With the election less than three months away, it won’t be long before Massachusetts voters will have the opportunity to make their state just the third to legalize certain psychedelics such as psilocybin.
Question 4, put forth by the nonprofit Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO), would legalize the possession and personal cultivation of up to one gram of DMT, 18 grams of non-peyote mescaline, 30 grams of Ibogaine, one gram of psilocybin, and one gram of psilocin. Possessing up to twice this amount would be punishable by a fine of up to $100.
The initiative aims to “expand mental health treatment options in Massachusetts by providing new pathways to access natural psychedelic medicine therapy,” including “creating access to natural psychedelic medicine therapy and removing criminal penalties for personal possession of these medicines.”
The law would allow licensed service centers to supply psychedelics, overseen by a newly-created Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission, modeled after the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.
Psychedelics under the initiative would be subject to a 15% excise tax. The initiative would take effect on December 15, 2024, with the commission formed by March 1, 2025.
As of the end of July, MMHO has raised around $4 million in support of Question 4. At the time of publication, there has been no major opposition group formed to defeat the measure.
Currently, only Colorado and Oregon have legalized psilocybin or any other psychedelic that’s on the federal controlled substances list.
In Massachusetts, six different cities have passed ordinances decriminalizing the possession of psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms. Salem was the most recent in May, joining Cambridge, Somerville, Easthampton, Northampton, and Amherst.
