Psychedelics Reform Update: CA Bill's Final Vote, MA 2024 Legalization Ballot, HI Task Force, OR Funding And More

A number of states are moving reform bills concerning the study or straight out legalizing the use of psychedelic substances for therapeutic purposes. Others have already passed legislation and its implementation is underway. A short recap of the latest moves as of Sept. 7:

• California: Senate-passed SB58 legalizing adult possession and cultivation of psilocybin, psilocin, DMT and mescaline has cleared the Assembly floor on Sept. 6 and now heads back to the Senate for concurrence on recent amendments, after which it will go to Gov. Newsom’s desk.

Changes affect provisions on substance transfer and therapeutic use, delay the decriminalization of communal use, and reduce personal possession amounts “until a framework for the therapeutic use, which would include community-based healing, facilitated and supported use, risk reduction, and other related services, of the specified controlled substances is developed and adopted.”

New allowed personal amounts: 1 gr. or up to one ounce of a plant or fungi containing either psilocybin or psilocin; 1 gr. of DMT; and 4 gr. of mescaline. Adults over 21 could possess an “amount of spores or mycelium capable of producing an allowable amount of a plant or fungi which contain a controlled substance” legalized under the bill. 

Additionally, the revised bill calls on the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA) to create a workgroup to study and recommend to the legislature the establishment of a regulatory framework for the facilitated therapeutic use of psychedelics by Jan. 2025.

Meanwhile, AB 1021 legalizing Schedule I controlled substances for “legitimate medical purposes” was ordered a third reading in the Senate after which it passed. It now waits for the Senate concurrence regarding a new amendment and “may be considered on or after Sept. 7.” 

See Also: California's Ballot Initiative Calls For $5B In Research, Legal Psilocybin Campaign On Track, And Local Moves

• Massachusetts: The state’s attorney general has certified two natural psychedelics legalization initiatives for their potential inclusion in the 2024 ballot, propelling its proponents to start collecting voters’ signatures, reported Marijuana Moment.

Until the Dec. 6 vote, measures 23-13 and 23-14 must file 74,574 signatures two weeks prior, notes specialized lawyer Mason Marks.

Nearly identical, the two proposals are led by the Massachusetts for Mental Health Options campaign and backed by the national New Approach PAC. 

While one gives adults a home-grow option, they both create a regulatory framework for medically-supervised access to psychedelics and legalize possession and gifting of specific amounts of DMT, psilocybin, psilocin, ibogaine and non-peyote derived mescaline. 

Commercial sales would not be allowed, and a new commission would oversee law and licensing implementation beginning April 2026. Localities could enact TPM regulations on service centers but not outright ban their operations. The effective date of the law would be Dec. 2024.

• Maine: The bicameral request for tabled LD 1914 creating a “Psilocybin Health Access Act” to be carried over to the next regular session was finally approved on July 25. The bill now sits at the joint Veterans and Legal Affairs committee, a better outcome than SB 1467 creating a “Cannabis Research Committee” and facilitating research into alternative therapeutics including psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine which was finally killed in May.

Hawaii: Task Force Holds First Meeting, Road To Legalization

The state’s recently-incorporated psychedelics task force has held its first meeting as the 11 experts -including lawmakers, health professionals, law enforcement and reform advocates- work “to assist the state” in expanding regulated therapeutic access to novel therapies, reported Marijuana Moment.

Although state legislators’ efforts introducing bills and resolutions for research into psychedelic therapy have ultimately reached a negative vote, Hawaii’s Office of Wellness and Resilience stated it would advance and establish the governor-approved task force. In addition to “listening” sessions, it will deliver a final recommendations report this year.

The group will study Oregon and Colorado’s cases of psychedelics legalization and discuss substance supply and access, affordability, licenses for guides and integration coaches and administrative resources.

Oregon’s Legal Psilocybin Program, Service Centers Operating & Funding Concerns

The state 2020-approved Measure 109 legalizing regulated psilocybin therapy services faces ongoing challenges, including high costs and program financing. 

The project initially promised to sustain itself through fees, avoiding taxpayer funds. However, fee revenue has been meager, with just $318,419 raised in 2023, pointed out Willamette Week. 

The measure’s supporters estimated the program would cost $3.1 million annually; lawmakers allocated that sum from the taxpayer-supported general fund for the next two-year period starting July 1, 2023.

Dr. Marks, who served on the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board, is skeptical that fees will cover the program's expenses. Opening service centers, which must adhere to strict security and insurance requirements is costly. Additionally, SB303 mandates data collection, further straining finances.

Raising licensing fees to cover costs could deter facilitators and service center owners, potentially affecting people of color disproportionately. With numerous facilitators and growers operating underground or in countries abroad, should these challenges persist, taxpayers might end up covering the financial deficit.

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Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Alexander_Volkov and canbedone on Shutterstock.