On June 3, state senators in Maine narrowly approved a psilocybin decriminalization bill, which House representatives had also narrowly approved the day before. On June 4, LD 1034 was scheduled for final enactment before heading to Governor Janet Mills (D)—but instead, the House unexpectedly tabled the bill and did not suggest a timeline for moving forward.
Sponsored by Rep. Grayson Lookner (D), LD 1034 is a brief bill that would exempt psilocybin from the state code criminalizing possession as a Class D misdemeanor, for adults over 21 found with one ounce or less. Class D convictions carry maximum penalties of a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. The House of Representatives had approved it by a vote of 70-69, and the Senate by a vote of 17-16. On June 4, after a roll call was ordered, House Majority Leader Matt Moonen (D) motioned to table the bill, and its status us now listed as “unfinished business.”
“While this was not the outcome we hoped for, the energy on the ground remains strong,” Yeshua Adonai, a psychedelic guide, advocate and veteran, told Filter. “Representative Tavis Hasenfus expressed confidence that the bill will still move forward.”
Rep. Hasenfus (D) is not a sponsor but chairs the Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee, and has been supportive of the bill.
LD 1034 would not decriminalize commercial sales.
If the LD 1034 is ultimately enacted, Maine will become the third state to decriminalize possession of small quantities of psilocybin, following Oregon and Colorado. Several cities have also passed local-level decriminalization measures, including Detroit, Oakland, Seattle and Washington, DC.
LD 1034 would not, however, decriminalize commercial sales.
Adonai was among those who testified in support of the bill before the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety in late March.
“After my military service, I was lost in a darkness that consumed my mind, heart and body,” Adonai told the committee. Psilocybin “opened a door. It showed me that beneath the suffering, beneath the fear, there was still a pulse of something alive.”
Tina H. Nadeau, executive director of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, argued that something with therapeutic potential like psilocybin should not be criminalized while alcohol can be legally purchased, despite the latter’s health risks.
The Maine Department of Public Safety testified in opposition to the bill.
Amid concerns that Gov. Mills would veto the bill if it reached her desk, several organizations have been reaching out to her office, sharing medical literature showing psilocybin’s benefits.
The Maine Department of Public Safety testified in opposition to the bill, as did local law enforcement associations.
Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols said that while psilocybin hasn’t been linked to substance use disorder, “that does not negate the risks involved with its consumption … it prevents users from differentiating reality from fantasy.”
Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Commander Scott Pelletier said that “mid- to higher-level drug traffickers involved in the distribution of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine … often times include psilocybin in their menu of drugs available to purchase.” He suggested that decriminalized psilocybin wouldn’t be safe for those using it, and that it wouldn’t be used for therapeutic purposes.
Photograph (cropped) via Drug Enforcement Administration
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