The Vermont legislature is introducing several bills to legalize psychedelics and other drugs

The Vermont legislature has introduced several bills aimed at fundamentally changing the state’s drug laws.

The website Psychedelic Spotlight has an introduction to the four separate laws that would “decriminalize simple possession of all drugs, expand harm reduction services, eliminate criminal penalties for the use and sale of psilocybin, and decriminalize certain psychedelic plants and mushrooms.”

In the case of Bill H.423, the legislature is aiming for monumental reform. The measure, which includes a bill in the Vermont state Senate, would decriminalize all drugs.

The text of the bill reads: “This bill proposes changing penalties for possession of a drug supply for personal use from a misdemeanor or minor offense to a civil offense carrying a $50.00 fine. A person reported for such an offense can avoid paying the fine by agreeing to participate in substance use disorder treatment screening and related services. The bill would also establish the Drug Use Standards Advisory Board for the purpose of determining the personal-use benchmark dose and personal-use benchmark supply for regulated drugs with the goal of preventing and reducing the criminalization of personal drug use. Individuals previously arrested or convicted of possession of a regulated drug in a quantity below the reference quantity for personal use would also be entitled to an immediate criminal record seal. Also, to prevent overdoses, the bill would authorize drug control programs to operate to allow individuals to obtain an analysis of a regulated drug previously obtained from an individual to determine the chemical composition of the substance and to identify chemical contaminants identify. The bill would establish a pilot project to support the development and operation of such programs.”

According to Psychedelic Spotlight, “almost a third” of the Vermont House of Representatives supported this bill.

Two other bills, one in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate, deal specifically with psilocybin mushrooms.

Bill H.439, sponsored by a handful of members of the House of Representatives, would “decriminalize some chemical compounds found in plants and fungi that are commonly used for medicinal, spiritual, religious, or entheogenic purposes.”

P.114, submitted to the state senate, would go even further. This action would eliminate “criminal penalties for possessing, dispensing, or selling psilocybin” while establishing the Psychedelic Therapy Advisory Working Group.

The group would “research the use of psychedelics to improve physical and mental health and make recommendations for establishing a state program similar to that in Connecticut, Colorado or Oregon to allow healthcare providers to administer psychedelics in a therapeutic setting,” the statement said legal text.

As this bill pointed out, other states have already changed their laws regarding psychedelic substances like mushrooms—and more are sure to follow.

Earlier this month, Nevada lawmakers introduced a bill that would open the door to research into psilocybin and MDMA.

Specifically, this action would “establish procedures for a research organization to obtain approval from the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct specific studies of specific controlled substances; Decriminalize certain conduct by persons 18 years and older related to psilocybin and MDMA when conducted in connection with and as part of an approved study; Decriminalizing certain behaviors by persons 18 years of age or older involving 4 ounces or less of mushrooms that produce psilocybin or psilocin; and provision of other related matters.”

But proponents in Vermont may want to tone down their expectations. As Psychedelic Spotlight noted, the state’s Republican Gov. Phil Scott “vetoed two other tentative drug policy reforms last year, so who knows what he’ll do with this month’s proposals.”