A Massachusetts joint legislative committee is advising the legislature not to pass a psychedelics legalization initiative—but activists are already collecting additional signatures to put the reform before voters on the November ballot.
Lawmakers were required to consider the psychedelics measure, spearheaded by the campaign Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO), after the state certified advocates had submitted enough valid signatures in an initial petitioning round last year. The legislature had until May 1 to make a decision before the campaign was cleared to collect another 12,429 signatures by July 3 to secure ballot placement.
Last week, the Special Joint Committee on Ballot Initiatives issued a majority report that formally recommended against passing the measure as drafted. This comes just over a month after the panel held a hearing to gain expert feedback on the proposal.
The report acknowledges that a growing body of scientific literature shows psychedelics such as psilocybin “may be highly effective in addressing a variety of adverse mental health conditions” when administered in a controlled environment.
But it says these “promising findings, however, have not provided evidence that the widescale recreational legalization of these substances would be beneficial, let alone safe.”
The joint committee also said it
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