A Massachusetts campaign that aims to legalize the use of certain psychedelic substances for mental health purposes has reached a significant milestone. The campaign, called Massachusetts for Mental Health Options, claims to have collected more than 75,000 signatures from registered voters, which is enough to force the state legislature to consider their proposed initiative.

The initiative, known as the Natural Psychedelic Substances Act, would create a regulatory framework for lawful and supervised access to psychedelics such as psilocybin mushrooms, DMT, mescaline, ibogaine and psilocin at licensed facilities. It would also allow adults 21 and older to possess, grow and share limited amounts of these substances for personal use.

The campaign, which is backed by the national advocacy group New Approach, filed multiple versions of the initiative in September and decided to pursue the most expansive one after conducting internal polling. The selected version would provide adults with a home cultivation option, whereas the other proposals would not.

The campaign says it has internally verified more than 75,000 signatures, which is slightly above the 74,574 threshold required for the first phase of the effort. The signatures need to be submitted to the secretary of state's office by December 6, after being certified by local town clerks. If the signatures are formally verified by state officials, the measure would then go to the legislature, which could choose to enact the reform, propose a substitute or decline to act.

If lawmakers do not pass the initiative by May 1, the campaign would then have until July 3 to submit at least 12,429 additional valid signatures to put the proposal on the November 2024 ballot.

The campaign argues that psychedelics have the potential to treat various mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction, and that people should have the right to access these substances in a safe and regulated manner. They cite scientific research that shows the benefits of psychedelics for mental health, as well as the growing movement of decriminalization and legalization of these substances in other states and cities.

Massachusetts is not the only state where psychedelics reform is gaining momentum. In California, a campaign to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for medical use is expected to launch soon, while in Wisconsin, Illinois and Pennsylvania, lawmakers have introduced bills to decriminalize or reschedule psychedelics. In Oregon, voters approved a measure last year to legalize psilocybin therapy, making it the first state to do so.

The Massachusetts campaign hopes to follow the successful model of marijuana legalization, which was also initiated by a ballot measure in 2016. The campaign believes that public opinion is shifting in favor of psychedelics reform, and that the time is ripe for a change in the state's drug policy.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 11/10/2023

(1) Massachusetts Psychedelics Campaign Believes It Has Enough Signatures .... https://www.marijuanamoment.net/massachusetts-psychedelics-campaign-believes-it-has-enough-signatures-to-force-lawmakers-to-consider-legalization-initiative/.

(2) Psychedelics Reform In California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Massachusetts & Pennsylvania. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/psychedelics-reform-in-california-wisconsin-illinois-massachusetts-pennsylvania/ar-AA1jqwSj.

(3) Psychedelic Advocates Say They Have Enough Signatures For Legislative Action. https://menafn.com/1107363963/Psychedelic-Advocates-Say-They-Have-Enough-Signatures-For-Legislative-Action.

(4) Massachusetts Regulated Access to Psychedelic Substances Initiative .... https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Regulated_Access_to_Psychedelic_Substances_Initiative_%282024%29.

(5) Coming soon? Psychedelics on the ballot in Massachusetts. https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/07/12/massachusetts-psychedelics-psilocybin-ballot-question-newsletter.