California Senate passes amended psychedelics legalisation bill

The California state Senate on Thursday gave its final approval to a bill to legalize certain naturally occurring psychedelics including “magic mushrooms.” The measure now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has not yet indicated if he will sign the bill into law.

The legislation, Senate Bill 58, was introduced by San Francisco Democrat Scott Wiener in December 2022. After receiving approval from the California Senate in May, the bill was approved with amendments by the State Assembly on Wednesday. The Senate passed the amended version on Thursday by a vote of 21-14.

If signed by the governor, Senate Bill 58 would legalize the personal possession, cultivation and use of the natural psychedelics dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline (except for peyote), and psilocybin and psilocin, the primary psychoactive ingredients in “magic mushrooms,” by adults aged 21 and older. Supporters of the legislation say that the bill would facilitate therapeutic access to the drugs, which have been shown to have the potential to treat a variety of serious mental health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and substance misuse disorders. The bill caps the possession of mescaline at four grams, while the limit set for DMT, psilocybin and psilocyn is one gram.

“This is a well-crafted, targeted bill to stop criminalizing people who are using these substances, including for health purposes,” Wiener told Marijuana Moment on Thursday. “I’m so grateful to my colleagues for their support, and I look forward to making the case to the governor that the bill deserves his signature.”