California lawmakers announced new bipartisan legislation on Tuesday, termed Senate Bill (SB) 1012, aimming to permit the use of psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic purposes. The proposed bill, otherwise referred to as the “Regulated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Act,” would authorize professionals to administer the consumption of psychedelic mushrooms by individuals over the age of 21. As reported on Twitter, this new legislation was introduced following several months after the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, vetoed a related bill, SB 58.
The proposed legislation explains that Section 11054(d) of the California Health & Safety Code categorizes substances including dimethyltryptamine, mescaline, MDMA, ibogaine, psilocybin, and psilocyn as Schedule I substances. According to SB 1012, these substances are defined as “regulated psychedelic substances”. The bill also proposes the establishment of a regulatory entity “to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy facilitators” who would supervise the administration of these substances.
Justifying the need for fresh legislation, the Bill Assembly stated, “California’s current approach to mental health has failed to fulfill its promise. Californians deserve more tools to address mental health issues, including approaches such as regulated psychedelic-assisted therapy, that are grounded in treatment, recovery, health, and wellness, rather than criminalization, stigma, suffering, and punishment … Psychedelic substances are powerful agents that have known contraindications for certain populations and, when used with certain other substances, and can trigger a variety of adverse effects.”
The proposal of this new legislation has followed a few months after California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 58, a bill introduced by Senator Scott Wiener, which sought to “make lawful the possession, preparation, obtaining, or transportation of, specified quantities of [certain hallucinogenic substances]”. The governor has expressed his support for the potential therapeutic benefits of these substances once regulated treatment guidelines are in place. He has urged the legislature to introduce legislation in 2024 that includes therapeutic guidelines. Click here to read the Governor’s veto statement.
Sen. Scott Wiener, the author of SB 1012, mentioned in a thread of posts on Twitter that while traditional treatment works for many, it doesn’t work for everyone, and access is still limited, causing many people to suffer in silence. He further noted that if the bill passes this year, treatments will be available in 2026 or 2027.
Detailed information on the new legislation can be found in the original article published on JURIST.