Governor Newsom Rejects Proposal to Decriminalize Psychedelic Drugs in California

Gavin Newsom’s veto of the legislation marks a setback for campaigners in one of the country’s most socially liberal states amid falling support for drug liberalization in neighboring Oregon.

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation on Saturday that would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of hallucinogenic drugs in the state, claiming the issue required further research.

“California should immediately begin work to set up regulated treatment guidelines – replete with dosing information, therapeutic guidelines, rules to prevent against exploitation during guided treatments, and medical clearance of no underlying psychoses," Newsom said, explaining his rationale for the veto. “Unfortunately, this bill would decriminalize possession prior to these guidelines going into place, and I cannot sign it.”

The bill, recently passed by California’s Democratic Party-controlled state legislature, would have prevented arrest or prosecution of people possessing small amounts of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline, and psilocybin, the compound found in psychedelic mushrooms. Possession of the substances in small quantities would instead be treated as a civil violation similar to a traffic ticket.

The legislation would have opened the door for therapeutic use of hallucinogenic substances, recently approved by voters in ballot measures in Colorado and Oregon. Advocates have promoted supervised use of the substances to treat a range of mental disorders, including clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

However, drug liberalization efforts have more recently seen increased opposition in neighboring Oregon’s largest city. Recent polling showed 56% of Portland residents want the city’s recently-passed drug decriminalization ordinance to be repealed.

The ballot measure decriminalized possession of small amounts of all drugs, including hard drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine. Advocates for the legislation say the drug treatment efforts mandated by the bill haven’t had the necessary time to go into effect.