Connecticut lawmakers are reviving an effort to decriminalize possession of low levels of psilocybin despite recent indications from the Governor’s Office that they have concerns over the reform.
The Joint Judiciary Committee of the legislature has filed a new bill that is co-sponsored by Rep. David Michel. It would punish possession of up half an ounce or psilocybin with a fine of $150, but not jail time.
The second or subsequent offense would be subject to a minimum fine of $200, but no more than $500. If a person pleads no contest or guilty on two occasions, they will be sent to a substance abuse treatment program
Under the measure (HB 5297), the police would have to seize any amount of psychedelics they found. Possession of more that a half ounce of psilocybin is a Class A misdemeanor.
The Senate did not pass the version of psilocybin’s decriminalization legislation that passed the House in 2010.
Last month, lawmakers and activists held a forum to discuss potential pathways for regulated access to substances like psilocybin.
The Last Prisoner Project’s director of strategic initiatives, Jason Ortiz (Policy Director of Connecticut for Accessible Psychedelic Medicine), told Marijuana Moment that the Judiciary Committee has inspired him to continue the discussion on how to decriminalize psilocybin responsibly.
He said that while the bill was a good start, it could be improved by adding home cultivation as well as retroactive relief to those who had been criminalized because they were simply trying to improve their quality of life.
While the legislation is being presented, the Governor’s office has been notified. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, has indicated that the legislation may be faced with a major obstacle to its enactment.
David Bednarz , a spokesperson for the governor, said that last month. He noted that it was still “too early” to speculate because a bill for 2024 had not been filed.
Lamont reportedly threatened a veto when the previous version of decriminalizing possession of psilocybin was advanced last year. This is despite his having fought for and signed legislation legalizing cannabis in 2021.
Lamont signed in 2022 a budget bill that included provisions that would allow the state to give certain patients access to psychedelic assisted treatment, using substances such as MDMA and Psilocybin.
He also signed a separate law in 2021, which required that the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services of the state establish a taskforce to study the therapeutic potency of psilocybin mushroom.
From his perspective, however, a decriminalization that is broad and includes so-called “magic mushroom” may be too much.
Separately, a Connecticut lawmaker also introduced different legislation last session that would have appropriated an unspecified amount of state funds to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for the current fiscal year to establish a “psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program.”
In this session, a growing number of state legislatures are working on psychedelics legislation reforms with an emphasis on research and therapeutic accessibility.
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The governor of New Mexico, for example, recently endorsed that requests state officials to research the therapeutic potentials of psilocybin as well as explore the creation a regulatory framework in order to allow access to psychedelics.
A senator from Illinois introduced a bill to legalize and regulate access to psilocybin at service centers within the state, where adults can use the psychedelic under supervision. The program will eventually include mescaline and ibogaine.
The bill was sent to the Arizona Senate floor after a second committee, which is bipartisan, approved it last week. It would legalize the establishment of psilocybin services centers, where individuals could obtain the psychedelic under medical supervision.
In anticipation of a federal legalization, an Alaska Senate Committee advanced a bill earlier this month that would create a task force to study how to license psychedelic assisted therapy.
Hawaii lawmakers are also advancing a bill which would give some legal protections for patients who engage in psilocybin assisted therapy after a doctor’s approval.
A Republican-led Indiana House committee has approved a bill to fund clinical trials for psilocybin, which was already passed by the Senate.
Recently, bipartisan California legislators introduced a bill that would legalize psychedelic services centers, where adults aged 21 and over could have access to psilocybin MDMA mescaline DMT and other psychedelics in a supervised environment , with trained facilitators.
Last month, a joint Nevada legislative committee heard expert testimony and public testimony about the therapeutic potential for substances such as psilocybin. Law enforcement officials also expressed their concerns about legalization. However, there was a notable acknowledgment that reforms could be implemented including rescheduling.
The Governor of Massachusetts recently promoted the testimony from activists who spoke out in support of her veterans’ bill. This bill would, among other things, create a work group for psychedelics to investigate the therapeutic potentials of substances like psilocybin.
New York legislators have introduced a bill to create an pilot program for psilocybin treatment to 10,000 people. The focus is on veterans and first responders.
Last month, a Missouri House Committee considered a proposed that would allow the medical use of Psilocybin within the state as well as mandate clinical trials to explore the therapeutic potential.
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Photo by Dick Culbert.
The article Connecticut Lawmakers File Psilocybin Bill Decriminalization Despite Governor’s concerns first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
