Two groundbreaking drug bills from SF's state legislators went to pot on Gavin Newsom’s desk, as he’s vetoed state Senator Scott Wiener’s bill to decriminalize plant-based psychedelics, and Assemblymember Matt Haney’s bill for Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes.
We had high hopes for two historic drug legalization bills from two of SF’s own state legislators. State Senator Scott Wiener’s bill to decriminalize magic mushrooms and other plant-based psychedelics passed both houses of the legislature and went to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk in September. Same for Assemblymember Matt Haney’s bill to allow Amserdam-style cannabis cafes, which also passed the Assembly and the Senate with high-flying colors, and awaited Newsom’s signature.
Gov Newsom vetoed SB 58, our bill to decriminalize mushrooms & other naturally occurring psychedelics.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) October 7, 2023
So for now, folks who benefit from these non-addictive substances remain classified as criminals under CA law.
Our fight is not over. We’ll be back with legislation next year. pic.twitter.com/Dehiz9mG0K
But both were buzzkilled by a veto from Governor Newsom. The Chronicle reports that Newsom vetoed the decriminalization of magic mushrooms on Friday afternoon. Though in a statement, Newsom sounded open to the idea if it had stricter regulations in place.
“California should immediately begin work to set up regulated treatment guidelines — replete with dosing information, therapeutic guidelines, rules to prevent against exploitation during guided treatments, and medical clearance of no underlying psychoses,” Newsom’s statement said.
AB 374 would have allowed cannabis dispensaries — with permission from local governments and adoption of local health and safety regulations— to convert their businesses into cafes where they could sell food and cannabis products and host live music or events.
— Matt Haney (@MattHaneySF) October 9, 2023
Although it is… pic.twitter.com/RMFG2FMzEM
And the same happened to Haney’s bill that would have allowed cannabis cafes that served non-infused food and beverage along with your weed. Newsom vetoed that cannabis cafe bill as well, KTVU reports. According to Marijuana Moment, Newsom said in a statement that he was “concerned this bill could undermine California’s long-standing smoke-free workplace protections,” and that “Protecting the health and safety of workers is paramount.”
Haney took to Twitter to express his disappointment. “We were not told about the concerns re the smoke free work environment from the health department over the past 7 months that we worked on this bill,” he said. “Again, consumption lounges where smoking takes place already exist, it was a part of Prop 64, championed by the Governor.”
Haney added that “I’m looking forward to working closely with his office and with labor leaders to make sure we get this right when I introduce the bill again next year.”
And for his part on the magic mushrooms bill, Weiner tweeted, “Our fight is not over. We’ll be back with legislation next year.”
Related: Matt Haney’s ‘Cannabis Cafe’ Bill Has Passed the State Assembly With a Landslide Majority [SFist]
Image: Justin Aikin via Unsplash