Maine Lawmakers Pass Bill To Legalize Possession Of Psilocybin, But Without Legal Sales Of The Psychedelic

The Maine House of Representatives on Monday narrowly passed a bill that
would legalize possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin by people 21 and
older.

The measure, LD 1034 from Rep. Grayson Lookner (D), would not authorize or
regulate production, distribution or commercial sales of the psychedelic
substance, however.

Earlier this session, a House committee had moved to significantly amend
the proposal to instead simply require the creation of a “Commission to
Study Pathways for Creating a Psilocybin Services Program,” but at Monday’s
floor session, the full chamber instead voted 70–69 to pass the bill as
introduced.

The legislation next proceeds to the Senate.

The legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee had advanced
the measure to the House floor with a divided report. Five members called
for the amended measure to go forward, while four were in favor of passing
the original proposal and three did not want the psilocybin bill to pass in
any form.

In an unusual turn, one of the minority reports—that the bill pass as
introduced—was taken up first at Monday’s floor session. It subsequently
passed, and the amended version of the measure wasn’t considered.

Lookner before the vote called the proposal “a matter of compassion, common
sense and justice.”

“We have before us an opportunity to alleviate profound suffering,
particularly among our veterans who have borne the invisible wounds of war,
while correcting an unjust and irrational law that persists only because of
outdated stigma,” he said.

“This bill would simply decriminalize possession of psilocybin for adults
21 years of age and older. It does not legalize sales. It does not create
recreational markets,” the sponsor added. “It simply says that if an adult
chooses to possess this substance for personal use, they should not face
arrest, jail time nor criminal record.”

Rep. Daniel Ankeles (D) rose to ask colleagues: “What is the threshold at
which we put one of our fellow Mainers into the criminal justice system?”

“I think we shouldn’t be putting people like this in the criminal justice
system,” he continued, “who are treating their mental health.”

Opponents to the bill argued that psilocybin wasn’t yet well enough
understood to remove penalties around possession, pointing out that few in
the state are actually put behind bars for use or low-level possession of
psychedelics.

“Now this product may it may have some potential,” said Rep. Amy Arata (R),
who pointed to isolated cases of people who’d used psilocybin or marijuana
being violent or suicidal, “but it needs to be studied. It’s *being*
studied. Let’s give it time to be studied. Let’s figure out what
appropriate dosages are and concentrations and things of that nature right
now. We’re not ready for this.”

Rep. David Boyer (R) responded that he could “rail off a bunch of anecdotes
about dumb, bad, horrible things that people did while they were using
alcohol, but it would take a lot longer. Everyone kind of wants to go home
today.”

He noted that there’s evidence that psilocybin can help veterans with PTSD,
terminal patients at the end of their lives who are “struggling with their
own mortality” and people struggling with substance use disorder.

“That’s a really powerful idea, that you could cure addiction,” he said.

“I don’t know that we should we should put someone in jail for 364 days for
a handful of of mushrooms,” Boyer, who previously worked for the Marijuana
Policy Project and led Maine’s successful cannabis legalization ballot
campaign in 2016, added. “I don’t think that fits the crime. Our courts are
clogged. Our jails are full. We shouldn’t waste tax dollars and government
resources on protecting people from themselves. We own our own bodies.”

In a comment to Marijuana Moment after the House passage of the bill, Boyer
said he was “proud of the good, bipartisan work done in the Maine House
today.”

“Adults trying to heal with psilocybin should be free from the fear of jail
time for using a natural medicine,” he said. “Hopefully the governor agrees
and will not veto this important legislation.”


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If passed by the Senate, LD 1034 would then proceed to Maine Gov. Janet
Mills (D).

The proposal as originally filed had support from advocacy groups such as
ACLU of Maine and the Reason Foundation, which both submitted testimony in
favor of LD 1034 at an initial hearing last month.

Under the now-abandoned committee amendment to the bill, the study
commission would have needed to submit a report to the legislature by
November 4, 2026 that outlined its findings and recommendations, “including
suggested legislation, for presentation to the joint standing committees”
on criminal justice, public safety, veterans and legal affairs and health
and human services.

House passage of the measure follows a separate effort in Maine 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, Maine 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.

*Kyle Jaeger contributed reporting.*

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The post Maine Lawmakers Pass Bill To Legalize Possession Of Psilocybin,
But Without Legal Sales Of The Psychedelic appeared first on Marijuana
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