SB 519: Decriminalization and Healing for Californians

By |Published On: April 20th, 2021|6.2 min read|

SB 519 Summary

Introduced by Sen. Weiner

Co-authors: Assembly Members Kamlager, Low and Quirk

What it does:

This bill would make lawful the possession for personal use and the social sharing, (see below), of psilocybin, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ketamine, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), by and with persons 21 years of age or older. The bill would provide penalties for possession of these substance on school grounds, or possession by, or sharing with, persons under 21 years of age. 

The bill would also provide for the dismissal and sealing of pending and prior convictions for offenses that would be made lawful by the passage of this bill, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Justice to identify those records and provide them to local jurisdictions to initiate the required proceedings. 

This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to convene a working group, as specified, to research and make recommendations to the Legislature regarding, among other things, the regulation and therapeutic use of these substances, as specified. 

Existing law prohibits the possession of drug paraphernalia, as defined. This bill would exempt from this prohibition, paraphernalia related to these specific substances. The bill would also exempt from the prohibition items used for the testing and analysis of controlled substances. 

“Personal use” means for the personal ingestion or other personal and noncommercial use by the person in possession. 

“Social sharing” means the giving away or consensual administering of a controlled substance by a person 21 years of age or older, to another person 21 years of age or older, not for financial gain,  including in the context of group counseling, spiritual guidance, community-based healing, or related services. 

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