Doses of psilocybin, present in psychedelic magic mushrooms, may assist with PTSD and melancholy, based on a research by researchers from King’s Faculty London.
AP
Psychedelics will remain illegal in California, after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have decriminalized possession of certain hallucinogenic drugs.
In a veto statement released Saturday, Newsom said he believed in the underlying science of hallucingens — its effectiveness in treating mental illnesses like depression and PTSD — calling it “an exciting frontier.”
But the governor said the existing bill lacked the detail needed to implement decriminalization.
“California should immediately begin work to set up regulated treatment guidelines — replete with dosing information, therapeutic guidelines, rules to prevent against exploitation during guided treatments…” he said.
“Unfortunately, this bill would decriminalize possession prior to these guidelines going into place, and I cannot sign it. “
The governor’s decision to veto Senate Bill 58, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, puts Newsom on the other side of the War on Drugs. He was a vocal champion for legalization of recreational marijuana and campaigned for Proposition 64 in 2016.
Newsom’s veto also bucks a trend among western states toward decriminalization of certain drugs. Both Oregon and Colorado have passed laws decriminalizing possession of psychedelics.
Wiener fought for the bill, which passed out of the Senate, 21-14, and the Assembly, 43-15, on the grounds that psychedelics have been shown to be effective in treating certain mental illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
“Veterans and anyone suffering from PTSD and depression should not face criminal penalties for seeking relief,” Wiener said in a statement after the bill passed out of the Legislature. “Plant-based psychedelics are non-addictive and show tremendous promise at treating some of the most intractable drivers of our nation’s mental health crisis.
The bill had been supported by a number of social justice, veterans groups and mental health organizations.
It was opposed by several law enforcement organizations, including the California District Attorneys Association and the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.
