California has pulled its ballot initiative to create a $5 billion agency that would fund and promote psychedelics. After the governor vetoed legislation to legalize substances such as psilocybin, two campaigns are left to place psychedelics reforms on the ballot next year.
The campaign, which began signature collection for the Treatment, Research, Education, Access and Therapies Act just a few weeks ago, announced Thursday that they would be suspending their efforts.
A recent survey by FM3 Research showed that 60 percent of Californians likely to vote oppose funding state-funded psychedelic therapy. After being given the summary language that was approved by the office of the attorney general, three in five Democrats supported it. However, most independents and Republicans were against the measure.
California voters are 74 percent in favor of funding psychedelic therapies to treat mental disorders like post-traumatic disorder (PTSD), while 45 percent oppose the idea.
The campaign will not continue to collect signatures as planned. Instead, it has announced the launch of the TREAT Humanity Campaign to explore more broadly mental health solutions in the state. According to a press statement, the non-profit is “committed” to furthering mental health treatments, research and education, as well as access to therapies and other forms of treatment.
“We’re in a mental-health catastrophe.” Jeannie Fontana is the CEO of TREAT California as well as founder of TREAT Humanity. She said that millions of people are screaming for assistance, not only in California but all over the United States. This polling shows that people are unanimous in their agreement on the need to solve this problem. TREAT Humanity is born out of this conviction. “Our mental health crisis won’t go away until it is solved.”
This polling isn’t a sign that we have lost. She said that it was a clear indication of our future, with vision, determination, hope and dedication. “Our team and coalition are unwavering in their resolve. We need to find a way out of these dark times for our country. “We are all in it together. We’re all part of one human family. Each of us is a thread on the tapestry that is humanity.”
The supporters of the initiative hoped to create a psychedelics research institute to advance scientific research into psychedelics’ therapeutic potential. The initiative would have established a constitutional right for California to conduct research using any psychedelic substance except peyote. Psilocybin is one of them, as are ibogaine and LSD.
The campaign was led by an experienced team of strategists, who had previously been successful in promoting ballot measures related to stem-cell research. While this showed a certain level of confidence regarding the measure’s prospects for passage, the polling raised concerns about its chances of passing.
It was proposed that voters approve $500,000,000 in annual funding via government agency revenue bonds, rather than tax revenue over a ten-year period. This would allow the Institute to offer grants and loans to support psychedelics-related research. The agency was to be self funded, and the institute would reach agreements with grant recipients in order to retain intellectual property rights.
The grants would have been needed to support the research on the benefits and risks of psychedelic assisted therapy for addiction, anxiety and depression, post-traumatic disorder (PTSD), chronic pain, acute pain, and other disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder and anorexia.
The California state agency also would have facilitated the establishment of “care” programs in California for psilocybin or MDMA, once these psychedelics were approved by the FDA for therapeutic use.
Guy McDermott said, “This movement is larger than any ballot initiative,” a former U.S. Navy Seal and California firefighter. “Psychedelic-assisted therapy is necessary to help us overcome this mental health crisis. No one should have to leave the country for life-saving treatments. We won’t stop until those who suffer get the help that they deserve. “We must treat all humanity.”
To qualify for the ballot next year, the campaign needed to collect at least 874 641 valid signatures of registered voters.
Deb Hubers told Marijuana Moment that she is confident that Californians will support the measure, if it gets to the ballot. She cited a recent national poll that showed that a majority of Americans support legalizing psychedelic assisted therapy.
Decriminalize California is a separate campaign that is trying to qualify for the ballot next year. State officials recently approved its initiative to legalize adult-use psilocybin. The group’s activists have attempted to place the reform on the ballot twice in previous cycles but failed due to difficulties in gathering signatures during the pandemic.
A new campaign in California has also been launched to promote psychedelics. Advocates have recently filed a ballot initiative that would grant a “right to obtain and use psychedelics” on the recommendation of a physician. The initiative would allow adults to use and possess the substances at home, as well as grow entheogenic plants or fungi.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently rejected a bill that would have legalized certain psychedelics, and created a path to regulated access . He wrote in a veto letter that he wanted the legislature to send him next year a new bill establishing guidelines for therapeutic access to psychedelics.
Newsom had signed off a bill allowing doctors to begin prescribing certain illegal drugs, like MDMA and psilocybin, if the federal government rescheduled them .
New FDA documents look back on 50 years of marijuana research while previewing future studies on Terpenes and edibles
Photo elements are courtesy of carlosemmaskype, and Apollo.
The first time Marijuana Moment published the post California Campaign withdraws 2024 ballot measure to create state psychedelics research agency was on Marijuana Moment .
