Following the lead of Oakland, Santa Cruz, and other cities across the nation, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to decriminalize substances like psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca.
The measure calls on police to lower the priority on fines and jail time for psychedelics, or entheogenic plants, and also asks to minimize the spending of criminal justice resources in prosecuting psychedelics. The resolution also advocates for the same efforts on a state and federal level.
Across the U.S. a movement to legalize some, or all, entheogens is growing. Some advocates say they carry healing and spiritual properties. Some studies show that these substances can help with mental health illnesses and with addiction recovery from opioids and methamphetamine.
San Francisco’s police department has no explicit policy regarding psychedelic use, which leaves those who use them vulnerable to arrest or prosecution.
