Here’s wild news if you’re a bit of a fun guy: Oakland, in the US state of California, just became the second American city to pass legislation that effectively decriminalises possession of magic mushrooms, and paves the way for them to be fully legalised in the not-too-distant future.
[jwplayer HMuuvHa9]
Oakland City Council unanimously passed a resolution yesterday that effectively removes any incentive for law enforcement to prosecute people for possession of psychoactive plants and fungi. While it’s a step short of legalising it entirely, the resolution dictates that city money will no longer be used to “assist in the enforcement of laws imposing criminal penalties for the use and possession of Entheogenic Plants by adults.” It also stipulates that the investigation of city citizens for using, growing, or distributing mushrooms will be “among the lowest law enforcement priority for the City of Oakland.”
So while possessing mushrooms remains technically a crime, Oakland officials have next-to-no incentive to arrest people for it, meaning the law in Oakland is effectively being ignored and the possession of mushrooms therefore becomes decriminalised.
Oakland is now the second US city to pass resolutions to decriminalise mushrooms. Denver passed similar legislation in early May after residents voted in favour of a similar resolution that removed criminal penalties for possessing psilocybin, which is the psychedelic compound active in magic mushrooms and other previously illegal assorted plants and fungi.
There’s a growing push around America for mushrooms to be legalised and studied for their potential medicinal properties; lawmakers in Iowa are pushing for similar legislation to be adopted there. However at present the plants remain illegal under both state and federal US law.
So there you go. Mushrooms basically legal in Oakland, CA. And here we are still rabbiting on about medical marijuana legalisation.
We’re a bit behind the eight-ball, you’d reckon.
