As the psychedelic renaissance contributes to a swelling pool of safety and efficacy data pertaining to the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelic medicine, many localities—particularly in North America—are revising their legal frameworks. This is happening in a number of ways: from the least rigorous incarnation which involves making the enforcement of psychedelics’ illegality the lowest law enforcement priority in a given city (such as in Washington, DC), right through to state-wide legalization of specific psychedelics (such as in Oregon). A number of U.S. cities and states have moved to loosen the consequences for personal use or small, noncommercial amounts of psychedelics. Denver, CO became the first city in May 2019, with two Californian cities—Oakland and Santa Cruz—following suit. Psilocybin and psychedelic drugs are still illegal in those jurisdictions under state law, so it is inaccurate to say it is “decriminalized.” But those local governments have taken steps to deprioritize enforcing criminal penalties there.The map below seeks to track these initiatives.
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