Psychedelic Decriminalization Could Go to Massachusetts Ballot
Close to seven years after Massachusetts voters endorsed the legalization of recreational marijuana, a reevaluation of the state's stance on psychedelic substances may be on the horizon. A national organization focused on drug policy reform, which has successfully championed similar changes in two other states, is now pondering this question.
The group, known as the "Massachusetts for Mental Health Options" committee, has taken steps to potentially introduce a ballot question aimed at decriminalizing psychedelics. In their submission to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, the committee outlined their objective as follows: "To expand the array of mental health treatment options available in Massachusetts by establishing fresh avenues for utilizing natural psychedelic medicinal therapy."
This prospective ballot initiative would center around "facilitating access to natural psychedelic medicinal therapy and eliminating legal penalties for personal possession of these therapeutic substances." However, concrete details remain scarce at this juncture, given the slightly over three weeks left until the August 2 deadline to submit a 2024 initiative petition.
The individual identified as the point of contact for the ballot question committee in the submitted paperwork to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance is Meredith Lerner Moghimi, president of the political fundraising and strategy firm MLM Strategies. Queries directed towards her were referred to Ben Unger, a representative of the New Approach group, which played a pivotal role in the successful passage of ballot questions related to psychedelic therapy in Colorado and Oregon.
Unger characterized the Massachusetts proposal as "currently in the preliminary stages of exploration." He elaborated in an email, stating, "The coalition is still coalescing, and the policy is undergoing an exhaustive process of scrutiny, discussion, and finalization. As one can imagine, there are numerous details to be meticulously addressed."
New Approach reportedly invested millions of dollars to support a Colorado ballot question in 2022 that resulted in the decriminalization of specific psychedelic plants and fungi—a measure approved by voters last year.
As the recreational cannabis industry thrives in Massachusetts, the discourse has broadened to encompass access to psychedelic substances such as mushrooms, mescaline, and ibogaine. Advocates recently beseeched the Judiciary Committee to endorse legislation permitting the use of plant-based medicines for adults, contending that it could offer an innovative tool to aid those grappling with mental health impediments.
Representative Nicholas Boldyga of Southwick, a Republican, implored his fellow legislators last month to seize this opportunity, asserting, "Massachusetts has the potential to assume a pioneering role in the mental health revolution. It has been said that an idea whose time has come cannot be thwarted… I firmly believe that the time has arrived for these life-preserving plant medicines to inaugurate a fresh paradigm in our perception, comprehension, and treatment of mental health."
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