First Weed, Then 'Magic' Mushrooms? NJ Senate President Wants Decriminalization

NEW JERSEY — First weed, then magic mushrooms? New Jersey's state Senate president introduced a bill that would legalize psilocybin mushrooms for adults 21 and older, while even allowing some to grow them at home.

Psilocybin is listed as a Schedule I drug under the United Nations 1971 Convention of Psychotropic Substances, indicating it has a high potential for abuse and no recognized medical uses. But psilocybin mushrooms have several medical uses, play a part in dozens of cultures and show significantly lower potential for abuse than other Schedule I drugs, according to more recent research.

The FDA has designated psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy for treating major depressive disorder.

Efforts to loosen restrictions on the drug have gained momentum in some states. In the 2020 election, voters in Oregon passed a referendum to make "magic mushrooms" legal for mental health treatment and supervised settings, and the state may fully legalize them. A bill in the California State Legislature would legalize psilocybin possession and distribution in specified quantities.

State Senate President Nicholas Scutari's bill would decriminalize the production, dispensation and use of psilocybin for people 21 or older. It would also expunge past and pending offenses involving the drug.

Scutari remains the bill's only sponsor. And it is uncertain how much support the bill — introduced Thursday — would gain in the Legislature.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law Feb. 4, 2021, that reclassified possession of psilocybin as a disorderly-persons offense. Previously, possession of the drug was a third-degree crime in New Jersey, punishable by three to five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to $35,000. Now, possession of a small amount subjects individuals to a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to six months in prison.

The Senate voted 23-15 to support the measure, while the Assembly voted 51-23-5.

"It is the intent of the Legislature to facilitate the establishment of safe, legal, and affordable psilocybin service centers to provide residents of New Jersey who are 21 years of age or older with opportunities for supported psilocybin experiences to alleviate distress, provide preventative behavioral health care, and foster wellness and personal growth," Scutari's bill says.

The bill would make it legal for adults 21 and older to "possess, store, use, ingest, inhale, process, transport, deliver without consideration, or distribute without consideration, four grams or less of psilocybin."

New Jerseyans of the legal age would also be allowed to grow, cultivate and process plants or fungi capable of producing psilocybin for personal use if it is secured from people younger than 21. In that sense, the bill would go further than the state's current cannabis laws, which prohibit home grow, even for medical use.

The measure also calls for the development of an 18-member Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Advisory Board within the New Jersey Department of Health. The board would "provide advice and recommendations to the DOH, upon request or upon the board’s own initiative, concerning the implementation of the bill," according to the legislation.

The initiative follows the legalization of recreational cannabis in New Jersey, which two-thirds of voters approved in a 2020 referendum. Licensed sales of recreational cannabis began April 21, producing about $24 million in sales during the first month.