FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2, 2024
Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation
Decriminalizes Psychedelics for Personal Use, Medical Treatment, and Research.
Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponents of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on January 2, 2024.
The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponents and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponents and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
DECRIMINALIZES PSYCHEDELICS FOR PERSONAL USE, MEDICAL TREATMENT, AND RESEARCH. INITIATIVE STATUTE. For individuals 18 and over, decriminalizes personal possession, cultivation, and use of psychedelic plants and substances, including psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine, LSD, MDMA, mescaline, and peyote. Allows medical professionals to recommend psychedelic treatments for mental health conditions and other health disorders. Allows research into therapeutic and medical applications of psychedelics. Allows businesses to grow and manufacture psychedelics, and to sell psychedelics to individuals for medical purposes. Requires psychedelics businesses with 50+ employees to hold annual employee votes regarding unionization. Authorizes resentencing, reduction, or dismissal of prior psychedelics-related convictions. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Potential reduction in state and local regulatory revenues that could result in regulatory costs exceeding revenues by more than $100 million annually. Alternatively, changes in regulatory costs could be roughly offset by changes in regulatory revenue. The actual effect would depend on the way the measure is legally interpreted and implemented. Uncertain net effect on state and local tax revenue that would depend on the way the measure is legally interpreted and implemented. The potential revenue decrease could reach the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The potential revenue increase would likely be significantly smaller. Net reduction in state and local costs that could eventually reach around a few million dollars annually related to enforcing entheogenic substance-related offenses; handling the related criminal cases, resentencing, and sealing of records in the court system; and incarcerating and supervising people convicted of entheogenic substance-related offences. (23-0032A1.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1974 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 23-0032A1.
The proponents of the measure, David Hodges, Tomas Garrett, Chelsea Candelaria, and Carsten Fisher, must collect signatures of 546,651 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than July 1, 2024. The address for the proponents is c/o Steve Churchwell, Buchalter, APC, 500 Capitol Mall, Ste. 1900, Sacramento, CA 95814. The proponents may also be contacted at (916) 945-5168.
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Contact: SOS Press Office
sospress@sos.ca.gov
