CA State Sen. Scott Wiener’s Bill Decriminalizing Psychedelics Moves Forward After Removing Date-Rape Drug

Conservative News DailyJune 29, 2021

A bill introduced by California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that decriminalizes possession of psychedelic drugs in the state made progress Tuesday after he removed a potential date-rape drug from the legislation.

“The bill would allow those 21 and older to possess for personal use and ‘social sharing’ psilocybin, the hallucinogenic component of so-called magic mushrooms. It also covers psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, mescaline excluding peyote, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, often called ecstasy),” according to The Associated Press.

Wiener amended the bill to remove ketamine from the list of acceptable substances after opponents objected to its potential use as a date-rape drug.

“It cleared the Assembly Public Safety Committee, 5-3, with proponents touting the benefits to military veterans and others they say can benefit from the use of psychedelics to treat trauma. The measure already passed the state Senate on a 21-16 vote and now heads to the health committee before it can go to the full Assembly,” per the AP.

“People’s lives are literally transformed because of these substances,” said Wiener. Fox News has reported regarding recent research into the use of “psychedelic drugs to treat depression, drug addiction, PTSD, and a range of other mental health afflictions.”

“The Assembly Public Safety Committee just passed our legislation to decriminalize possession of psychedelics in California,” Wiener tweeted. “Another step toward ending the failed & racist War on Drugs & expanding access to mental health & addiction treatment. Thank you, colleagues!”

The Assembly Public Safety Committee just passed our legislation to decriminalize possession of psychedelics in California (#SB519).

Another step toward ending the failed & racist War on Drugs & expanding access to mental health & addiction treatment.

Thank you, colleagues!

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 29, 2021

Several cities have decriminalized psychedelic drugs recently, such as Oakland, Santa Cruz, Ann Arbor, Denver, and Washington, D.C. Even if California passed the bill into law, the AP noted, the drugs will remain illegal under federal law.

Wiener has proposed several pieces of controversial legislation in the California State Legislature over the years, such as a 2017 bill he co-sponsored that made knowingly exposing a partner to HIV no longer a felony.

Wiener was also responsible for a bill signed into law last fall that allows a young adult who has gay sex with a minor to escape registering as a sex offender in some cases, based on a judge’s discretion. As The Daily Wire reported:

Proponents of the legislation such as Wiener claim the law, which provides a judge more leeway in statutory rape cases involving non-vaginal forms of sex, rectifies California’s historical discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Under SB145, if a young adult has gay sex with a minor 14 or older who is less than 10 years younger, a judge will have the discretion whether to place the individual on the sex offender registry.

As the San Francisco Chronicle explained, “Under current law, a judge can decide whether to place a man who has vaginal intercourse with an underage teenage girl on the sex offender registry based on the facts of the case. But if anal or oral sex, or vaginal penetration with anything other than a penis is involved, the adult must register as a sex offender[.]”

“I am so grateful that Governor Newsom — one of the LGBTQ community’s strongest allies ever — once again has shown that he’s willing to support our community when it’s hard. And make no mistake: the politics here are hard, with the massive Trump, QAnon and MAGA misinformation campaign against the legislation,” Wiener said. “The facts are clear: SB 145 simply ends anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Today, California took yet another step toward an equitable society.”

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