Today we sent a letter to Sen. Wiener concerning SB 519 and expressing our support for peyote cultivation in California. A pdf is available here.
Some context about this bill.
Senator Wiener has introduced legislation that would decriminalize psychedelics in the state. This initiative follows decriminalisation measures that already passed at the city level in Oakland, Santa Cruz and the District of Columbia, as well as in the Oregon state last November.
This bill would decriminalize possession and personal use of psilocybin, psilocyn, MDMA, LSD, ketamine, DMT, mescaline and ibogaine. The bill would also expunge criminal records for people convicted of possession or personal use of these substances.
Peyote, however, has been explicitly excluded from the list, to address concerns that decriminalisation would give the impression to non-Indigenous people who are not affiliated with federally recognised tribes that they now have rights to acquire, possess, use, or transport Peyote in or from Texas and would lead to increased poaching of peyote.
The bill excludes cultivation of a plant on the basis that it is threatened, which is counterproductive to its conservation. We believe that legal cultivation is critical to the survival of peyote in its native habitat and highly recommend that SB519 be amended to allow cultivation.
