The Decriminalization of Magic Mushrooms

 

On November 3rd, 2020 voters in Washington D.C. approved a bill that would decriminalize certain psychedelics.  The measure is called Initiative 81.  The "Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020"  does not fully legalize magic mushrooms.  Instead it declares that "police shall treat the non commercial cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of entheogenic plants and fungi among the lowest law enforcement priorities."  

Initiative 81 covers certain psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms, and peyotes which are currently listed as Schedule 1 drugs.  Proponents of the bill advocate that these naturally occurring psychedelics could potentially treat a number of conditions.  I'm not sure if the FDA would consider themselves proponents; however, in 2019 they did call psychedelic psilocybin a 'Breakthrough Therapy' for severe depression.  

Once residents had a chance to voice their opinions, it wasn't even close.  D.C. voters approved the measure overwhelmingly at a rate of 76% voting yes.  Washington, D.C. is not the first jurisdiction to vote on a measure like this.  In fact Denver, Colorado, Oakland and Santa Cruz, California, and Ann Arbor, Michigan all approved similar bills in 2019.

Just to be clear, magic mushrooms, and other psychedelics are not legal in Washington D.C.  This measure just makes prosecution a low priority.