TRENTON, N.J. (Dec. 26, 2022) – A bill filed in the New Jersey Assembly would legalize the possession of “magic mushrooms” despite the ongoing federal prohibition of psilocybin. The passage of the bill would set the stage to nullify federal prohibition in practice and effect.
A coalition of three Democrats introduced Assembly Bill 4911 (A4911) on Dec. 5. Titled the “Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act,” the legislation would legalize the possession and distribution of up to 4 grams of psilocybin for adults 21 and over. The bill would also allow adults to cultivate mushrooms capable of producing psilocybin for personal use as long as they keep them away from minors.
The proposed law would also create the legal and regulatory structure to establish psilocybin service centers for treating patients and for the commercial production of psilocybin. The bill would create the Department of Health Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Advisory Board to oversee the process.
A4911 also includes provisions to expunge past offenses involving psilocybin production, possession, use, and distribution.
A similar bill (S2934) was filed in the New Jersey Senate earlier this year.
Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic compound found in certain mushrooms. A number of studies have shown psilocybin to be effective in the treatment of depression, PTSD, chronic pain and addiction. For instance, a Johns Hopkins study found that “psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer.”
Efforts to legalize psilocybin in New Jersey follow a successful ballot measure that decriminalized a number of drugs, including heroin and cocaine in Oregon. In 2022, Colorado voters passed a ballot measure decriminalizing several naturally occurring psychedelic substances. At least 14 cities including Detroit Michigan have decriminalized “magic mushrooms.”
Psychedelic decriminalization and legalization efforts at the state and local levels are moving forward despite the federal government’s prohibition of psilocybin and other psychedelic substances.
LEGALITY
Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) passed in 1970, the federal government maintains the complete prohibition of psilocybin. Of course, the federal government lacks any constitutional authority to ban or regulate such substances within the borders of a state, despite the opinion of the politically connected lawyers on the Supreme Court. If you doubt this, ask yourself why it took a constitutional amendment to institute federal alcohol prohibition.
In effect, the passage of A4911 would end criminal enforcement of laws prohibiting the possession of psilocybin in New Jersey. As we’ve seen with marijuana and hemp, when states and localities stop enforcing laws banning a substance, the federal government finds it virtually impossible to maintain prohibition. For instance, FBI statistics show that law enforcement makes approximately 99 of 100 marijuana arrests under state, not federal law. By curtailing or ending state prohibition, states sweep part of the basis for 99 percent of marijuana arrests.
Furthermore, figures indicate it would take 40 percent of the DEA’s yearly annual budget just to investigate and raid all of the dispensaries in Los Angeles – a single city in a single state. That doesn’t include the cost of prosecution either. The lesson? The feds lack the resources to enforce marijuana prohibition without state and local assistance, and the same will likely hold true with other drugs.
WHAT’S NEXT
A4911 was referred to the Assembly Health Committee where it must get a hearing and pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.
- Kentucky Repeals Sales Taxes on Gold and Silver Bullion - April 18, 2024
- Alaska House Committee Holds Hearing on Defend the Guard Act - April 17, 2024
- Gold and Silver as Legal Tender Approved by Second Missouri House Committee - April 16, 2024