California: Local Psychedelics Decriminalization Proposal Moves To City Council's Desk

The Berkeley Community Health Commission (CHC) has unanimously decided to move a recently rewritten local psychedelics decriminalization project to the city council for consideration.

While other changes were introduced during the CHC meeting, the originally presented resolution requests that both the city and local police deprioritize the possession of certain psychedelics for personal use, as well as laws imposing criminal sanctions for cultivation, processing and preparation of psychedelic plants and fungi (except peyote) for personal use. 

While the list of psychedelics referred to in the measure does not include MDMA, ketamine, ibogaine and other psychedelic-adjacent compounds, it invites local lawmakers to consider future reforms deprioritizing criminal enforcement for possessing any of those substances for personal use.

A part of the proposal states that Berkeley urges other local jurisdictions to pass proposals for the establishment of psychedelic education, harm reduction and supporting platforms, creating policies for public health data collecting on psychedelic drug use at a community level. It also mentions taking on a similar decriminalization approach towards possession of personal amounts of psychedelics as well as cultivation, processing and preparation of personal amounts of psychedelic plants and fungi.

The local commission’s approval adds to neighboring San Francisco’s recently approved psychedelics decriminalization measure.

Photo courtesy of Tiko Aramyan on Shutterstock.