The California District Attorney Association announced they have come out against a bill introduced by Senator Scott Wiener that would decriminalize the possession and personal use of certain psychedelic drugs.
They called the bill “reckless” and say numerous psychedelic drugs have been proven to be unpredictable and connected to violent crime.
Last week, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) re-introduced Senate Bill 58, to decriminalize the possession and personal use of certain psychedelic drugs. He says SB 58 is backed by a broad coalition, including combat veterans.
His press release stated that research from top medical universities shows that these substances can have significant benefits, particularly for treating mental health and substance use disorders, and decriminalizing their personal use is part of the larger movement to end the racist War on Drugs and its failed and destructive policies.
The following substances are included in SB 58: psilocybin, psilocyn, Dimethyltryptamine (“DMT”), mescaline (excluding peyote), and ibogaine. In 2021, Senator Wiener’s psychedelics decriminalization legislation, SB 519, passed the Senate. It passed two Assembly Committees but then stalled in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Here is the full statement:
California Prosecutors: Allowing Hallucinogenic Drugs Can Lead to More Violent Crime
December 22, 2022 — Prosecutors in California strongly object to SB 58 (Senator Wiener), which seeks the wholesale decriminalization of many dangerous hallucinogenic drugs.
“This proposal recklessly puts policy before science for numerous psychedelic drugs that have proven to be highly unpredictable and have even been connected to violent crimes,” said Greg Totten, CEO of the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA).
Unfortunately, the authors of this bill are charting a path that would allow these dangerous hallucinogenic drugs to be legalized before they have been fully understood by the scientific and medical communities.
“If the proponents want more research, that’s one thing,” Totten said. “And if they are advocating for therapeutic use under medical supervision, that is also worth considering. But science does not fully understand these drugs and that’s why this bill is so reckless, because it advocates for skipping that scientific scrutiny altogether.”
“As for dealing with drug cases involving users of hallucinogens, as prosecutors our focus has long been to seek treatment, not jail,” Totten said. “We know that we can help people get on the right track by compelling them into treatment for drug addiction, and that is only possible if there are laws that govern these controlled substances.”
The California District Attorneys Association is a statewide training and advocacy organization representing elected district attorneys, city attorneys with criminal divisions, and more than 3,500 prosecutors.
For more on SB 58 – click here
For more information on the California District Attorney’s Association, visit them at www.cdaa.org
1 comment
Wiener is off-base as usual. His argument that alleged medical benefits of certain drugs justifies legalizing personal use (i.e., “self-medication”) is weak. If there is legitimate medical use (which Wiener is not qualified to judge), the proper avenue for legalization should be through FDA as a prescription medication. In this case, even California’s notoriously liberal DAs think that Wiener is wrong.
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