human Services Agency will establish a workgroup to study and provide recommendations for a regulatory framework that allows access to substances to be used therapeutically and in facilitated ways.
“This bill is well-crafted and targeted to stop criminalizing those who use these substances for health reasons, as well,” Wiener said in an interview with Marijuana Moment published on Thursday. “I am so grateful for my colleagues’ support and I look to convince the governor that this bill deserves his signature.”
The Senate has just approved SB 58, our bill decriminalizing personal possession and use of mushrooms and several plant-based psychoactives. It now goes to the Governor.
Senator Scott Wiener 9/7/2023 HTML0
The senator stated that SB 58 was supported by both parties in the Assembly and detailed the compelling testimony received in committee, from first responders whose lives were improved through the use of psychedelics.
Newsom, who has long opposed the war on drugs, was one of the first politicians to support adult-use cannabis legalization when most other elected officials were hesitant. His position on psychedelics remains unknown. He has also been criticized by reformers for vetoing last year a bill that would have created a pilot program to establish safe drug consumption sites within the state. Wiener was the sponsor of that measure.
A spokesperson for Newsom said to Marijuana Moment that they respect the legislative process, and do not comment on legislation in progress. “The Governor will assess the bill’s merits once it reaches his desk.”
In the Assembly , the legislation has been amended in a number of ways. Ibogaine, for example, was removed from a list of drugs which would be legal to cultivate and possess. The amount of possession was reduced from the original Senate bill. Also, the date for the legalization provisions has been pushed back to 2025. This is to give time to the workgroup to formulate recommendations on a regulatory framework.
The “allowable amounts” section of , as amended, allows the following limits on psychedelics:
- Mescaline:4 grams
- DMT: One gram
- Psilocybin : 1 gram or up to an ounce of a “plant or fungus containing psilocybin”.
- Psilocyn : 1 gram or up to an ounce of a “plant or fungus containing psilocyn.”
The bill also states that adults can possess “amounts of spores and mycelium that are capable of producing a permissible amount of a plant, fungus or other substance that is controlled” which would be legalized.
The bill will also legalize personal possession and cultivation, as well as “community-based” healing involving entheogenic drugs. It included “group counselling” before, but an amendment by the author that was adopted in July removed all references. The legislation was also cleaned up with a number of technical amendments.
Recently, the legislation was revised to allow people to share psychedelics in a therapeutic or facilitative context. The advocates had hoped gifting outside of regulated environments would become more widely legalized, but that appears to be impossible without additional legislative action.
Wiener is promoting psychedelic legalization legislation for the second time after an earlier version failed to pass the Assembly during the last session. This latest version excludes synthetic psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA and only legalizes those that are derived by plants or fungi.
Wiener tried to reach a compromise to save the previous version of the law near the end 2022 session by removing the synthetics to try to change the opposition of law enforcement to neutrality on the bill. Advocates opposed the move and it ultimately failed to produce a viable proposal.
The bill also excludes peyote from its list of legalized substances, in response to the concerns expressed by advocates and indigenous groups regarding the dangers of over-harvesting cacti which have been used ceremonially.
In June, Wiener said that he was “uncertain” about whether Newsom would support the bill this session. The governor “is not expressing an opinion pro or contra.”
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The Assembly Appropriations Committee recently also approved a Senate passed bill intended to strengthen protections for employees who use cannabis outside of work. The committee adopted the technical amendments from Sen. Steven Bradford, (D), but it will be sent back to the Senate to get their approval if the Assembly approves it.
The bill would expand current employment protections that were enacted during the last session, which prohibit employers from penalizing workers who use cannabis according to state law while on the job.
Separately state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced last month a new program aimed at curbing the illicit market. He also argued the high tax rates for cannabis in the State are partly to blame why illegal sales continue.
Documents obtained by Marijuana Moment reveal that Bonta’s office has been seeking input from local governments and cannabis industry groups in order to draft an opinion regarding the legal risks associated with allowing interstate marijuana commerce while federal prohibition continues.
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The post California’s Psychedelics Bill is Officially Heading to Governor’s Desk after Final Senate Passage first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
