Elizabeth Warren Backs Massachusetts Psychedelics Legalization Ballot Initiative, But Stresses Need For Effective Regulations

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says she will be supporting a Massachusetts ballot initiative to legalize certain psychedelics—though she stressed the reform must be enacted with a thoughtful regulatory framework in place.

During a debate between the incumbent U.S. senator and her GOP competitor, John Deaton, the moderator asked both candidates about where they stand on Question 4, the measure to allow adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow and share certain amounts of psychedelics such as psilocybin, ibogaine and DMT.

Warren said “yes,” she supports it, “but I want to say it’s going to take a period to get into it, and we’ve got to get the right regulations in place to make sure people are safe.”

While the senator has long advocated for marijuana legalization and other drug policy reforms, she’s been relatively quiet about her position on psychedelics policy, even as multiple cities across Massachusetts have passed local decriminalization ordinances.

Deaton, for his part, said he opposes Question 4 because he said the state needs to keep its focus on combating the opioid crisis. However, he added that he favors allowed certain psychedelics “for medical purposes by a doctor.”

The campaign behind the initiative, Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO) highlighted Warren’s remarks in a press release on Monday, emphasizing that consistent with the senator’s comments, the measure would “include a two-year development phase for program implementation, with data collection and adjustments over time.”

The proposal would also set the stage for regulated access at licensed service centers attended by trained facilitators.

While Warren is on board with the reform, recently polling has raised questions about whether there’s enough support statewide to get the initiative past 50 percent to pass.

A University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB Poll that was released last week found that 43 percent of residents are in favor of the proposal and another 43 percent are opposed. That leaves a significant percentage of the electorate (14 percent) undecided. An earlier poll showed the measure trailing.

Activists are working to close the gap in support. For example, the veteran service organization (VSO) Heroic Hearts Project recently released an ad promoting the reform as a pathway to provide a critical alternative therapy option for people with serious health conditions.

Meanwhile, Gov. Maura Healy (D) in January drew attention to testimony around a veterans-focused bill that she’s introduced, and has since been enacted, to create a psychedelics work group to study the therapeutic potential of substances such as psilocybin.

Enactment of the HERO Act followed a Massachusetts joint legislative committee’s decision to advise the legislature not to pass the broader statewide psychedelics legalization initiative. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin certified in July that that activists collected more than enough valid petitions for that proposal to go before voters.

Lawmakers were required to consider the psychedelics measure, spearheaded by MMHO, after the state certified advocates had submitted enough valid signatures in an initial petitioning round last year.

In May, the Special Joint Committee on Ballot Initiatives issued a majority report that formally recommended against passing the measure as drafted.

The campaign first filed two different psychedelics reform initiatives in August, and after the state attorney general determined that they both met the constitutional requirement for ballot placement the following months, activists decided to pursue the version that included a home cultivation option.

Eight cities across Massachusetts have enacted policies to locally deprioritize enforcement of laws against psychedelics, an effort that has been led by BSNM: Salem, Somerville, Cambridge, Easthampton, Northampton, Amherst,Provincetown and Medford.

The Cambridge City Council and Somerville City Council also voted to endorse the statewide psychedelics ballot measure in August.

Separately, a different Massachusetts legislative committee advanced a bill in February that would legalize psilocybin therapy in the Commonwealth and set up a framework to license facilitators who would supervise medical, therapeutic and spiritual applications of the drug.

Rep. Mike Connolly (D) also filed a bill in 2021 that received a Joint Judiciary Committee hearing on studying the implications of legalizing entheogenic substances like psilocybin and ayahuasca.

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