D.C. Psychedelics Decriminalization Initiative Officially Takes Effect

A wide range of psychedelics such as psilocybin and ayahuasca are now officially the lowest local law enforcement in the nation’s capital as of Monday.

That’s the result of a ballot measure that Washington, D.C. voters approved in November to decriminalize plant- and fungi-based entheogens.

But some activists who were behind the voter initiative aren’t stopping now that their initial policy reform has gone into effect. The Plant Medicine Coalition (PMC) is now pushing the District Council to enact additional legislation to provide worker and child protections related to the use of plant- and fungi-based substances.

And they’re asking the city to issue guidance to law enforcement about the implications of the new current policy.

“This document will inform law enforcement of the policy changes, and give guidance on how to safely assist individuals who may be under the influence of psychedelics,” PMC wrote in an email to supporters. “Our conversations have been positive and we are continuing to connect D.C. officials with therapists, researchers, and other experts in our network to help guide the policy rollout.”

PMC is also launching a grants program to help build the psychedelics community in D.C. The grants, applications for which will open on April 1, will be used to fund “community hubs and leadership for plant medicine education, training, documentation, and multidisciplinary integration.”

In the meantime, months after voters approved an initiative to make enforcement of laws against entheogenic substances among the city’s lowest priorities, that policy has officially taken effect following a mandatory 30-day congressional review period during which federal lawmakers can overturn local measures in the nation’s capital. In this case, the House and Senate took no action, so the measure will be implemented as approved by 76 percent of D.C. voters.

The new law directs police to “make the investigation and arrest of persons 18 years of age or older, for non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing entheogenic plants and fungi that are listed in Schedule I of the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1981…as among its lowest enforcement priorities.”

This is a notable accomplishment for advocates, as Congress has previously used its unique authority over the government of the nation’s capital to block the enactment of a voter-approved medical cannabis measure, a stance which was later reversed by a subsequent Congress.

But now, with Democrats in control of both chambers and the White House, there’s a growing sense that the District will gain greater autonomy over its drug policy and other legislative issues.

At 12:01 AM, #Initiative81 became LAW in DC!!! Because this is YOUR moment, we asked our community, 'What is the SINGLE most important message or request you would share with a DC official in a meeting about Initiative 81?' Here's what you had to say! #PMC#i81#RightToHealpic.twitter.com/tyRmb6FQxz

— Plant Medicine Coalition (@PMCinDC) March 15, 2021

As one of its next steps, PMC says it will also be working with the D.C. Council to craft legislation that would ensure worker and child protections by prohibiting “the firing of individuals for use of plant medicines” and preventing “their children from being removed from the home for the same reason.”

“No parents should have to live in fear of losing their kids for using plant medicines,” PMC said in an email blast earlier this month.

Activists with the organization, which was founded in January, also have plans to lobby Congress on psychedelics issues from their headquarters in the nation’s capitol. Part of that will involve pushing lawmakers to approve federal funding for research into the therapeutic potential of entheogenic substances.

While the local decriminalization measure doesn’t provide for lawful sales of psychedelics, reform advocates are optimistic that 2021 is the year that a congressional spending bill rider is lifted that’s prevented D.C. from creating a retail market for marijuana—about seven years after voters approved legalization.

The so-called Harris rider—named after its sponsor Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD)—was renewed as part of the latest appropriations legislation, but the congressman didn’t proactively introduce it again last year in the Democratic-controlled House. Rather, it was included in the Senate version and ultimately made it into the final bill signed by President Donald Trump.

Lawmakers are already considering two new competing marijuana commerce bills—one from Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and another from D.C Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D).

The federal Government Accountability Office determined this month that the congressionally enacted D.C. rider does not preclude local officials from taking such procedural steps to prepare for an eventual reform. That came in response to a 2019 complaint from Harris, who notified the agency that the D.C. Council had introduced a legal sales bill and referred it to committees.

Separately, Bowser approved legislation in December to decriminalize possession of drug paraphernalia for personal use and promote harm reduction.

A different tea of activists filed a proposed ballot initiative to legalize marijuana sales in August, but it did not advance.

And a local councilman introduced a bill in October that would expand opportunities for formerly incarcerated people to participate in the city’s existing medical cannabis market.

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DC Democratic Party Endorses Psychedelics Decriminalization Ballot Initiative

The District of Columbia Democratic Party is formally endorsing a measure to decriminalize a wide range of psychedelics such as psilocybin and ayahuasca that’s on the ballot in the nation’s capital.

During a general body meeting last week, the chief petitioner of Decriminalize Nature D.C. gave a presentation on Initiative 81, and delegates then discussed the measure before agreeing to endorse it in a 23-10 vote.

Under the measure, possession and use of entheogenic plants and fungi would be among the district’s lowest law enforcement priorities. If voters approve it in November, D.C. will become the fourth jurisdiction in the U.S. to have enacted the policy change.

“Following a robust discussion between members of our organization and representatives from the Campaign to Decriminalize Nature DC, our Party passed a resolution in support of Initiative 81,” D.C. Democratic Party Chairman Charles Wilson said in a press release. “This initiative can help people struggling from mental illness and other afflictions who have found healing through entheogenic medicines, while moving us closer to ending the War on Drugs.”

Thank you @DCDemocrats for supporting #Initiative81!

Read the full press release from the DC Democratic Party on the resolution in support of Initiative 81 here: https://t.co/fGMwV3mqcW

— DecrimNatureDC (@DecrimNatureDC) October 3, 2020

The psychedelics reform movement has spread rapidly across the country since Denver became the first city to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms last year.

Decriminalize Nature D.C. Chair Melissa Lavasani, who led the presentation to the body, said the group’s measure “will help ensure that those benefiting from entheogenic plants and fungi are not law enforcement targets.”

“As the proposer of Initiative 81, I would also like to personally thank the D.C. Democratic Party for standing up for residents across DC who currently fear arrest or investigation for using plant medicines that can help treat depression, anxiety and addiction,” she said.

With this endorsement, the party is aligning itself with the majority of Washington, D.C. residents who favor the proposal, according to recent polling. In fact, three-in-five voters in the district are in favor of the initiative.

D.C.’s Board of Elections officially announced that the psychedelics reform measure qualified for the November ballot in August.

Decriminalize Nature D.C. turned in their signatures in July following an intensive petitioning process that saw reform advocates from across the country fly in to the nation’s capital to offer assistance. The campaign needed 24,835 valid signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure and they turned in about 35,000 raw submissions.

But despite positive polling, the campaign still has its work cut out for it when it comes to educating voters about the ballot. In a press release last week, the group noted that, in some wards across the district, the initiative is the only item on the back of the ballot, which could jeopardize some votes if they don’t raise awareness.

“Flip your ballot to the back to vote Yes on Initiative 81,” Lavasani said. “Plant medicines helped save my life. Every DC voter should have the opportunity to vote on Initiative 81 which would make a real difference in the lives of residents across the District and help end part of the destructive war on drugs.”

On the other side of the country in Oregon, a ballot initiative to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic purposes has also received some key endorsements. The Oregon Democratic Party backed the proposal last month as well as a separate measure to decriminalize possession of all drugs that’s also going before voters.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) told Marijuana Moment in January that he was in favor of the psilocybin reform proposal and that he would be working to boost the campaign as the election approaches. In August, he wrote in an email blast that passing the measure is necessary “because it tackles an important issue in our community, mental health, and it does so in an innovative and responsible way.”

Separately, the Vermont Democratic Party adopted a platform last month that calls for bold drug policy reforms, including legalizing marijuana sales, promoting equity in the cannabis industry and decriminalizing possession of all currently illicit substances.

But while state party officials appear to be increasingly on board with these reforms, the Democratic National Committee’s platform committee earlier this year rejected an amendment that would’ve added cannabis legalization as a 2020 party plank.

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Psychedelics Decriminalization Initiative Officially Qualifies For D.C. Ballot

A measure to effectively decriminalize a wide range of psychedelics has officially qualified for the November ballot in Washington, D.C.

The Board of Elections made the certification announcement during a virtual meeting on Wednesday, confirming that activists had collected enough signatures place the measure before voters in the nation’s capital.

Decriminalize Nature D.C. turned in their signatures last month following an intensive petitioning process that saw reform advocates from across the country fly in to the nation’s capital to offer assistance. The campaign needed 24,835 valid signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure and they turned in about 35,000 raw submissions.

After independently observing the validation process, the campaign said last week that it was confident that it had enough to qualify—and the board made that official during their meeting, deeming that 25,477 of the group’s submissions were valid.

Now D.C. residents will be able to decide whether to approve the initiative, which would make entheogenic substances such as psilocybin and ayahuasca among the district’s lowest law enforcement priorities.

It's official! #Initiative81 will be on the November ballot! pic.twitter.com/HlbZMZOZzw

— DecrimNatureDC (@DecrimNatureDC) August 5, 2020

Decriminalize Nature D.C. is in the process of formulating its communications and outreach strategy to make sure voters are informed about the initiative before they hit the polls. But like with the signature gathering effort, there are some unique challenges activists will have to overcome amid the coronavirus pandemic and resulting social distancing protocols.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our campaign saw strong support from D.C. voters for Initiative 81 from all eight wards,” Melissa Lavasani, the chairwoman of Decriminalize Nature D.C., said in a press release. “Every District voter who signed the petition to put the initiative on the ballot helped give D.C. residents this historic opportunity to change outdated laws that criminalize people who use natural substances to overcome anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other conditions.”

A poll released in February showed that 51 percent of residents supported decriminalizing psychedelics. After they were read the pros and cons arguments, support increased to 59 percent.

“We are excited to continue educating voters ahead of the election,” Lavasani said. “Although the pandemic is an added challenge, I am confident that Initiative 81 will pass on November 3 and that D.C. will take this important step towards ending another part of the destructive and wasteful war on drugs.”

At the congressional level, the group has at least one opponent: Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD).

While not a voting resident of the District, he’s made a habit of attempting to leverage Congress’s control over D.C. funding to block drug policy reform. Typically that’s been reserved to pushing an amendment to prevent the jurisdiction from legalizing marijuana sales, but last month, he filed a measure to undermine the psychedelics measure.

The congressman’s proposal before the House Appropriations Committee would have made it so only psilocybin mushrooms would be low police priorities and only if a doctor recommended them for medical reasons. But he withdrew it rather than force a vote, and also passed up the opportunity to file the measure for consideration on the House floor last week. That said, it is possible a senator will pursue the restriction in that chamber’s version of the D.C. spending bill.

The D.C. measure’s qualification for the ballot is the latest development in an increasingly prominent psychedelics reform movement in the U.S. and beyond.

In May 2019, Denver became the first U.S. city to decriminalize psilocybin, with the approval of a local ballot measure. Soon after, officials in Oakland, California, decriminalized possession of all plant- and fungi-based psychedelics. The City Council in Santa Cruz, California, voted to make the enforcement of laws against psychedelics among the city’s lowest enforcement priorities in January.

On Tuesday, Canada’s health minister granted exemptions allowing certain cancer patients to legally use psilocybin for end-of-life care.

Here’s a status update on other 2020 drug policy reform campaigns across the country: 

Oregon’s secretary of state confirmed last month that separate measures to legalize psilocybin therapy and decriminalize possession of all drugs while expanding treatment services will appear on the November ballot.

Montana activists said last month that county officials have already certified that they collected enough signatures to place two marijuana legalization measure on the state ballot, though the secretary of state’s office has yet to make that official.

In Arizona, the organizers of a legalization effort turned in 420,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot last month.

Organizers in Nebraska last month submitted 182,000 signatures in an attempt to put a medical marijuana measure on November’s ballot.

Idaho activists behind a medical marijuana legalization initiative were hoping to get a second wind after a federal judge said recently that the state must make accommodations for a separate ballot campaign due to signature gathering complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the other group last week, hopes are dashed.

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and stay-at-home mandates, separate measures to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational purposes qualified for South Dakota’s November ballot.

The New Jersey legislature approved putting a cannabis legalization referendum before voters as well.

And in Mississippi, activists gathered enough signatures to qualify a medical cannabis legalization initiative for the ballot—though lawmakers also approved a competing (and from advocates’ standpoint, less desirable) medical marijuana proposal that will appear alongside the campaign-backed initiative.

A campaign to legalize cannabis in Missouri officially gave up its effort for 2020 due to signature collection being virtually impossible in the face of social distancing measures.

North Dakota marijuana legalization activists are shifting focus and will seek qualification for the 2022 ballot.

Washington State activists had planned to pursue a drug decriminalization and treatment measure through the ballot, but citing concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak, they announced last month that they will be targeting the legislature instead.

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