On April 1, the Northampton City Council voted in favor of a proposal decriminalizing use of psychedelics drugs and entheogenic plants across the city. This makes the city a front runner in the national movement against bans on psychedelics products in the United States.
As per the proposal, penalties emanating from use of entheogens, a category that includes psilocybin mushrooms have been fully scraped away.
Even though the power to decriminalize use of psychedelics lies with the state, the city council’s proposal says that no public body including the police should press any criminal charges for anyone found in possession of natural psychedelic products in the city.
During an interview prior to the voting, Northampton city counselor William Dwight, said the proposal lacks the weight of law further adding the council doesn’t have any power to decriminalize psychedelics substances.
Another city councilor Rachel Maiore, says multiple research organizations have established that psychedelics can be used to successfully treat some mental illnesses like addiction, trauma and depression.
“A lot of veteran organizations wholeheartedly support decriminalizing psychedelics because they can be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Maiore.
