In a recent development for the drug reform movement, the US city of Seattle has become the largest municipality to decriminalize psychedelic drugs.
Vaping industry advocates should take note.
SEATTLE, Wash. — The Seattle City Council approved a resolution earlier this week to decriminalize the noncommercial activity around a wide range of psychedelic substances. These substances include psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, ibogaine, and others.
The council passed the ordinance via a unanimous vote, The proposal declares “that that investigation, arrest, and prosecution of anyone engaging in entheogen-related activities should be among the City of Seattle’s lowest enforcement priorities” and requests the Seattle Police Department “move toward the formal codification and adoption of that practice as departmental policy,” reports Marijuana Moment Seattle-based reporter Ben Aldin.
Andrew Lewis, the council member who introduced the plan, said that “this resolution really sets the stage as the first significant action in the state of Washington to move this policy forward.”
“These nonaddictive natural substances have real potential in clinical and therapeutic settings to make a really significant difference in people’s lives,” he said in statements before votes.
“A community conversation intended to reconcile government policy with emerging medical research regarding potential benefits of psychedelics is already well-underway,” Lewis said.
“In a medically-appropriate and supervised environment, people who have experienced severe trauma could benefit from these substances. We need to join the national conversation,” he said.
Besides nicotine and cannabis e-liquids, people are able to vape psychedelic substances. We’ve previously reported on this, and it remains a common behavior on the black market. The Stranger, an alt-weekly news publication based in Seattle, published a feature describing the process of obtaining DMT-containing liquids from the local illicit market. There’s also a potential market in the future for vaping for psychedelic substances and hallucinogenics.
“Within Seattle, after these reforms, many people who operate in the underground will be more free to advertise their services,” said Tatiana Luz Quintana in a statement to local media.
Quintana is the co-director of the advocacy group Decrim Nature Seattle (DNS).
