San Diego City Wire

Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones has reached out to Governor Gavin Newsom, requesting a "friendly veto" of Senate Bill 58, which aims to decriminalize certain hallucinogens for individuals over the age of 21 starting January 2025. In his letter, Jones expressed concerns about the bill's implications.

"While I am sympathetic to the potential use of some psychedelics for mental and medical health treatment, particularly for veterans with PTSD, this bill is not that," stated Jones. He further explained, "It’s really the state greenlighting the unsupervised, ‘self-medicating’ use of hallucinogens like magic mushrooms."

SB 58 proposes to decriminalize substances such as dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocin for personal use by adults aged 21 or older. However, these drugs remain illegal under federal law.

Jones emphasized his concerns by stating, "As currently written, this bill will put people’s lives in jeopardy." He urged Governor Newsom to consider a "friendly veto" and leave room for future legislation focused on supervised therapeutic medical use.

The bill has also faced opposition from law enforcement officials across California. The California Association of Highway Patrolmen articulated their stance in a letter stating, "SB 58 is an extremely harmful bill because it will put people’s lives at risk."