Connecticut lawmakers have taken up a bill to decriminalize psilocybin for adults—even though the state’s Democratic governor signaled he wouldn’t support an earlier version of the reform proposal.
Joint Judiciary Committee discussed Friday the proposal which had been re-introduced last week by the panel. Possession of up to half an ounce of the drug would be punishable with a $100 fine and not face jail time.
Members asked questions at the hearing about potential impacts of legislation. They inquired about, for instance, whether or not trained facilitators could be used to help people who use psilocybin.
Rep. David Rutigliano (R) asked one witness, a registered nurse with experience facilitating psilocybin therapy, if people would “only use this substance under a control setting—or if you decriminalize it or legalize it, as is your ultimate goal, can they use it at any time?”
Chandra Campanelli responded, “People use it both in uncontrolled settings and controlled ones.” People have used it for recreational purposes since a long time. Even with this [psilocybin carries] “Very low damage”
She said that decriminalization will be “what is already there, which are people who use it in an individual setting, and also in controlled settings.”
A dozen other people, with different views on the bill, submitted written testimonies before the hearing.
Jess Zaccagnino of ACLU Connecticut supported the reform, and stated that the group “opposes the criminal prohibition of all drugs, including Psilocybin.”
Zaccagnino stated that “prohibition is not only a failed drug control strategy but also subjects law abiding citizens to being arrested, prosecuted, or incarcerated for their private actions.” Harm reduction is a better way to reduce drug abuse. It will eventually lead to an improved society.
Curiously, a self-described cannabis advocate said his group, CT CannaWarriors, opposes the psilocybin policy change, arguing that Connecticut—which has legalized adult-use marijuana—should be focusing on preventing the “continued arrest of cannabis users using vague and unfair codifications” before considering psychedelics reform.
Connecticut lawmakers have been working to decriminalize psilocybin for the past three sessions. In 2023, the reform measure cleared the House but did not move through the Senate. The Judiciary Committee also approved a version last year.
According to the proposed proposal, any second or subsequent violation of possession would be subjected to a minimum fine amounting $200 and a maximum penalty not exceeding $500. If a person pleads no contest or guilty on two occasions, they will be sent to a treatment program for substance abuse.
The current law, HB7065 requires police to destroy and seize any amount they discover of psychedelics. Possession of psilocybin in excess of half an ounce would constitute a misdemeanor of Class A.
When the proposal came up last year—which involved an informational forum with lawmakers and activists to discuss the therapeutic potential of substances such as psilocybin and potential pathways to allow for regulated access—the office of Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat from Connecticut, said that the bill may not be enacted.
A spokesperson at the moment said that “the governor is concerned about the decriminalization” of all mushrooms. However, it was still “too early to speculate”, as the bill hadn’t been submitted yet.
Lamont, who had signed legislation in 2021 to legalize marijuana, also threatened to veto a version for 2023 to decriminalize the possession of psilocybin.
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Lamont signed a large-scale budget bill in 2022 that includes provisions to set the state up to provide certain patients with access to psychedelic-assisted treatment using substances like MDMA and psilocybin.
Prior to that, he also signed separate legislation in 2021 that required the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to create a task force to study the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms.
Separately, a Connecticut lawmaker also introduced different legislation in 2023 that would have appropriated an unspecified amount of state funds to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for the current fiscal year to establish a “psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program.”
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Image courtesy Wikimedia/Workman
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