A Minnesota marijuana legalization bill is cruising right along, Hong Kong bans CBD as a "dangerous drug," and more.

Marijuana Policy

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Keeps Advancing. A marijuana legalization bill, House File 100, has won approval in the House Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee Thursday. That's the fourth committee to approve it in the House. Meanwhile, a companion bill in the Senate was approved by the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

Ohio Bill Would Protect Drivers with THC in Their Systems. State Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) has filed Senate Bill 26, which would protect drivers from facing charges for having THC in their system as long as they can prove they were not impaired. The bill would remove the per se limits for marijuana and marijuana metabolites for the purpose of determining whether the driver was Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence (OVI). Without a set per se level (where the state assumes one is intoxicated), the bill effectively removes the automatic license suspension for those caught with THC in their systems.

Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana Sales Have Begun in Mississippi. Nearly a year after medical marijuana was legalized in the state, the first legal sales have taken place. The first sales occurred Wednesday at The Cannabis Company in Brookhaven and at two Oxford dispensaries, Hybrid Relief and Star Buds. More than 1,700 patients are currently enrolled in the state's medical marijuana program. Voters approved a medical marijuana initiative in 2020, only to have it invalidated by the state Supreme Court. The legislature then passed a bill authorizing it.

International

Hong Kong Bans CBD as "Dangerous Drug." As of next Wednesday, Hong Kong will ban CBD, a cannabinoid that does not produce the same psychoactive effects as its more potent fellow cannabinoid, THC. "Starting from February 1, cannabidiol, aka CBD, will be regarded as a dangerous drug and will be supervised and managed by the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance,"customs intelligence officer Au-Yeung Ka-lun said ."As of then, transporting CBD for sale, including import and export, as well as producing, possessing and consuming CBD, will be illegal,"he added.

Mexican Senator Will File Bill to Legalize Natural Psychedelics for Treatment of Mental Health Problems. Sen. Alejandra Lagunes of the Ecological Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) said Wednesday she will present a bill to legalize and regulate natural psychedelics for the treatment of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. She made the comments at the Intercultural Forum on Entheogenic Medicine, which was held in the federal Senate."It’s scientifically proven that psilocybin from psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline from peyote, DMT from ayahuasca and the Colorado River toad are not drugs. They have a high therapeutic potential, low toxicity and don’t create physical dependence or abuse,"she said.

Myanmar Opium Production Booming After Coup, UNODC Says. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a new report that opium production is up 33 percent since the military took over the government in February 2021. Farmers in parts of the country have "little option" but to grow opium, reversing years of efforts to reduce poppy planting, said UNODC regional representative Jeremy Douglas. said "At times like these many farmers see opium as particularly attractive – given predictable demand and the fact that brokers will typically buy the entire crop at the farm gate," said International Crisis Group Myanmar advisor Richard Horsey.

This year's state legislative season is just beginning, and there is already evidence that the psychedelic renaissance now underway is reaching into statehouses across the land. In at least eleven states, reform bills ranging from therapeutic psilocybin to the decriminalization of natural psychedelics have already been filed, and more states are likely to join the list as the year goes on.

What started with a successful local psilocybin decriminalization initiative in Denver in 2019 has now spread to a number of cities, including Oakland and Santa Cruz, California; Cambridge, Somerville, and Northampton, Massachusetts; Seattle; and Washington, DC. At the state level, Oregon led the way with the 2020 passage of Measure 109, which both decriminalized psilocybin and created a framework for its therapeutic administration, and Measure 110, which decriminalized the possession of all drugs, including psychedelics. And in November, Colorado voters passed Measure 122, which decriminalizes natural psychedelics and creates a framework for psilocybin "healing centers."

Here (with a tip of the hat to Marijuana Moment) is what could be coming this year:

California

Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has filed Senate Bill 58, which would legalize the possession of small amounts of DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocyn, but not synthetic psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA. A previous version of the bill included those synthetic psychedelics. That bill passed the Senate only to die at the last minute in the Assembly.

Colorado

After voters approved the legalization of natural psychedelics and the creation of psilocybin "healing centers," Gov. Jared Polis (D) is calling for the legislature to pass enabling legislation "to set it up in a way that prevents any negative consequences and honors the will of the voters." It is unclear what Polis is seeking, but he has previously said he was "excited" about the reforms and called psychedelics a "promising" treatment possibility for some mental health conditions.

Connecticut

Rep. David Michel (D) has filed House Bill 5012, "[t]o allow the use of psilocybin for medicinal and therapeutic purposes, including, but not limited to, the provision of physical, mental or behavioral health care." That bill has been referred to the joint Public Health Committee. Michel told Marijuana Moment this week that he will also cosponsor a psychedelic decrim bill with Rep. Josh Elliott (D).

Illinois

Rep. La Shawn Ford (D) has filed House Bill 1, the Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens (CURE) Act, which would remove psilocybin from the state's list of controlled substances, effectively legalizing it. The measure would also allow expungement of certain psilocybin-related convictions and create an advisory board for psilocybin therapeutic services.

Missouri

Rep. Tony Lovasco (R) plans to file a revised psychedelics bill after a broader psychedelic reform bill he filed last year died in the House Health and Mental Health Policy Committee. The new version will be a narrowly tailored bill to allow people with serious mental health conditions therapeutic access to psilocybin.

Minnesota

Rep. Andy Smith (D) has announced that he is "currently working on a bill forming a psychedelic medicine task force so Minnesotans can have access to these life affirming treatments. For decades scientific research into the positive effects of psychedelic medicine has been muzzled by the 'war on drugs,' but that is [starting] to change," he said. The bill has not yet been filed and the text is not yet available.

Montana.

Two bills are currently being drafted by legislative staff at the request of members. LC 1208, requested by Sen. Jill Cohenour (D)would "[l]egalize psilocybin use for PTSD/mental health treatment," while LC 2311, requested by Rep. George Nikolakakos (R) would more incrementally mandate an interim study on the use of psilocybin for the treatment of mental illness.

New Jersey

Last year, Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D) filed Senate Bill 2934, which would legalize the possession, home cultivation, and gifting of psilocybin mushrooms by people 21 and over, as well as setting a system of licensed psilocybin services in supervised settings. That bill has been carried over into the current session and now has a companion version, Assembly Bill 4911, in the Assembly filed by three key lawmakers, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Raj Mukherji (D) and Health Committee Chairman Herb Conaway (D).

New York

Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D) has pre-filed Assembly Bill 00114, which would legalize the "possession, use, cultivation, production, creation, analysis, gifting, exchange, or sharing by or between natural persons of twenty-one years of age or older of a natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogen." That would include DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocyn. The bill would also allow people to use such substances in religious ceremonies or engage in psychedelic services "with or without remuneration."

Oregon

State voters already approved both therapeutic psilocybin and broader drug decriminalization, but legislators have filed a pair of bills aimed at adjusting the psilocybin services program. Senate Bill 303, filed by Sen. Elizabeth Steiner (D), would mandate that psilocybin businesses and therapists collect and report data such as average psilocybin doses and demographics of their client base. Senate Bill 302, filed by Sen. Kim Thatcher (R), would mandate that psilocybin business applicants provide certain information about ownership and location of their operations.

Virginia

Last year, Del. Dawn Adams (D) filed House Bill 898, which would decriminalize a broad array of psychedelics, but the House bumped it to 2023. It's now 2023, and that bill is still alive. Adams has this year also filed House Bill 1315, which would legalize psilocybin possession for people who have an "order" from a health care professional to treat "refractory depression or post-traumatic stress disorder or to ameliorate end-of-life anxiety." The bill would also reduce the penalty for non-medical possession of psilocybin to a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by no more than 30 days in jail. Meanwhile Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) has pre-filed Senate Bill 932, which would down-schedule psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule III and create a Virginia Psilocybin Advisory Board to "develop a long-term strategic plan for establishing therapeutic access to psilocybin services and monitor and study federal laws, regulations, and policies regarding psilocybin."

And this is only January.

Three years after voters in Denver opened the door to psychedelic reform by approving a municipal initiative that made possession of psilocybin mushrooms the lowest law enforcement priority, voters statewide have approved an initiative that decriminalizes plant- and fungi-derived psychedelics and creates a program for the therapeutic administration of such substances.

On Election Day, voters approved Proposition 122, the Natural Medicine Health Act, with 53.55 percent of the vote. To win, the initiative organizers, Natural Medicine Colorado had to overcome opposition not only from prohibitionists but also from sectors of the state's contentious psychedelic community, such as Decriminalize Nature Colorado, whose competing initiative failed to qualify for the ballot.

Last week's victory makes Colorado the second state to enact reforms decriminalizing a natural psychedelic and setting up a program for therapeutic use. Oregon voters led the way on that by approving Measure 109 in 2020.

Proposition 122 has two main prongs: First, it decriminalizes the personal use, possession, and cultivation by people 21 and over of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, mescaline (not derived from peyote), psilocybin, and psilocyn, as well as providing for the sealing of conviction records of people who have completed sentences for the use or possession of those substances. The measure sets no personal possession limits.

Second, it creates a "natural medicine services" program for the therapeutic administration of the specified psychedelics and creates a rubric for regulated growth, distribution, and sales of those substances to entities within the program. Only psilocybin and psilocin would be okayed for therapeutic use until 2026. Then regulators could decide on whether to allow the therapeutic use of DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline.

As part of the "natural medicine services" program, Proposition 122 will also create the Natural Medicine Advisory Board to craft rules and regulations for implementing the program. The board can also make recommendations to the Department of Regulatory Agencies on adding additional substances.

With the help of more than $3.825 million in funding from the New Approach PAC, which has bankrolled numerous drug reform initiatives across the country, Natural Health Colorado zipped through signature-gathering in a quick three months and qualified for the ballot back in June.

That irked groups such as Decriminalize Colorado and the Society for Psychedelic Outreach Reform and Education (SPORE).

"I do not personally align with I-58 [Proposition 122] and the heavy out-of-state influence calling the shots in Colorado," said Melanie Rose Rodgers, co-proponent of the Decriminalize Nature initiative. "What happened with cannabis is happening with mushrooms. Folks from marginalized communities, People of Color are being left out -- once again. With all the inequality and rolling back of freedoms that exist today, let us not create new industries that will cater and serve the rich and wealthy while opening the floodgates for anyone able to buy Colorado 'healing center' licenses. I am opposed to the corporate takeover of sacred earth medicines and psychedelics written in I-58 [Proposition 122]."

"While this may sound like a good thing to people who want to see increased access to psychedelics, this initiative is designed for corporate control, largely restricting access to corporate-owned healing centers Frankly, the NMHA is not a step in the right direction. It is a leap in the wrong direction," said Matthew Duffy, cofounder of SPORE. "The NMHA is a corporate power grab, setting a corrupt foundation for the future of medicine stewardship in Colorado."

But Natural Health Colorado and its backers beg to differ, and they are emphasizing the therapeutic aspects of the measure as they bask in the glow of victory.

"This is a truly historic moment. Colorado voters saw the benefit of regulated access to natural medicines, including psilocybin, so people with PTSD, terminal illness, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues can heal," Natural Medicine Colorado said in a post-election statement. "We look forward to working with the regulatory and medical experts and other stakeholders to implement this new law."

"The Natural Medicine Health Act puts the well-being of patients and communities first," added Josh Kappel, chair of the Natural Medicine Colorado campaign. "It was purposefully designed, with a multi-phase implementation process that sets clear safety rules, while allowing the details of the regulatory structure to be developed by the community and regulators working together."

For David Bronner, CEO (Cosmic Engagement Officer) of Dr. Bronner's soaps, which endorsed the initiative, it combines two important means of access to the mind-altering substances. "I see what [Proposition 122] does as one seamless policy: making natural medicines -- psychedelic plant and fungal medicines containing psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine or mescaline (peyote) -- available to all adult Coloradans in two powerful healing modalities: via a regulated access model in a therapeutic context; and the self-regulating community healing model in a decriminalized context," Bronner said.

Now that the voters have spoken, it is time to begin ensuring that Proposition 122 in practice more resembles the vision of its proponents than its opponents.

Beginning with the successful 2019 Denver municipal initiative that made possession of psilocybin mushrooms the lowest law enforcement priority, Colorado has been on the cutting edge of the psychedelic reform movement. This November, the state is poised to maintain that vanguard status by decriminalizing some psychedelics -- the natural ones.

That is because Natural Health Colorado has managed to get the Natural Medicine Health Act (Initiative 58) on the ballot. The measure has three main planks:

1. It would decriminalize the personal use, possession, and cultivation by people 21 and over of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, mescaline (not derived from peyote), psilocybin, and psilocyn, as well as providing for the sealing of conviction records of people who have completed sentences for the use or possession of those substances. The measure sets no personal possession limits.
2. It would create a "natural medicine services" program for the therapeutic administration of the specified psychedelics and create a rubric for regulated growth, distribution, and sales of those substances to entities within the program. Only psilocybin and psilocyin would be okayed for therapeutic use until 2026. Then regulators could decide on whether to allow the therapeutic use of DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline.
3. It would create the Natural Medicine Advisory Board to create rules and regulations for implementing the therapeutic access program. The board could also make recommendations to the Department of Regulatory Agencies on adding additional substances.

With the help of more than $2.7 million in funding from the New Approach PAC, which has bankrolled numerous drug reform initiatives across the country, Natural Health Colorado zipped through signature-gathering in a quick three months and qualified for the ballot back in June.

A competing initiative campaign from Decriminalize Nature Colorado, which would have only decriminalized entheogens and not created a therapeutic program, failed to qualify for the ballot. Members of that group have since become some of the most outspoken critics of Initiative 58.

"I do not personally align with I-58 and the heavy out-of-state influence calling the shots in Colorado," said Melanie Rose Rodgers, co-proponent of the Decriminalize Nature initiative. "What happened with cannabis is happening with mushrooms. Folks from marginalized communities, People of Color are being left out -- once again. With all the inequality and rolling back of freedoms that exist today, let us not create new industries that will cater and serve the rich and wealthy while opening the floodgates for anyone able to buy Colorado 'healing center' licenses. I am opposed to the corporate takeover of sacred earth medicines and psychedelics written in I-58."

But Natural Health Colorado and its backers beg to differ, and they are emphasizing the therapeutic aspects of the measure.

"This initiative would give Coloradans access to a new, promising, and research-based treatment option for PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges, in a safe, careful, and beneficial way," said Kevin Matthews, an initiative spokesman who led the Denver psilocybin campaign. "These medicines can be transformative for people who have suffered for years and struggled to find help," he said.

"The Natural Medicine Health Act puts the well-being of patients and communities first," said Josh Kappel, chair of the Natural Medicine Colorado campaign. "It was purposefully designed, with a multi-phase implementation process that sets clear safety rules, while allowing the details of the regulatory structure to be developed by the community and regulators working together."

"Our goal is to make the healing benefits of these natural medicines available to people they can help, including veterans with PTSD, survivors of domestic or sexual abuse, people with treatment-resistant depression, and others for whom our typical mental-health treatments just aren't working," said Ben Unger, psychedelic program director for New Approach PAC.

The initiative is also being endorsed by David Bronner, CEO (Cosmic Engagement Officer) of Dr. Bronner's soaps. "I see what [Initiative 61] does as one seamless policy: making natural medicines -- psychedelic plant and fungal medicines containing psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine or mescaline (excepting peyote) -- available to all adult Coloradans in two powerful healing modalities: via a regulated access model in a therapeutic context; and the self-regulating community healing model in a decriminalized context," Bronner said.

Whether Initiative 61 can pass in November remains to be seen. Natural Health Colorado has said he has no internal polling for this year, but a poll last year had support for legalizing psilocybin at 50 percent. While the poll question was not an exact match with what the initiative offers, it is close, and the level of support suggests that the contest itself could be close. A rule of thumb among initiative campaigns is that they like to be at 60 percent when the final stretch commences, as it now has.