Massachusetts voters have rejected Question 4, an initiative that sought to legalize the possession and personal cultivation of small amounts of certain psychedelics, including DMT, psilocybin, psilocin, ibogaine, and non-peyote mescaline.
Psilocybin (top left), mescaline (top right), DMT (bottom left), and psilocin (bottom right).
At the time of publication, votes are still being counted, but based on a detailed examination of election data, The Marijuana Herald is confident in saying that voters will reject Question 4.
The initiative, backed by the nonprofit Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO), would have allowed adults to possess up to one gram of DMT, one gram of psilocybin, one gram of psilocin, 18 grams of non-peyote mescaline, and 30 grams of ibogaine for personal use. Individuals caught with up to twice these amounts would have faced fines of up to $100.
The measure also proposed establishing licensed service centers under the supervision of a new Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission, modeled after the state’s Cannabis Control Commission, to regulate these substances with a 15% excise tax. The initiative, however, will not take effect following its rejection by voters, leaving Massachusetts’ existing policies on psychedelics unchanged.
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.
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