First Pot, Now Mushrooms: Drug Could Be Legal In CA

CALIFORNIA -- The Golden State could be the first in the nation to legalize magic mushrooms.

An initiative to legalize Psilocybin was cleared by the Secretary of State recently to begin collecting signatures. If proponents collect 356,880 signatures from qualified voters by April 30, the initiative will make it to 2018 ballot for voters to decide its fate.

The initiative would exempt "adults, 21 and over, from criminal penalties and decriminalizes adult use of Psilocybin and it would exempt "adults, 21 and over, from California Health and Safety Codes 11390 and 11391, which otherwise prohibit possession, sale, transport and cultivation of Psilocybin."

The state Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that the legalization of the hallucinogen would reduce costs at the justice level and offer local governments another form of revenue.

"The measure would reduce costs to the state and local governments by reducing the number of psilocybin offenders incarcerated in state prison and county jail, as well as the number placed under community supervision (such as county probation)," state analysts wrote. "State and local governments could receive additional revenues, such as sales taxes from psilocybin sales permitted under this measure. This is because

many individuals who are currently purchasing psilocybin illegally could begin purchasing it legally
under state law at businesses that collect sales taxes."

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring hallucinogen found in certain species of mushrooms. There are an estimated 180 species of mushrooms that contain psilocybin. Users typically experience hallucinations when they eat the mushrooms.

The National Institutes of Health estimates that more than 30 million people in the U.S. are psychedelic users

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