Washington, D.C., Initiative 81, Entheogenic Plants and Fungus Measure (2020)

Washington, D.C. Initiative 81
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Local law enforcement
Status a Approved
Type Initiative	Origin Citizens

Washington, D.C., Initiative 81, the Entheogenic Plants and Fungus Measure, was on the ballot in Washington, D.C., as an initiative on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this ballot initiative to: * declare that police shall treat the non-commercial cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of entheogenic plants and fungi among the lowest law enforcement priorities and *define entheogenic plants and fungi as species of plants and fungi that contain ibogaine, dimethyltryptamine, mescaline, psilocybin, or psilocyn.

A "no" vote opposed this ballot initiative to declare that police shall treat the non-commercial cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of entheogenic plants and fungi—including psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, and iboga—as among the lowest law enforcement priorities.

Election results

District of Columbia Initiative 81
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		214,685	76.18%
No		67,140	23.82%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What was Initiative 81 designed to do?

Initiative 81 was designed to declare that police shall treat the non-commercial cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of entheogenic plants and fungi as among the lowest law enforcement priorities. The ballot initiative defined entheogenic plants and fungi as species of plants and fungi that contain ibogaine, dimethyltryptamine, mescaline, psilocybin, or psilocyn. Examples include psilocybin mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, peyote, and iboga. The ballot initiative also asked the D.C. Attorney General and U.S. Attorney for D.C. to cease the prosecution of residents who engage with entheogenic plants and fungi.

Had other states or localities voted on psilocybin related measures?

See also: Background

Washington, D.C., was the second jurisdiction to vote on a ballot measure related to psilocybin and the first to vote on a ballot measure related to multiple entheogenic plants and fungi. In 2019, voters in Denver, Colorado, approved Initiated Ordinance 301, which declared that the adult use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms were of the city's lowest law enforcement priorities. The governing bodies of Oakland and Santa Cruz, California, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, passed resolutions through their local governments to decriminalize entheogenic plants or psychoactive plants and fungi.

At the election on November 3, 2020, voters in Oregon decided two ballot initiatives—Oregon Measure 109 and Oregon Measure 110—related to entheogenic plants. Measure 109 was designed to create a program for administering psilocybin, such as psilocybin-producing mushrooms and fungi, to individuals aged 21 years or older. Measure 110 was designed to decriminalize Schedule I - IV controlled substances, including entheogenic plants listed as scheduled drugs, from Class A misdemeanors to Class E violations.

Who was behind the campaigns surrounding Initiative 81?

See also: Campaign finance

Decriminalize Nature D.C. led the campaign in support of Initiative 81. The campaign had raised $802,473, including $641,378 from the New Approach PAC. The New Approach PAC was founded in 2014, with an initial focus on marijuana-related ballot measures. In 2020, the New Approach PAC also supported Oregon Measure 109.

Ballotpedia had not identified political action committees (PACs) organized to oppose Initiative 81.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Initiative Measure No. 81 Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020 If enacted, this Initiative would: Make the investigation and arrest of adults for non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, possessing, and/or engaging in practices with entheogenic plants and fungi among the Metropolitan Police Department’s lowest law enforcement priorities; and Codify that the people of the District of Columbia call upon the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia to cease prosecution of residents of the District of Columbia for these activities.

”

Full text

The full text of the ballot initiative is as follows:

Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the below text to see the full text.

“ BE IT ENACTED BY THE ELECTORS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the “Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020.” Sec 2. Findings and Declaration of Policy. (a) The people of the District of Columbia find that use of entheogenic plants and fungi have been demonstrated, through scientific studies, to be beneficial in addressing a variety of afflictions including substance abuse, addiction, trauma, post-traumatic stress syndrome, chronic depression, anxiety, diabetes, cluster headaches and other conditions; and that practices with entheogenic plants and fungi have long existed, have been considered sacred to a number of cultures and religions for millennia, and continue to be enhanced and improved. Citizens of the District of Columbia seeking to improve their health and well-being through the use of entheogenic plants and fungi currently use them in fear of arrest and prosecution. (b) It is declared the policy of this act to make investigation and arrest of adults for non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, possessing or engaging in practices with entheogenic plants and fungi among the lowest law enforcement priorities for the District of Columbia. Sec 3. Policy Regarding Investigation and Arrest for Offenses Involving Entheogenic Plants and Fungi. (a) For purposes of this section, the term “entheogenic plant and fungus” means any plant or fungus of any species in which there is naturally occurring any of the following substances in any form which would cause such plant or fungus to be described in D.C. Official Code §48-902.04(3): ibogaine, dimethyltryptamine, mescaline, psilocybin or psilocyn. (b) The Metropolitan Police Department shall make the investigation and arrest of persons 18 years of age or older, for non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing entheogenic plants and fungi that are listed in Schedule I of the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1981 effective August 5, 1981 (D.C. Law 4-29, D.C. Official Code §48-902.04) as among its lowest enforcement priorities. (c) Nothing in this section shall affect the priority of enforcing any provision of D.C. Official Code Title 50, Subtitle VII, Chapter 22, Subchapter III-A; or of D.C. Official Code §48-904.07a. Sec 4. The people of the District of Columbia call upon the Attorney General of the District of Columbia and the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia to cease prosecution of residents of the District of Columbia for non-commercial planting, non-commercial cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing entheogenic plants and fungi as defined in section 3 of this act. Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement. Sec. 6. Effective date. This act shall take effect after a 30-day period of Congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia Register. ”

Support

Decriminalize Nature D.C. led the campaign in support of the ballot initiative. Melissa Lavasani, a budget officer at the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, proposed the ballot initiative.

Supporters

Political Parties

• Democratic Party of the District of Columbia

Organizations

• New Approach PAC

Arguments

• Dr. Mikhail Kogan, Medical Director of the George Washington University Center for Integrative Medicine: "Patients with advanced-stage cancer suffering from treatment resistant anxiety and/or depression experienced significant reduc­tions in both anxiety and depression with improvements of mood following a single guided psilocybin treatment, with no safety concerns or clinically significant adverse events. Other studies demonstrate efficacy of other psychedelic agents to relieve anxiety and stress disorders related to end of life. Therapy with psilocybin is well tolerated by seriously ill patients and, for some, remarkably effective in alleviating non-physical distress. Therapeutic benefits often persist long after any pharmacologic effect of the drug. It is time to support the legitimate therapeutic use of psychedelics."
• Nikolas Schiller, field director for Decriminalize Nature D.C.: "D.C. is an important place for us to start dismantling the war on drugs. People need to have access to any healing modality without fear of arrest."

Opposition

Arguments

• U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Maryland): "This is a bald-faced attempt to just make these very serious, very potent, very dangerous — both short term and long term — hallucinogenic drugs broadly available. Public health has to be maintained. We know of course, once you make it a very low enforcement level and encourage prosecutors not to prosecute it, what would prevent people from using hallucinogens, getting behind the wheel of a car and killing people?"

Campaign finance

The Campaign to Decriminalize Nature DC PAC was registered to support Initiative 81. The committee had raised $802,473. The New Approach PAC provided $641,378 to the committee.

Ballotpedia had not identified PACs registered to oppose the ballot initiative.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$623,437.74	$179,035.54	$802,473.28	$627,439.43	$806,474.97
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$623,437.74	$179,035.54	$802,473.28	$627,439.43	$806,474.97

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the ballot initiative.

Committees in support of Initiative 81
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Campaign to Decriminalize Nature DC	$623,437.74	$179,035.54	$802,473.28	$627,439.43	$806,474.97
Total	$623,437.74	$179,035.54	$802,473.28	$627,439.43	$806,474.97

Donors

The following were the top three donors to the support committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
New Approach PAC	$556,000.00	$85,378.23	$641,378.23
Mintwood Strategies	$43,000.00	$91,489.56	$134,489.56
Adam Eidinger	$5,100.00	$1,117.75	$6,217.75

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Washington, D.C., Initiative 81, Entheogenic Plants and Fungus Measure (2020)
Poll	Support	Oppose	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
FM3 Research 8/16/2020 - 8/24/2020	60.0%	24.0%	16.0%	+/-4.0	620
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Entheogens

Initiative 81 was written with the term entheogenic plants and fungi. In 1979, five academics, including Carl A. P. Ruck and Daniel Staples of Boston University, proposed the term entheogens to describe "states of shamanic and ecstatic possession induced by mind-altering drugs." "In a strict sense," wrote the academics, "only those vision-producing drugs that can be shown to have figured in shamanic or religious rites would be designated entheogens, but in a looser sense, the term could also be applied to other drugs, both natural and artificial, that induce alterations of consciousness similar to those documented for ritual ingestion of traditional entheogens." Ruck et al. described the term hallucinogen as having a biased, negative meaning: "The verb 'hallucinate,' however, immediately imposes a value judgment upon the nature of the altered perceptions, for it means 'to be deceived or entertain false notions.'"

Laws that legalized or decriminalized psilocybin

As of 2020, four local governments—Denver, Colorado; Oakland, California; Santa Cruz, California; and Ann Arbor, Michigan—had passed laws that decriminalized psilocybin or changed law enforcement priorities regarding psilocybin.

Denver Initiated Ordinance 301 (2019)

See also: Denver, Colorado, Initiated Ordinance 301, Psilocybin Mushroom Initiative (May 2019)

In 2019, voters in Denver, Colorado, approved Initiated Ordinance 301, which declared that the adult use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms were of the city's lowest law enforcement priorities.

Oakland and Santa Cruz, California

The Oakland City Council voted on a resolution to decriminalize hallucinogen psilocybin on June 4, 2019. The resolution asked law enforcement to cease prosecutions of adults for the use and possession of entheogenic plants. Councilmember Noel Gallo, who sponsored the resolution, said, "Half of my family is Native American. I grew up with my grandmother, and those plants were visible in our backyard."

On January 28, 2020, the Santa Cruz City Council voted on a resolution that stated that "the investigation and arrest of individuals involved with the adult possession, use, or cultivation of psychoactive plants and fungi listed on the Federal Schedule 1 list for personal adult use and clinical research be among the lowest priorities for the city of Santa Cruz."

Ann Arbor, Michigan

On September 21, 2020, the Ann Arbor City Council voted on a resolution that declared entheogenic plants to be considered the city's lowest law enforcement priorities. The resolution stated, "The use of entheogenic plants, which can catalyze profound experiences of personal and spiritual growth, have been shown by scientific and clinical studies and traditional practices to be beneficial to the health and well-being of individuals and communities in addressing these conditions."

Oregon Measure 109 and Measure 110 (2020)

See also: Oregon Measure 109 and Oregon Measure 110

At the election on November 3, 2020, voters in Oregon decided two ballot initiatives—Oregon Measure 109 and Oregon Measure 110—related to entheogenic plants.

Measure 109 was designed to create a program for administering psilocybin, such as psilocybin-producing mushrooms and fungi, to individuals aged 21 years or older. Measure 109 allows people to purchase, possess, and consume psilocybin at a psilocybin service center and under the supervision of a psilocybin service facilitator after undergoing a preparation session.

Measure 110 was designed to decriminalize Schedule I - IV controlled substances, including some entheogenic plants, from Class A misdemeanors to Class E violations. Oregon was the first state to legalize psilocybin and the first state to decriminalize all Schedule I - IV controlled substances.

Path to the ballot

Process in Washington, D.C.

See also: Process for qualifying an initiative or referendum in Washington, D.C.

In Washington, D.C., the Board of Elections is responsible for overseeing the ballot initiative process. After the D.C. Board of Elections approves a petition for a ballot initiative, proponents have 180 days to gather a number of signatures equal to at least 5 percent of the voters registered citywide. Once signatures are filed with the Board of Elections, staff have 30 days to count and review the signatures. Moreover, signatures from 5 percent of registered voters in five of eight city wards are required to meet the city's distribution requirement.

Stages of this ballot initiative

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On December 20, 2019, the campaign Decriminalize Nature D.C. submitted a petition for the ballot initiative to the D.C. Board of Elections. On February 18, 2020, the Board of Elections concluded that the proposal conformed to the district's laws and published the ballot title.

Decriminalize Nature D.C. asked the Board of Elections to postpone the start of the circulation period for the ballot initiative due to the coronavirus pandemic. Seth Rosenberg, a campaign spokesperson, said, "The combination of public fear, lack of testing, and an expanding shutdown of 2020 election activities has made it obvious this isn’t the time to be knocking on doors and engaging DC voters. Now is the time for our campaigners to focus on themselves and their families’ well-being." On May 6, 2020, the D.C. Board of Elections approved the petition for signature gathering.

Melissa Lavasani, spokesperson for Decriminalize Nature D.C., said the campaign would mail petitions to households instead of conducting an in-person signature drive. Lavasani stated, "We can’t be outside getting signatures, so we’re trying to be inventive and work with the system we have. We’re trying to beef up the envelope so people don’t throw it in the trash. We’re trying to make it nice and inviting."

The Washington, D.C. Council approved a bill on May 5, 2020, to allow petitions to be distributed, printed, signed, scanned (uploaded), and sent to proponents. Voters still needed to sign physical copies of the petitions. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said, "These changes will allow eligible District residents to download petition sheets from campaigns at home, print them out, circulate them for physical signatures within their small social networks or families, and return them electronically to the campaigns." Decriminalize Nature D.C. mailed petitions to more than 220,000 households in Washington, D.C.

Nikolas Schiller, the campaign’s field director, said that the campaign ended up receiving about 7,000 signatures by mail.

On July 6, 2020, the campaign Decriminalize Nature D.C. reported filing 36,249 signatures with the D.C. Board of Elections. In Washington, D.C., the number of signatures required for a ballot initiative is equal to 5 percent of the district's registered voters. As of May 31, there were 496,701 registered voters in Washington, D.C. Therefore, 5 percent was equal to 24,836.

On August 5, 2020, the D.C. Board of Elections announced that, after verifying a random ample, the board had concluded that 25,477 of the submitted signatures were valid; therefore, Initiative 81 was certified for the ballot.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2020
• Local law enforcement on the ballot

Washington, D.C.

• November 3, 2020 measures in Washington, D.C.
• Local ballot measures, Washington, D.C.

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

• Washington, D.C., Initiative 81, Entheogenic Plants and Fungus Initiative