Supporters of a bill that would have legalized and regulated the use of certain psychedelics in California reacted with disappointment to the bill’s failure to advance out of a legislative committee last week and resolved to try again.
Senate Bill 1012, the Regulated Psychedelic Facilitators Act and the Regulated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Act, was introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and marked his third attempt to pass legislation related to psychedelics.
A previous bill to decriminalize possession of psychedelics, SB 58, was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023.
The governor said at the time that the regulations weren’t in place to make such a move, something Wiener sought to address in the latest bill. The bill would have established a Board of Regulated Psychedelic Facilitators in the state’s Department of Consumer Affairs to issue licenses to providers, among other regulations.
Wiener said he was disappointed but understood it would be hard to pass the bill given the state’s current fiscal tightening because it would have cost money to set up the regulatory checks the bill included.
“Psychedelics have massive promise in helping people heal and get their lives back on track,” Wiener said. “It makes enormous sense for California to lead in creating regulated access under the supervision of a licensed professional. I’m highly committed to this issue, and we’ll continue to work on expanding access to psychedelics.”
Other Bay Area lawmakers including state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley also sponsored the bill.
Therapeutic uses
Psychedelics including MDMA, ketamine, and psilocybin have been increasingly considered in recent years by researchers for medical and therapeutic purposes, including for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety for terminally ill patients, and addiction treatment.
According to a 2015 study published in the peer-reviewed Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers around the world have been studying the potential benefits of a range of psychedelic drugs. The study’s authors recommended leaders in both industry and government be willing to reconsider the drugs’ status.
“Psychedelics have massive promise in helping people heal and get their lives back on track. … I’m highly committed to this issue, and we’ll continue to work on expanding access to psychedelics.” State Sen. Scott Wiener
“It behooves policy-makers to be aware of and open to new approaches to treatments emerging in the field of psychedelic medicine,” the authors wrote. “This is particularly important for those concerned about the growing prevalence of mental illness, including addiction, as well as its associated human, social and economic costs.”
A $55 million study on the potential medical uses of psilocybin is being conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Colorado and Oregon have allowed regulated use of some psychedelic treatments in recent years.
Wiener’s bill would have reclassified dimethyltryptamine, known as DMT, mescaline, MDMA, psilocybin, psilocin, and spores or mycelium that can produce psilocybin or psilocin.
Users won’t wait on the Legislature
Supporters of the bill, including the Alliance for Safer Use of Psychedelics (ASUP) and the Coalition for Psychedelic Safety and Education (CPSE) reacted with frustration and resolve at the news that the bill would not advance out of the Appropriations Committee.
Susan Sagy, executive director of CPSE, lost her son to unregulated psilocybin use and favors more research and regulation to help people understand the drugs better.
“Responsible drug policy reform legislation cannot wait,” Sagy said. “People are not waiting for legalization or FDA approval to use psychedelics, so we must enact reforms now to ensure they have accurate information about potential health impacts.”
Jared Moffat, ASUP’s campaign director, said he was disappointed but said the organization would try again to get a bill passed.
“Californians will continue to seek out psychedelics for all sorts of reasons, including to help alleviate mental health challenges like PTSD, depression and anxiety,” Moffat said. “Many will do so without guided support and use psychedelics on their own, which increases risks.”