California officials have approved a campaign that will begin collecting signatures for a ballot initiative in 2024 to legalize possession, sale, and therapeutic use of Psilocybin. This is one of two campaigns that will be seeking to reform psychedelics through the ballot next year.
Decriminalize California announced on the weekend that Friday, the Attorney General’s Office of California had approved the title and summary of the current initiative. The signatures needed to qualify for the ballot this time are lower than in previous cycles due to the reduced turnout at the general election.
The proposal also requires the state to create a regulatory framework that allows health professionals to administer psilocybin to adults over 21.
California Psilocybin Initiative 2024 Signature Collection Begins Today! – https://t.co/KuMUfuSIsS pic.twitter.com/2dWGSPOQFq
Decriminalize California July 15th, 2023
In an email, Ryan Munevar said that now the plague has passed, we can fully activate our college team for the tabling days they will be back in class in late August or September.
“However, I think the political climate will be even more crazy this time as we face an utterly surreal match of Biden and Trump. The white noise that comes from both parties continuing to polarize America is going be epic,” he stated. All we need to do is focus, gather signatures and get the issue on the ballot.
The summary prepared for the Attorney General’s Office states that California will need to “implement qualifications requirements and protocols created by an unspecified independent professional certifying organization”
According to a separate fiscal analysis by the Legislative Analyst’s Office , implementing the legalization portion of the policy would result in “net cost reduction” for the state. This would include sealing prior convictions related to psilocybin.
The costs of creating regulations and certifying healthcare professionals to provide psilocybin therapies would be “minimal to tens or millions of dollars” but could possibly be offset with licensing fees.
measures will allow the sale of psilocybin at farmers’ markets and at public events.
Localities can only limit psilocybin activity in their region if they are approved by voters. If the fungi are sold for recreational purposes, they could be subject only to local taxes. Psilocybin that is used therapeutically could not be subject to tax.
Decriminalize California, a campaign that aims to collect 546,651 valid voter signatures by January 10, 2020, is looking for volunteers and county directors to help the campaign. This is a lower threshold compared to previous cycles because it’s based on the turnout of the last general elections, which was in this case stunted by a recall campaign for the governor.
The campaign is making its third attempt to implement the reform . The campaign failed to collect enough signatures in 2020 and 2022, which it attributed primarily to coronavirus related complications.
Meanwhile, there’s a separate organization–Californians for Treatments, Research, Education, Access, and Therapies for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy (PAT) and Cures–that’s announced its intent to put a psychedelics-assisted therapy initiative on next year’s ballot as well, but there are few details about the measure and the campaign has not responded to multiple requests for comment by Marijuana Moment.
The group’s website states that “TREAT California” will create a $5B State Research Funding Agency to provide treatment, research, education and access to psychedelic medicine and other novel therapeutics. However, it does not appear to have released the text of their ballot proposal. We can provide a consistent and sustainable funding source for the psychedelic eco-system, allowing us to bring these drugs to the public in an ethical, safe and responsible manner.
A California Senate bill that legalized the possession and facilitation certain psychedelics has been advancing through Assembly. It cleared two committees recently , as it moves to a final board before possibly going to the floor.
The Berkeley City Council passed a resolution last week to prioritize the enforcement of the laws that prohibit psychedelics. The Berkeley City Council joins Oakland and Santa Cruz in enacting similar reforms.
Florida Marijuana Ballot measure would net up to $431 million in annual tax revenue, analysts for DeSantis and lawmakers say
The post California Psilocybin Legalization campaign cleared to collect signatures for 2024 Ballot Initiative first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
