BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Bills before a Beacon Hill committee would make some natural hallucinogens legal to own in Massachusetts. Two bills before the state legislature would make it legal to use small amounts of magic mushrooms and four other hallucinogens.
The bills were talked over in a meeting of the Joint Judiciary Committee on Beacon Hill on Tuesday. Under bills brought by State Rep. Nicholas Boldyga and Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa and State Sen. Patricia Jehlen, things like psilocybin mushrooms and mescaline would be legal to possess, use, cultivate and give away for adults. The bills differ on how old one would need to be, with one preferring use by adults 21 and older and the other setting the age at 18. Neither bill would let anyone sell the substances.
Winthrop Police Lt. Sarko Gegerian testified to the committee on Wednesday in favor of legalizing the drugs.
"I am here to tell you that preventing access to these compounds by placing them on schedule one will go down in history as one of the great tragedies of our time," he said. The police lieutenant said he is also a psychotherapist and took the drugs legally as part of his training.
Dr. Franklin King of Mass. General Hospital, a psychiatric ER doctor, also testified in favor. "They offer immense potential benefit for a variety of conditions," he said. Some localities like Salem have already voted to decriminalize the drugs.
Some people on the street were less convinced. They told WBZ's Chris Fama that they thought the drugs were too strong for everyday users.
WBZ's Chris Fama (@CFamaWBZ) has more:
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