After veto by Newsom, psychedelics advocates in San Mateo are staying engaged

“In San Mateo, we face our own unique set of challenges due to the more conservative political atmosphere here,” he said. 

The bill’s passage would have validated the local work he’s done with his nonprofit and elsewhere. The Belmont resident, alongside other club members, has also volunteered with organizations such as Decriminalize California at farmers’ markets and other local events to spur conversations with residents. 

But to truly destigmatize psychedelics, there must be a legal path that allows for more funding and research on them, said Dr. Nathaniel Mills, a Sacramento-based clinical psychologist who started his career working with prison inmates. Many mental health professionals have seen the research on the positive impacts of psychedelics but can’t publicly tout the benefits to patients or colleagues, for fear of losing their license or worse. 

“We’re in a situation where, if I were working with these medicines, I couldn’t tell you because to do that would risk criminal prosecution,” he said. 

Mills is licensed to prescribe ketamine, which is FDA-approved and can be prescribed in California. But it’s not the only psychedelic shown to alleviate symptoms for certain conditions. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has conducted research confirming the potential benefits of substances such as MDMA and psilocybin for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, respectively. 

“There have been lots of studies done on psilocybin for existential angst associated with end-of-life concerns. And MDMA seems to be the best solution we have for the treatment of PTSD, because it essentially takes away the fear during the session that is preventing clients from accessing those traumatic memories,” Mills said. “That’s qualitatively different than ibogaine, which seems to be the best candidate for the treatment of substance dependence, particularly as it relates to opiate dependence. So each has its own benefit and is used in its own way.”

Newsom also acknowledged potential health benefits of the substances in his Oct. 7 veto statement.

“Psychedelics have proven to relieve people suffering from certain conditions such as depression, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and other addictive personality traits. This is an exciting frontier and California will be on the front-end of leading it,” according to the statement, later adding that state-level treatment guidelines should be established prior to decriminalization. 

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, expressed disappointment in the governor’s veto and talked about the medical benefits. Still, he said, “This is not the end of our fight.”

“Given the governor’s commitment to work with the Legislature on legislation with a therapeutic focus — and openness to future decriminalization legislation — I look forward to introducing therapeutic-focused legislation next year,” Wiener said.

And during his time campaigning in the county, Dominic said he hasn’t faced vehement opposition to the idea of decriminalization. Rather, local priorities abruptly shifted with the onset of COVID-19, forcing the issue away from the public spotlight.  

“In San Mateo, it’s been a little bit of struggle, because the timing of our campaign was during the pandemic in 2020. We were doing really well and had some great momentum and then we got derailed from that,” he said.

But resistance does abound, even if many take agnostic positions. Rory McMilton, treasurer of the San Mateo Police Officers Association, raised concerns about the potential impact on crime.

“Anecdotally, what we’ve been noticing [in San Mateo] is an uptick in crimes involving psilocybin and DMT. And not just simple possession,” he said. “It’s always in conjunction with something else. It’s not something that we specifically have been going out looking for, but we usually find them selling it with other illegal drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl and things of that nature.”

McMilton also noted that, despite the legalization of marijuana, a black market still exists, and when illicit substances are only legalized on the state level and not federally, comprehensive enforcement becomes more difficult.

“If the federal side isn’t working to legalize and regulate, I think we’ve seen that the state has not shown the ability to do it to a level that will really eliminate the black market problems,” he said.

While the vetoed bill is a setback for the movement, Iacobucci said it’s a good opportunity to get to work on the county level and is overall optimistic about the future.

“Undoubtedly it’s a setback, but I think it’s essential to keep pushing forward, and this is a chance to engage at a more local level, at the county level or city,” he said, also noting the Decriminalize California citizens’ initiative that aims to collect enough signatures to add the issue on the 2024 election ballot. “That could allow for a more tailored approach within specific communities where attitudes may or may not be more receptive. Of course, building support at the local level also means more support statewide.”