Berkeley Decriminalizes Psilocybin and Ayahuasca | high times

Officials in the city of Berkeley, California have reportedly taken action to decriminalize both psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca.

According to Psychedelic Spotlight, the local city council “unanimously” approved a measure to “officially downgrade arrests for possession and use of psilocybin and ayahuasca…and creating a new paradigm as dozens of cities across the United States seek to recognize these naturally occurring compounds.” Potential for mental health.”

SFGATE reported last week that the city council was due to vote on the measure at its Tuesday meeting.

The road to this psychedelic drug reform began in November, when the Berkeley City Council said it would consider the measure.

The original resolution aimed to decriminalize a variety of psychedelics; along with psilocybin and ayahuasca, it would have applied to LSD as well.

The measure, which was eventually approved Tuesday, was titled: “Resolution in support of entheogenic plant practices and declaring that the investigation and arrest of persons involved in the use of entheogenic plants on the Federal Schedule 1 list by adults have the lowest priority for the city of Berkeley.” .”

It states, “The City of Berkeley wishes to express its desire not to expend city resources in investigations, detentions, arrests, or prosecutions arising from alleged violations of state and federal statutes relating to the use of entheogenic plants,” and states, “It is the policy of the City of Berkeley that no department, agency, board, commission, officer or employee of the City, including but not limited to the personnel of the Berkeley Police Department, may use any City funds or resources to assist in the Help Enforce Law Enforcement of Criminal Penalties for the Use and Possession of Entheogenic Plants by Adults Age 21 and Older.”

“For the purposes of this resolution, entheogenic plants are defined as plants and natural sources such as fungi, cacti, iboga-bearing plants, and/or extracted combinations of plants that resemble ayahuasca; and limited to those containing the following types of compounds: indolamines, tryptamines, phenethylamines,” the resolution continued.

The measure was driven by a grassroots group called Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, which the outlet said “led efforts to decriminalize six communities in Massachusetts, including Cambridge and Salem.”

“Living in Berkeley, this was my first time trying psilocybin mushrooms with trusted friends. These herbal medicines have helped me process trauma and open my heart to other people for the first time,” James Davis, co-founder of Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, told Psychedelic Spotlight. “Nonetheless, this measure strikes the right balance by acknowledging that this should be something that people should carefully explore for their own well-being. Not something to be sold and traded like candy, as sadly happened in Oakland, nor commercialized at massive profits as in Oregon and Colorado.”

While these reform efforts began in earnest back in the fall, SFGATE notes that “Berkeley has been considering reforming psychedelics since at least 2019, but the move has stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic due to disagreements about how to handle synthetic psychedelics.”

“Cities across the country have moved to lower penalties for the use and distribution of psychedelic drugs in recent years, as proponents argue that criminalizing drugs is not an effective way to regulate these substances,” the outlet reported. “The Bay Area has been at the forefront of the psychedelic reform movement, with Oakland, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz enacting similar measures that make psychedelics possession a lower priority for law enforcement.”

Berkeley pioneered other drug reform efforts, with the city council voting in 2020 to allow lounges for cannabis use and marijuana delivery.