Maine Lawmakers Take Up Bill To Legalize Possession And Use Of Psilocybin By Adults

A legislative committee in Maine took up a bill on Monday that would effectively legalize low-level psilocybin possession among adults 21 and older.

LD 1034, from Rep. Grayson Lookner (D), would change the state’s laws around possession of scheduled drugs, creating a carveout for possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin among people 21 and older. It would not authorize or regulate production, distribution or commercial sales of the substance.

Before a hearing of the legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, Lookner described the bill as “a common sense shift in how we view plant medicine in Maine.”

“What we’re discussing today is simple,” the sponsor said. “Should adults in Maine face criminal penalties for possessing a natural substance that many find helpful for their well-being? The answer should be no.”

Ending the state’s prohibition on psilocybin isn’t meant to encourage drug use, he continued, but is about “recognizing that adults should have the freedom to make their own choices about what they put in their bodies, especially when it comes to natural medicines that grow right here in the ground in Maine. It’s about moving away from punishment and toward healing.”

“Psilocybin mushrooms grow naturally in our forests and fields, just as they have for thousands of years,” he said. “These aren’t dangerous synthetic drugs. They’re natural organisms that have been used medicinally by cultures around the world for millennia.”

Two groups in particular that Lookner said the reform could help are military veterans with PTSD and people in end-of-life care.

“They’re people who have tried everything else and found that this natural medicine helps where pharmaceuticals have routinely failed them,” he told colleagues. “When someone is suffering at the end of their life, or a veteran is haunted by trauma, shouldn’t they have every available option for their relief?”

Lawmakers briefly discussed the bill after Lookner’s introduction, asking questions about the current legal status of psilocybin, how the drug is taken and its typical effects.

Rep. Donald Ardell (R) quoted from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) website about psilocybin microdosing, saying that side effects can include insomnia, anxiety and depression, changes in mood and energy as well as physical discomfort.

“It goes on to say that psilocybin is not safe for people with psychotic conditions, like schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or severe forms of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder,” Ardell said.

“How is this proposed legislation going to sort of jive with what the National Institute of Health is telling us about psilocybin as a substance [and] how dangerous it can be?” he asked Lookner.

“I think everything that you cited there, the same could be said of alcohol,” the bill sponsor replied, “and we don’t treat it as a criminal offense to possess. This is about allowing adults to make their own decisions, primarily and secondarily.”

He also asserted that “there are a lot of really successful people in high positions who do microdose routinely.”

Lookner described the measure at Monday’s hearing as a “decriminalization bill,” telling colleagues that it “doesn’t legalize anything.”

“It doesn’t allow for recreational market,” he emphasized. “It just says if an adult has a small amount of this compound, they can’t face criminal charges for it.”

Asked why the possession limit was set at one ounce, he deferred to experts but said it’s a number he’s “not married to” and would be willing to reconsider.

A typical dose of psilocybin mushrooms is a few grams, while microdosing usually involves taking a fraction of a gram at a time.

Notably, the bill as introduced would remove penalties around possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin itself, not the mushrooms that produce the substance.

Its fiscal note says the state would not incur costs but instead that the reform could lead to “some minor reduction of workload associated with the minimal number of cases that will no longer be filed in the court system.”

The proposal has support from groups like ACLU of Maine and the Reason Foundation, which both submitted testimony in favor of LD 1034.

“One of the many detrimental consequences of the War on Drugs has been government interference with the exploration of alternative drug therapies that could help people with many debilitating conditions like depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder,” wrote Michael Kebede, policy director at ACLU of Maine.

“Decriminalizing behavior that a growing community of physicians recommend,” Kebede added, “will help Maine overcome its overdose and mental health crises and conserve the resources it might spend.”

Reason Foundation drug policy analyst Madison Carlino, meanwhile, said in testimony that the bill “represents a modest step forward in drug policy reform.”

“Psilocybin is safe, and adults should not face criminal punishment for seeking its therapeutic effects,” she told lawmakers, adding that the bill “creates an opening for more robust, regulated approaches to mental health care in the future.”

“Future legislation,” Carlino added, “could explore a license-type model that allows trained facilitators to guide individuals through psilocybin experiences in supported settings. These models promote safety, informed use, and equitable access while still exploring promising alternative treatments.”

Law enforcement groups are generally opposed to the reform.

“We do not take any position on the clinical and therapeutic benefits of psilocybin,” the Maine Chiefs of Police Association said in written testimony, “but we do not think that there is enough information for persons to consume it safely without guidance from a medical professional.”

Maine’s state Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) offered comments to lawmakers but took a position “neither for nor against LD 1034.”

“Maine CDC has concerns about enacting legislation that decriminalizes possession and use of a hallucinogenic drug without an appropriate framework to safeguard health and safety,” wrote agency director Puthiery Va. “Maine CDC disagrees with decriminalizing any possession of a substance for therapeutic purposes without the appropriate level of focus on patient safety.”

“By allowing possession of a limited amount of psilocybin, Maine will be assuming a ‘therapeutic amount’ with no therapeutic framework,” Va added, “and will become one of the few states in the US to deprioritize or decriminalize psilocybin ahead of changes at the federal level.”

Monday’s hearing on LD 1034 follows a separate effort last year to legalize psilocybin and allow adults to access the psychedelic at state-licensed facilities. But lawmakers watered down that bill—amending it to create a commission to further explore the reform instead—and it ultimately did not pass.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in February voted to investigate possible conflicts of interest by a top marijuana official.

And last year, a law took effect allowing people to apply to have records of now-legal marijuana crimes sealed.

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