SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — A bill to decriminalize the possession or sharing of psychedelic drugs in California has been passed by the state Senate and will head to the Assembly.
Senate Bill 519 was introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener.
“This is a big step for this legislation and for our movement to end the war on drugs and to take a more health and science-based approach and to move away from criminalization of drugs,” Wiener expressed in a video posted on Twitter Tuesday.
“People can have whatever opinions they want about drugs, but the question is ‘Should we be arresting and jailing people for possessing and using drugs?’ And I think the answer is absolutely no,” Wiener told FOX40 in April.
He previously told FOX40, “Psychedelic drugs have significant benefits both for mental health and addiction treatment.”
If passed, SB 519 will approve the use of mushrooms, MDMA, LSD, mescaline and ibogaine for combat veterans with PTSD and people with diagnosed or undiagnosed addictions and mental illnesses.
Wiener said, though, his main concern is ending the war on drugs.
The President of the International Faith Based Coalition and the Congress of Racial Equality previously expressed concerns about the bill being written as a recreational bill as opposed to one for therapeutic purposes.
“You’re saying that this is for therapeutic purposes, and the way the bill is written, it’s written more as a recreational bill,” Tak Allen said. “I also had major concerns within my coalition that ketamine is another known date rape drug, and that’s on the list of drugs that they would like to have legalized.”