California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes bill that would have decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms

return2ozma@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 540 points –
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes bill that would have decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms
apnews.com
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"Newsom, a Democrat who championed legalizing cannabis in 2016, said in a statement Saturday that more needs to be done before California decriminalizes the hallucinogens.

“California should immediately begin work to set up regulated treatment guidelines - replete with dosing information, therapeutic guidelines, rules to prevent against exploitation during guided treatments, and medical clearance of no underlying psychoses,” Newsom’s statement said. “Unfortunately, this bill would decriminalize possession prior to these guidelines going into place, and I cannot sign it.”"

At least there's an attempt to have a reasonable explanation.

The whole premise of this veto is that the infrastructure isn't set up for mushrooms to be used as a safe medicine. Which completely ignores the fact that most people who use mushrooms do so recreationally; who gives a shit if it can or can't be used by the medical system? That would be great, but it has no bearing on whether mushrooms should be legalized.

If CA decriminalizes it, everyone would be looking toward the state to see its success or failure. Opponents would try to find any excuse to shut it down whether in CA or other states. So if we can set up guidelines and necessary infrastructure for safe use, both medically and recreationally, it would be better for long term success of psylocybin legalization.

Already legal in Colorado.

Oregon too, as I understand it.

I believe you are correct that they are similarly decriminalized in Oregon although the particulars do differ a bit as I understand it.

Oregon started issuing licenses to treatment facilities this year. It took a few years to get the infrastructure in place and to get professional therapists trained, but facilities are now opening up for treatment.

And in California, just parts of it. Oakland has outright decriminalization and you can go to smoke shops and buy chocolates. It's still technically illegal in San Francisco, but every large event, or even day in the park, there's some guy walking around openly selling mushrooms and joints.

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The reason it is even considered to be legalized is the medical use in the first place, not people partying on shrooms. So I donno what youre on about.

It should be legalized because making a fungus illegal is fucking stupid.

Yea like why would guns get banned even though its fun to shoot around recreationally. See how fucking stupid that sounds? Things need to be regulated. While mushrooms are obviously way less dangerous than guns, they can still pose risks for mental and physical health if not handled correctly, and minimizing that risk is very important. Im not saying delaying legalization is justified in this case, but it is definitely a valid approach,as long as measures are taken to improve the situation.

Risks of mushrooms: you might feel like you're gonna die

Risks of guns: you and other people around you might actually die.

Wake the fuck up.

Im so happy decisions like this are not left to 'bro science' morons like you. Took a drug once, suddenly becomes an expert on the matter.

It doesn't even require firsthand experience to understand the point I made, bot

Guns don't grow naturally without any human even being around. You can forage for psilocybin mushrooms.

I dont know how that has to do with anything at all. What kind of stupid logic is that? If guns would grow on trees they should still be banned exactly the same way.

Now that sounds like stupid logic. Guns don't grow on trees. And no, you couldn't regulate them properly if anyone could go into a forest virtually anywhere in the U.S. and pick a basket of guns. That's why making a fungus illegal is stupid. You can go to almost anywhere in the U.S. that ruminants have been defecating and find them. This makes less sense than making cannabis illegal because it's a fungus native to North America and cannabis is from Asia.

Sassafras has effects similar to MDMA. It literally grows on trees. It's legal because it's stupid to make native species illegal.

Why you throwing out a false dichotomy? The reckless use of shrooms isn't killing people.

Unless you feel that all regulations (no matter what they regulate) are equal...?

You have never tried mushrooms or you wouldn't be saying this you don't have any experience or idea what you are talking about. Also don't have experience owning guns we have no respect for your false argument.

I have experience with mushrooms, Im just not stupid enough to pretend they have no risks based only on my personal experience. I thought we had some sane people on here but even reddits drug community was 100 times more progressive. Looks like only the stupid junkies made it to Lemmy, sad as it is. I dont even know why I kept the discussion going, its like talking to a toddler about responsibilities.

It was fine before people made it illegal.

Was used for centuries.

I asked Bing's chatbot who was against the bill (who funded "The California Coalition for Psychedelic Safety and Education"), and this is what it told me.

The California Coalition for Psychedelic Safety and Education does not disclose its sources of funding on its website1. However, some of its members have been involved in other anti-drug campaigns, such as the Drug Free America Foundation and the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids2. These groups have received funding from various sources, including pharmaceutical companies, private foundations, and government agencies2. It is possible that the coalition receives some of its funding from similar sources, but this is not confirmed. The coalition claims to be a grassroots organization of concerned citizens who want to protect public health and safety1.

Did you then go and check all of those facts to make sure the AI wasn't lying "hallucinating" to you?

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So progressive! /s

Pisses me off. It's California! C'mon!

Is California not the state of “progressive oh wait not so far let’s walk it back”? That’s how you’re seen by the east coast progressives at least. It’s like how New York is exactly as progressive as Wall Street permits it to be

California is always like the tenth state to do something progressive, not the first.

Based on what examples? California was literally the first state to legalize medical cannabis.

California established the first auto-emission standards in the U.S. in 1966.

In 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry. Although the controversial Proposition 8 temporarily halted this later the same year, the precedent had been set, and it was one of the first states to legally recognize same-sex marriage.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018 was one of the first comprehensive data privacy laws in the U.S.

California has been at the forefront of raising the minimum wage, aiming for $15 an hour before many other states.

Newsom punted and he shouldn't have, but your comment is nonsense.

True. It just pats itself on the back like Michigan, Washington, and Colorado didn’t beat it to the punch

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Newsom dialing back the progressivism for his presidential run.

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California registered voters,

Consider signing this petition. This group needs help getting funding to use psychedelics to treat mental health. They need 1 million signatures and it must be done via wet signatures.

Read up at this link and if it sounds like something you support, please sign.

https://www.treatcalifornia.org/

Sounds like the pharmaceutical companies are still investing in governments.

This just Newsom wanting to keep his chances for a future Presidential bid alive. Don't want to see attack ads about him being on shrooms.

While it remains illegal on the state and national level, some cities in California have already decriminalized. San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Santa Cruz. Come take your next trip in the Bay area!

Signs a few good things, vetoes a few good things

Why can't we just get a solidly good governor for a while and not one that oscillates between "ok enough" and "frustrating"

Damn, he's just been vetoing everything lately. Gotta love that race toward the centre.

"Advocates are attempting to place two initiatives to expand psychedelic use on the November 2024 ballot. One would legalize the use and sale of mushrooms for people 21 and older"

FYI that's Decriminalize California and their signature collection campaign is in full swing. https://decrimca.org/

Letting perfect be the enemy of good... again.

Just grow them yourself it's easy enough

Yeah yeah, we know. It’s also illegal, which means there are real nasty consequences for getting caught with them. Decriminalizing them would have reduced those real nasty consequences and made it much simpler to grow and possess your own.

Somebody fixing up their PTSD doesn’t need the fuzz coming down on them, regardless of how easy it is to grow the treatment.

Neither does someone who just wants to trip balls because that’s what they want to do this weekend.

I mean is it? Tbh it sounds like a nightmare trying to keep everything at the right temp and from contaminating.

This is the best summary I could come up with:


The Federal Drug Administration designated psilocybin as a “breakthrough therapy” for treatment-resistant depression in 2019 and recently published a draft guideline on using psychedelics in clinical trials.

“Psilocybin gave me my life back,” Joe McKay, a retired New York City firefighter who responded to the 9/11 attacks, said at an Assembly hearing in July.

“We’re grateful that Governor Newsom listened to some of the top medical experts, psychedelic researchers and psychiatrists in the country who all warned that legalization without guardrails was at best premature for both personal and therapeutic use,” the coalition said in a statement Saturday.

“This is a setback for the huge number of Californians — including combat veterans and first responders — who are safely using and benefiting from these non-addictive substances and who will now continue to be classified as criminals under California law,” Wiener said in a statement Saturday.

Two years later, Colorado voters also passed a ballot measure to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms and to create state-regulated centers where participants can experience the drug under supervision.

One would legalize the use and sale of mushrooms for people 21 and older, and the other would ask voters to approve borrowing $5 billion to establish a state agency tasked with researching psychedelic therapies.


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Oh yeah. What we clearly need to do is add interdimensionality to the nation with 1.1 firearms per person.

No thanks, War with the Machine Elves.