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California nearly decriminalizes psychedelics – but governor hits brakes

72 points by c420 3y ago

say_it_as_it_is 3y ago
There are a few corporations (Compass Pathways) who very much wanted this to happen. It probably didn't cost them much to convince the governor that "guidelines" more in line with their protocols were necessary.
mock-possum 3y ago
Kind of feels like throwing out the baby with the bath water doesn’t it?
zoklet-enjoyer 3y ago
I don't understand. There are plenty of legal ways to get heavy psychedelic drugs. Why wouldn't they just legalize them all?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- beenBoutIT 3y ago
  Eventually all drugs will be legalized and regulated just like alcohol and tobacco. The War on Drugs is America's worst mistake and our biggest most expensive failure. The big issue is going to be the "how". Who would manufacture the drugs and how would they be sold? Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL and the market wouldn't really need more than one brand like it does with cigarettes and beverages. Back when drugs like opium and cocaine were legal in the US the regulatory system was completely different and we don't have any idea what it will look like in the future. It would likely involve the downsizing of the DEA and expansion of the ATF, putting drugs in the same regulatory area as Alcohol and Tobacco - DATF. Grocery stores and liquor stores would be the obvious vendors. A non-profit needs to start a think tank to figure out the best intelligent way for a modern America to manage legal drugs.
  - AnthonyMouse 3y ago
    > Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL and the market wouldn't really need more than one brand like it does with cigarettes and beverages. Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL because you need a prescription to get it, so it only comes from a pharmacy and they don't put anything else in it. If there wasn't a law against it you could find various flavors of it at the liquor store or combinations with MDMA etc. Want to know why it's called Coca Cola? > It would likely involve the downsizing of the DEA and expansion of the ATF, putting drugs in the same regulatory area as Alcohol and Tobacco - DATF. Don't even joke about such an abomination. If you're going to legalize it then you don't need a federal agency to crack down on international trafficking and states can regulate it locally. We should do away with the DEA and the ATF.
  - Nathanba 3y ago
    I wouldn't be so sure yet, the damage that drugs can do is immense. Meanwhile the damage of outlawing drugs is mainly from imperfect enforcement and inflicted on people who willingly broke a law for personal enjoyment. A person that gets permanently mentally damaged (e.g becomes schizoid) from drug use is causing an 80 year long drain on society in every way. People apparently have to find out the hard way before they can understand how bad drugs are.
    - AnthonyMouse 3y ago
      > Meanwhile the damage of outlawing drugs is mainly from imperfect enforcement and inflicted on people who willingly broke a law for personal enjoyment. That's omitting the murderous drug cartels that wouldn't otherwise exist. > A person that gets permanently mentally damaged (e.g becomes schizoid) from drug use is causing an 80 year long drain on society in every way. What about a person who gets denied necessary medication out of overzealous enforcement, or can't get access to it because they would have to already be on the medication in order to navigate the bureaucracy necessary to get a prescription? > People apparently have to find out the hard way before they can understand how bad drugs are. This is like pointing to a stabbing victim and saying "people apparently have to find out the hard way how bad knives are." Yes, cutting tools are dangerous. No, we shouldn't ban cutlery. But maybe we should teach people how to safely use sharp objects.
nemo44x 3y ago
Clearly he’s running for President. And if you get behind Weiner’s policies it’s a guarantee you’ll lose since he’s a toxic person to most of the country.
robomartin 3y ago
CA is already psychedelic.
dmix 3y ago
In downtown Toronto there are grey market mushroom shops on literally every other block these days. Reminds me of before weed got fully legalized but was clearly in the pipeline to at some point. The worst that happens is the city will put large cement bricks in front of the door and do a civil fine. It’s very easy to grow your own as well. Takes a much smaller space than weed and doesn’t smell. You’d get more than you’d want or need out of one the size of a small standard plastic storage bin.
- csjh 3y ago
  similar in ottawa
- beenBoutIT 3y ago
  Nobody in the USA wants anything like that. The bad optics alone would be enough to convince Americans to go back to the War on Drugs. Pharmacies and Liquor Stores need to be the only vendors of legalized drugs in order to keep the optics from becoming something that undercuts progress. Plant law would simply revert to how it was before the War on Drugs where people could grow whatever they want for personal use.
  - ipaddr 3y ago
    In the US liquor is sold in corner stores.
    - grzm 3y ago
      Depends on the jurisdiction.
      - rekttrader 3y ago
        This is a discussion about California ... yep booze is everywhere
        grzm 3y ago
whyenot 3y ago
There is an ongoing attempt to legalize them through California’s initiative process. https://decrimca.org/ https://decrimca.org/ A previous attempt in 2022 did not get enough signatures to be on the ballot.
akira2501 3y ago
It's not your government apparently, it actually belongs to professional politicians with visions of the White House in their minds. I guess he doesn't want to be known as "Governor Mushroom" in the upcoming sprint and that vain need comes above everyone else.
- malux85 3y ago
  Exactly, if everyone took psychedelics and gained a wider perspective they might see the governor is screwing them
- IG_Semmelweiss 3y ago
  You'd think after the COVID shenanigans, and a close call with a recall, he'd think he's hit his ceiling. I'm very curious who is advising him on his white house ambitions and if that group has real bonafides on delivering the goods, given the numerous missteps ?
  - onionisafruit 3y ago
    There’s no money in telling a politician he can’t be president.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
  - tomjakubowski 3y ago
    "Close call" in the recall election -- hardly. Newsom won the recall question with a 23.8% margin.
- klipklop 3y ago
  California is a state government without balance. The state government is so secure in their position they don’t care if the laws they pass or don’t pass are directly against how most people feel in the state. Gavin is groomed by a few powerful families in California to one day be president. He will make any decision needed to not mess that up. Gavin becoming president seems inevitable.
armatav 3y ago
Wouldn’t want people thinking too hard over here, would we
jacooper 3y ago
So what now, anything they gave up on enforcing just should be legal? What's next, cocaine?
- NoThisIsMe 3y ago
  Yes

72 points by c420 3y ago

There are a few corporations (Compass Pathways) who very much wanted this to happen. It probably didn't cost them much to convince the governor that "guidelines" more in line with their protocols were necessary.

mock-possum 3y ago

Kind of feels like throwing out the baby with the bath water doesn’t it?

zoklet-enjoyer 3y ago

I don't understand. There are plenty of legal ways to get heavy psychedelic drugs. Why wouldn't they just legalize them all?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
beenBoutIT 3y ago
Eventually all drugs will be legalized and regulated just like alcohol and tobacco. The War on Drugs is America's worst mistake and our biggest most expensive failure. The big issue is going to be the "how". Who would manufacture the drugs and how would they be sold? Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL and the market wouldn't really need more than one brand like it does with cigarettes and beverages. Back when drugs like opium and cocaine were legal in the US the regulatory system was completely different and we don't have any idea what it will look like in the future. It would likely involve the downsizing of the DEA and expansion of the ATF, putting drugs in the same regulatory area as Alcohol and Tobacco - DATF. Grocery stores and liquor stores would be the obvious vendors. A non-profit needs to start a think tank to figure out the best intelligent way for a modern America to manage legal drugs.
- AnthonyMouse 3y ago
  > Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL and the market wouldn't really need more than one brand like it does with cigarettes and beverages. Cocaine HCL is Cocaine HCL because you need a prescription to get it, so it only comes from a pharmacy and they don't put anything else in it. If there wasn't a law against it you could find various flavors of it at the liquor store or combinations with MDMA etc. Want to know why it's called Coca Cola? > It would likely involve the downsizing of the DEA and expansion of the ATF, putting drugs in the same regulatory area as Alcohol and Tobacco - DATF. Don't even joke about such an abomination. If you're going to legalize it then you don't need a federal agency to crack down on international trafficking and states can regulate it locally. We should do away with the DEA and the ATF.
- Nathanba 3y ago
  I wouldn't be so sure yet, the damage that drugs can do is immense. Meanwhile the damage of outlawing drugs is mainly from imperfect enforcement and inflicted on people who willingly broke a law for personal enjoyment. A person that gets permanently mentally damaged (e.g becomes schizoid) from drug use is causing an 80 year long drain on society in every way. People apparently have to find out the hard way before they can understand how bad drugs are.
  - AnthonyMouse 3y ago
    > Meanwhile the damage of outlawing drugs is mainly from imperfect enforcement and inflicted on people who willingly broke a law for personal enjoyment. That's omitting the murderous drug cartels that wouldn't otherwise exist. > A person that gets permanently mentally damaged (e.g becomes schizoid) from drug use is causing an 80 year long drain on society in every way. What about a person who gets denied necessary medication out of overzealous enforcement, or can't get access to it because they would have to already be on the medication in order to navigate the bureaucracy necessary to get a prescription? > People apparently have to find out the hard way before they can understand how bad drugs are. This is like pointing to a stabbing victim and saying "people apparently have to find out the hard way how bad knives are." Yes, cutting tools are dangerous. No, we shouldn't ban cutlery. But maybe we should teach people how to safely use sharp objects.

nemo44x 3y ago

Clearly he’s running for President. And if you get behind Weiner’s policies it’s a guarantee you’ll lose since he’s a toxic person to most of the country.

robomartin 3y ago

CA is already psychedelic.

dmix 3y ago

In downtown Toronto there are grey market mushroom shops on literally every other block these days. Reminds me of before weed got fully legalized but was clearly in the pipeline to at some point. The worst that happens is the city will put large cement bricks in front of the door and do a civil fine. It’s very easy to grow your own as well. Takes a much smaller space than weed and doesn’t smell. You’d get more than you’d want or need out of one the size of a small standard plastic storage bin.

csjh 3y ago
similar in ottawa
beenBoutIT 3y ago
Nobody in the USA wants anything like that. The bad optics alone would be enough to convince Americans to go back to the War on Drugs. Pharmacies and Liquor Stores need to be the only vendors of legalized drugs in order to keep the optics from becoming something that undercuts progress. Plant law would simply revert to how it was before the War on Drugs where people could grow whatever they want for personal use.
- ipaddr 3y ago
  In the US liquor is sold in corner stores.
  - grzm 3y ago
    Depends on the jurisdiction.
    - rekttrader 3y ago
      This is a discussion about California ... yep booze is everywhere
      - grzm 3y ago

whyenot 3y ago

There is an ongoing attempt to legalize them through California’s initiative process. https://decrimca.org/ https://decrimca.org/ A previous attempt in 2022 did not get enough signatures to be on the ballot.

akira2501 3y ago

It's not your government apparently, it actually belongs to professional politicians with visions of the White House in their minds. I guess he doesn't want to be known as "Governor Mushroom" in the upcoming sprint and that vain need comes above everyone else.

malux85 3y ago
Exactly, if everyone took psychedelics and gained a wider perspective they might see the governor is screwing them
IG_Semmelweiss 3y ago
You'd think after the COVID shenanigans, and a close call with a recall, he'd think he's hit his ceiling. I'm very curious who is advising him on his white house ambitions and if that group has real bonafides on delivering the goods, given the numerous missteps ?
- onionisafruit 3y ago
  There’s no money in telling a politician he can’t be president.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- tomjakubowski 3y ago
  "Close call" in the recall election -- hardly. Newsom won the recall question with a 23.8% margin.
klipklop 3y ago
California is a state government without balance. The state government is so secure in their position they don’t care if the laws they pass or don’t pass are directly against how most people feel in the state. Gavin is groomed by a few powerful families in California to one day be president. He will make any decision needed to not mess that up. Gavin becoming president seems inevitable.

armatav 3y ago

Wouldn’t want people thinking too hard over here, would we

jacooper 3y ago

So what now, anything they gave up on enforcing just should be legal? What's next, cocaine?

NoThisIsMe 3y ago
Yes