Massachusetts officials announced Wednesday that a ballot initiative to make certain psychedelics legal in the state for adults has qualified for November ballots, Marijuana Moment reports.
Advocates with the Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO) campaign submitted the final batch of signatures for the initiative last week. The campaign previously turned in enough signatures to force the Legislature to consider the issue but, after lawmakers rejected the reforms, the campaign submitted an additional 14,000+ signatures last week to put the issue on the ballot.
If approved by voters, the Natural Psychedelic Substances Act would legalize the possession, cultivation, and sharing of certain psychedelics for adults aged 21 and older. Possession limits under the proposal would be capped at one gram for DMT, 18 grams for non-peyote mescaline, 30 grams for ibogaine, and one gram for both psilocybin and psilocin. Notable, those weight limits do not account for material that the psychoactive substances are attached to, the report said.
The initiative would also establish a Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission to oversee implementing the law and licensing psychedelics service centers and facilitators, with a Natural Psychedelic Substances Advisory Board to “study and make recommendations” to the commission regarding public health, training and regulations, and the potential for future expansions to the psychedelics program.
If passed, the initiative would take effect December 15, 2024. The proposal does not include any expungement provisions for prior psychedelics-related convictions.
“The support from Massachusetts residents has been overwhelming, we are thrilled to be on the ballot this year. Massachusetts veterans have been advocating for this type of care for years, it’s time to make it accessible and affordable for them and other struggling Massachusetts residents.” – Emily Oneschuk, grassroots outreach director for MMHO, in a press release
A study published earlier this year found that older adults who have used psychedelics tend to exhibit better cognitive function and fewer depressive symptoms than those who have never used psychedelics.
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