Marijuana Moment reports
A City Council committee in Portland, Maine, unanimously advanced a resolution last week that advocates say would decriminalize certain psychedelic plants and fungi. The measure is now on track for a full council vote as soon as mid-October.
The Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee, which passed the resolution on a 3–0 vote on Tuesday, also amended the bill to cover home cultivation of natural entheogens for personal use and sharing without compensation. Criminal enforcement would not change for selling, dispensing, possessing on school grounds or driving under the influence of the substances.
Plants and fungi that would be affected by the measure, backed by organizers at Decriminalize Maine, include those containing psilocybin, psilocyn, ibogaine, mescaline (except peyote), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Peyote is excluded “in light of its vulnerable ecological status, combined with its religious and cultural significance to Indigenous peoples,” the document notes.
The resolution would maintain “that City of Portland departments, agencies, boards, commissions, officers or employees of the city should avoid using city funds or resources to assist in the investigation, criminal prosecution or the imposition of criminal penalties” for the covered activity. The substances would remain illegal under state law, but the city would deprioritize enforcement.
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Maine’s Biggest City Advances Proposal To Decriminalize Psychedelic Plants And Fungi
