Should Mass. legalize psychedelic mushrooms?

Earlier this week, Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin released the four certified questions questions that will be on this year’s ballot. One of those questions seeks to mitigate the ongoing mental health crisis through medical care and the decriminalization of psychedelic drugs. 

Receiving 13,073 signatures, the “Limited Legalization and Regulation of Certain Natural Psychedelic Substances” ballot question was created by Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO), an organization dedicated to advocating for access to mental health treatment through natural psychedelic medicine therapy. Ballot numbers are not currently assigned. 

As stated on the MMHO website, the purpose of legalizing psychedelic medicine is to “create regulated and licensed therapeutic access to natural psychedelic medicines for veterans struggling with PTSD, individuals facing terminal illness, and adults 21 and older dealing with depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.”

The current proposal aims to follow similar parameters to the administration and consumption of marijuana. These medicines would be overseen by the Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission, modeled after the Cannabis Control Commission. The initiative would take effect starting December 15, 2024, with the commission formed by March 1, 2025, and an excise tax of 15% on the goods. Only licensed service centers will be allowed to supply the psychedelics.

The MMHO emphasizes the firm purpose of the use of psychedelics as natural medicine. Treatments involving these medicines will be administered by a trained facilitator at designated and licensed healing centers and at home. The ballot question would not legalize the recreational use or permit the sale of these medicines, including at medical cannabis dispensaries.

Since 2016, Massachusetts joined a total of 24 other states and the District of Columbia in the legalization of marijuana, making voters no strangers to the impact that natural medicines can have. 

Since 2016, Massachusetts joined a total of 24 other states and the District of Columbia in the legalization of marijuana, making voters no strangers to the impact that natural medicines can have. 

Legalizing and decriminalizing psychedelics in Massachusetts has been in the works over the past few years. In 2021, Cambridge, Somerville, Northampton, passed ordinances decriminalizing the possession of psilocybin, the compound produced in psilocybe mushrooms, also known as “shrooms” or “magic mushrooms”. 

In an informal Boston.com poll conducted in 2021, readers shared whether they support decriminalization of psychedelics. Of the 199 responses, 81% voted for decriminalization, 18% were against it, and 0.5% voted “other.” 

“Yes, they should be equitably legalized. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear, despite what the corporations want us to think,” Mackenson J. of Dorchester wrote in response to the 2021 Boston.com poll on decriminalization.

If the majority of Massachusetts voters check “yes” in November, the state would follow Oregon and Colorado in the legalization of this kind of medicine. 

We want to know your thoughts: Should Mass. legalize psychedelic mushrooms? How do you think the implementation of this form of medical care will help the mental health crisis? What are your concerns about the legalization of psychedelic medicine? How do you think this decision will impact the state as a whole?

Fill out the survey below or send an e-mail to [email protected], and your response may appear in an upcoming Boston.com article.