The City Council of Seattle, the capital of the state of Washington, has this week become the largest city in the United States to approve a decriminalization of natural psychedelics. With a population of more than 700,000 people, citizens of legal age will be able to use, cultivate and share psychedelic drugs of natural origin without the intention of profit without being persecuted by justice.
Decriminalization has been passed in the same way as in other cities, making prosecuting the use of psychedelics the lowest priority for city police. There is no list of substances included in the measure, but rather the text refers to entheogens, understanding these as “any live, fresh, dried or processed plant or fungal material, including teas or powders, that may contain currently controlled psychoactive indolamines, tryptamines or phenethylamines or analogues, including, among others, psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca tea, mescaline and iboga ”.
The measure excludes peyote from natural psychedelics that will not be persecuted with the intention of helping its ecological preservation and protecting the traditional indigenous uses of the cactus. “Because of this special history, the overexploitation and collapse of peyote gardens in South Texas, and the long time required for the plants to mature in cultivation, peyote is not included in the definition of entheogens adopted by this resolution ”, says the legal text.
Since last February, the possession of controlled substances is not illegal in the state of Washington because the state Supreme Court struck down the law as unconstitutional. The Seattle City Council resolution extends decriminalization beyond possession, allowing cultivation and social use and expressly mentioning social justice and therapeutic reasons for its potential to treat a variety of mental health conditions.
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