SAN DIEGO — California legalized medical marijuana 25 years ago when voters approved an initiative that eventually helped to overturn cannabis prohibition in all but three states today.
The legalization movement that brought upmarket marijuana shops to Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco is now focused on psychedelic drugs. A voter initiative to decriminalize magic mushrooms was recently approved for signature-gathering, and a legislative proposal is set to be considered next year.
Some in the decriminalization movement say the legalization of psychedelic drugs is inevitable, pointing to Oregon, where voters approved magic mushroom decriminalization last year, and Denver and Oakland, California, which had passed similar laws in 2019.
“I believe it is possible that eventually, a critical mass or even a majority of states will legalize or decriminalize some or all of these psychedelics,” said Ismail L. Ali, acting director of policy and advocacy at Santa Cruz-based Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, in an email.
The founding of MAPS by Harvard Ph.D. Rick Doblin predated California’s medical marijuana law by 10 years. The nonprofit has funded ecstasy research that in spring showed the drug, when paired with one-on-one therapy, could bring relief to those suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
Ali said much of the hard work toward a goal of decriminalization is still ahead.
“Policy change regarding psychedelics is not inevitable,” he said. “We are in an early and sensitive phase in the process, and much remains to be seen in how different states navigate the emerging policy landscape.”
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