SB 519 has successfully made its way through a full Senate vote and has made its way to the California General Assembly. Now, after an Assembly committee made crucial changes to the bill, some supporters and activists groups have withdrawn their support. The biggest group is Decriminalize Nature (DN), who have supported SB 519 since the start. With this major group backing out of the bill’s support, some lawmakers are wondering if Senator Scott Wiener, D, who sponsored SB 519, should push to delay his psychedelic possession bill. The senator has said otherwise and will be pushing the bill forward as soon as possible. Other bills, such as SB 57 for legal safe consumption sites, have been delayed. Senator Wiener isn’t going to see SB 519 delayed as well.  

Activist Support

The two other big psychedelic activist groups are Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP). These organizations, along with DN, all want to end the war on drugs and legalize psychedelics. However, they can’t all agree on how to go about legalization. There seems to be no right answer when it comes to legalization. 

“The perfect bill would be one that ended the War on Drugs and criminalization of use and supported healing, treatment, and education while maximizing safety and health for all,” said consultant Ben Unger of New Approach PAC. He is a political activist and has supported various state-level drug reform measures. 

The biggest concern Senator Wiener has when it comes to SB 519 is keeping up the momentum. “Our goal is to pass this bill this year,” he said, “and to have it signed into law this year.”

Future

Keeping the momentum going for this bill is crucial for Senator Scott Wiener, and he’s not going to stop now. SB 519 has passed two Assembly committees; it moves forward to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest. 

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