The Florida state legislature has passed a comprehensive agricultural bill, which includes a provision that would outlaw the use of psychedelic mushroom spores. Next, it will be presented to Governor DeSantis. Ron DeSantis is next in line to review the bill.
Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 88–27 to pass SB 700, from Sen. Keith Truenow (R). The proposal previously passed the Senate on a 27–9 vote.
This proposed ban is only a part of the 150-page bill, which makes a number of changes to Florida agricultural laws. These include those relating to agricultural land, utilities, and wildlife management.
The bill prohibits the transport, importation, sale or distribution of “spores, mycelium or other materials capable to produce mushrooms, or which contain controlled substances, such as psilocybin, or psilocyn during their lifecycle.”
A violation of this proposed law could result in a criminal offense with a maximum sentence of one year and fines up to $1,000.
Both amendments were rejected by the House during its floor debate. The proposed ban of psychedelic spores would not be affected by either.
Psilocybin, and its derivative psilocin, are two of the main psychoactive components in psychedelics mushrooms. Although spores themselves typically do not contain psilocybin or psilocin, they eventually produce fruiting bodies—mushrooms—that do contain the psychedelic compounds.
Federal law considers the spores to be legal, as they do not contain controlled substances.
“If the mushroom spores (or any other material) do not contain psilocybin or psilocin (or any other controlled substance or listed chemical), the material is considered not controlled,” Terrence Boos, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section chief, said in a memo last year. (Using a similar rationale, Boos has said that marijuana seeds are considered federally legal hemp because they themselves don’t contain THC.)
In Florida, a legislative report for HB 651—a House companion bill to the measure now heading to DeSantis—similarly notes that “spores do not contain any psilocybin properties themselves and therefore could be considered legal under current law.”
The proposal clarifies that any spores, mycelium or other organisms that can produce psilocybin at any stage of their growth are illegal.
Psilocybin, and its derivative psilocin are illegal substances in Florida. Simple possession of psilocybin and psilocin is punishable as a third-degree crime, with up to 5 years imprisonment or $5,000 in fines.
The legislative report of SB 700 states that “psychedelics mushrooms became very popular in America during the 1960s, when American researchers studied the healing properties and applications.” The U.S. federal government has now classified them as Schedule I controlled drugs, meaning that they don’t have any medical applications.
The document also states that any material, compound or mixture containing the hallucinogenic drug known as Psilocybin is high-risk for abuse, and that it’s not accepted in medical treatments currently.
While lawmakers spent considerable time debating various other portions of the bill—especially a proposed ban on fluoride in local water supplies—as it made its way through the legislature, there was hardly any mention of the provision concerning psychedelic mushroom spores.
Florida House approved last Friday a measure that will exempt veterans of the military from the state’s registration fee for cards certifying medical marijuana, and allow them to receive the certifications free.
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In its original form, the proposal would have introduced more substantive changes to medical cannabis programs in the state, such as allowing for home-grown marijuana and reciprocity between out-ofstate patients. But the House Health Professions and Programs Subcommittee replaced its language with a two-page substitute that instead would make only small changes to the medical program.
First, the renewal process for medical marijuana cards would be changed from an annual to a two-year cycle.
It would also waive $75 in registration fees and renewing cards for vets, stating that “the state may not charge any fee to issue, replace, or renew an ID card for qualified patients who are veterans.”
Changes will take place on July 1, 2019.
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