September 17, 2021 - SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber has announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on September 16, 2021.

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 proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

DECRIMINALIZES PSILOCYBIN MUSHROOMS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. For individuals 21 and over, decriminalizes under state law the cultivation, manufacture, processing, distribution, transportation, possession, storage, consumption, and retail sale of psilocybin mushrooms, the hallucinogenic chemical compounds contained in them, and edible products and extracts derived from psilocybin mushrooms. Authorizes research and use of psilocybin mushrooms for treatment by qualified healthcare practitioners. Requires an “independent professional certifying body” to establish qualifications for healthcare practitioners who provide psilocybin mushroom-assisted therapy and to create protocols for such therapy. Requires state agencies to adopt and implement these qualification requirements and protocols. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Reduced costs, not likely to exceed a few million dollars annually, to state and local governments related to enforcing psilocybin-related offenses, handling the related criminal cases in the court system, and incarcerating and supervising psilocybin offenders. Annual state costs to regulate psilocybin businesses and treatment providers, ranging from minimal to the tens of millions of dollars. These costs could eventually be partially or fully offset by fee revenue. Potential increase in state and local tax revenues, not likely to exceed a few million dollars annually. (21-0005.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1899 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 21-0005.

The proponent of the measure, Ryan Munevar, must collect signatures of 623,212 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2018 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than March 15, 2022. The address for the proponent is 1850 Whitley Ave, #612, Los Angeles, CA 90028. The proponent can be reached at (949) 702-1637 or ryan@decrimca.org.
Source: CA. SOS  Image credit: DEA