Capitol Briefs: Psychedelics are baaaack!

Psychedelics legalization effort returns in limited form: The effort to legalize the use of some psychedelics in the treatment of mental health disorders is not dead after all. On Thursday, Sens. Brian Jones (R-San Diego) and Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) introduced a bill (SB 803) to establish a pilot program to allow the use of psilocybin or psilocyn for treating mental health disorders in military veterans and first responders.

The measure is a much narrower version of a proposal earlier this year from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that would have legalized statewide the use of the psychedelics in a clinical setting. That measure, SB 1012, did not get out of the Senate this year.

The new proposal, however, seeks to create a pilot program in just three cities – San Francisco, San Diego and Santa Cruz – and would sunset after three years. Those in the program would only be able to access the psychedelics under the care of a licensed physician or surgeon, clinical psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, licensed professional clinical counselor, or a naturopathic doctor.

SB 803 is a gut and amend; the original bill dealt with state contracts and passed the Senate on May 30^th. The new bill is currently in the Assembly. In a press release announcing the bill, Jones made a point to distinguish it from Wiener’s effort.

“To be clear, I’m not calling for the widespread legalization of psychedelic drugs. Rather, I’m championing a targeted medical treatment aimed specifically at aiding veterans and first responders in their recovery,” he said.

BART funding bill put on hold: Sens. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward) have decided to shelve their bill aimed at addressing funding shortfalls for Bay Area transit. SB 1031, which would have permitted the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to place a measure on the ballot to raise at least $1 billion annually, faced significant opposition from political forces in the South Bay. Key opponents included the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose).

On the Senate floor, Cortese described the bill as a “money grab” by the MTC and an “existential threat” to Santa Clara County. The main contention was the bill’s lack of a direct return of tax revenue to its source, despite a stipulation that 70 percent of tax revenue generated in a county be spent locally.

The MTC, which sponsored the bill, plans to address these regional concerns at a special meeting on June 12th. Meanwhile, Wiener and Wahab are seeking to appease South Bay critics with hopes of reintroducing the bill next year.

Capitol Weekly intern Eamon Jahouach contributed to this story.