BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 28: A man holds a handful of hallucinogenic mushrooms on June 28, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, on Thursday unveiled a bill to decriminalize the use and possession of some psychedelic drugs.
Senate Bill 519, would legalize psilocybin -- the key ingredient in magic mushrooms -- psilocyn, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ketamine, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine and mescaline with the exception of peyote.
It would also expunge the criminal records of people convicted of having or using those psychedelics.
The bill would also create a commission that would issue recommendations to the California Legislature about how to further regulate the substances.
The bill does not include peyote because of its status as a threatened species.
Most of the drugs the bill would decriminalize are ones the federal government considers Schedule I drugs that are the most dangerous type of substances due to their high potential for abuse. Marijuana, which is legal in California, and heroin are also Schedule I drugs.
The bill was co-authored by Assemblymembers Evan Low, D-San Jose, Sydney Kamlager, D-Los Angeles, and Bill Quirk, D-Hayward.