This may be worth a trip to the Garden State.
New Jersey is mulling a law that would make it only the third state to decriminalize so-called “magic mushrooms” — and it may even allow residents grow their own supply right at home.
State lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would allow for the manufacturing and sale of products with psilocybin — the chemical in shrooms that produces the hallucinations — and let anyone over the age of 21 use it without penalty, according to The Record newspaper.
It would also expunge past and pending offenses involving the drug, and let people legally possess up to four grams of psilocybin, the outlet said.
Although several cities — such as Denver, Oakland, Seattle and Detroit — have legalized the drug in recent years, only Oregon and Colorado have moved to decriminalize it statewide.
Last year, the federal US Food and Drug Administration created guidelines that could lead to widespread approval of psilocybin products because of their “promise as potential treatments” for a litany of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD and alcoholism, The Record said.
Although opponents argue legalization will boost drug abuse, the bill has strong backing in the state government’s upper chamber, with Senate President Nick Scutari listed as its sponsor.
Scutari was the original sponsor of the state’s long push to legalize recreational marijuana, which passed in 2021.
The state health department would issue licenses for manufacturing facilities and retailers, as well as testing laboratories, The Record said.
Mushrooms or other psilocybin products would have to be consumed at specific service centers, which would also offer prep sessions, screenings and “administration sessions” that would have employees guide customers through their hallucinogenic episodes, according to the outlet.
The centers wouldn’t be allowed in residential neighborhoods or within 1,000 feet of a school.
Manufacturers could either create synthetic psilocybin or grow their own mushrooms, according to the report.
But they couldn’t advertise to the public — especially not kids — or promote excessive use.
Employers would also be banned for testing for psilocybin unless a person is visibly high at work, The Record said.
An 18-member board would oversee the operation, according to the proposed law.
The new legalization push comes just as one of the Garden State’s largest health care providers moves forward on plans to use psychedelics to treat depression and other major mental illnesses, the outlet said.
On Tuesday, Hackensack Meridian announced a partnership with a UK-based biotech company to research synthetic psilocybin treatment.
This might lead to clinical trials and, later, could “create real change for people suffering with some of the most difficult-to-treat mental health conditions,” Hackensack Meridian CEO Robert Garrett said in a statement.
“There is still a lot of research that needs to be done, but from what we’ve seen it looks promising,” Dr. Eric Alcera, a psychiatrist who leads Hackensack Meridian’s involvement in non-traditional forms of mental health treatments, told The Record.
“Psychedelics need to be under a controlled environment, like a clinical trial,” he continued. “These are not simple chemical compounds. They are complex and create significant changes in the brain.”