'Magic' Mushrooms, Ecstasy, Other Drugs Could Become Legal In California

A proposed California bill could make several psychedelic drugs legal, including LSD, ecstasy, psilocybin "magic" mushrooms, and more, according to NBC 7.

Senate Bill 519 would reportedly give military veterans access to psychedelic drug therapies, decriminalize these substances and allow further study. Adults who are 21 and over would be allowed to keep a certain amount of psychedelics, grow them and give them away to other people of age.

Several 2021 studies have analyzed the effectiveness of psychedelic treatments, according to Harvard Medical School. One paper in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients with severe to moderate major depressive disorder did as well, and/or better, with two doses of psilocybin than patients who got daily doses of antidepressant medication during the same time period.

"Despite their burgeoning promise in the field of psychiatry, psychedelic drugs are not yet considered to be mainstream medicine," according to Harvard. "Their use is still largely condoned only in experimental or monitored settings." Some medical experts say there needs to be more research before making such a major change.

Sen. Brian Jones, who represents a big chunk of San Diego County, says he can't support decriminalizing psychedelics but supports treatment for military veterans.

David Bronner, who's the CEO of a company that supports drug reform and other causes, called psychedelics "life-saving medicine."

"We need to decriminalize it so people feel comfortable accessing the medicine," Bronner claims. "It can just really help people get in there and just break self-destructive patterns of thought and behavior. We have veterans right now who are dying at the rate of 22 a day or taking their own lives."