Seattle has officially become the largest U.S. city to allow for the cultivation and consumption of mushrooms and other psychedelics in non-commercial instances. The City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Monday to decriminalize non-commercial use around an array of psychedelic substances, as Marijuana Moment reports.
The city had already taken decriminalization steps when it comes to personal drug possession, having a policy to not arrest or prosecute in those situations. The new resolution aims to protect those who cultivate and share psychedelics for “religious, spiritual, healing or personal growth practices.”
The legislation states that those engaging in “entheogen-related activities should be among The City of Seattle’s lowest enforcement priorities” and urges Seattle’s police department to take the necessary steps to follow that directive. While the resolution passed, it is not an ordinance, which would allow for amending the city’s municipal code. The legislation states the council will work “to determine what changes would be necessary to protect from arrest or prosecution individuals who cultivate entheogens” and that the council intends to institute those changes via an ordinance.
Councilmember Andrew Lewis introduced the legislation advocated for it prior to the vote. “These nonaddictive natural substances have real potential in clinical and therapeutic settings to make a really significant difference in people’s lives,” he said. “This resolution really sets the stage as the first significant action in the state of Washington to move this policy forward.”
In 2019, Denver became the first U.S. city to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms. A number of states and cities have followed suit and with a new administration, advocates are hopeful that changes will be made at the federal level. Oregon recently legalized psilocybin therapy and decriminalized all drugs, while Washington D.C. decriminalized all plant- and fungi-based psychedelics.