An Act To Decriminalize Personal Possession Of Therapeutic Amounts Of Psilocybin For Adults

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Donna Bailey and 8 co-sponsors

Decriminalize adults' personal possession of therapeutic psilocybin, removing penalties for qualifying amounts.

Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)

#crimes #drugoffenses #entheogenicmushrooms

Overview and Intent

Purpose: To decriminalize the personal possession of psilocybin when in therapeutic amounts for adults. The bill aims to reduce or remove criminal penalties for possessing small, personally intended quantities of psilocybin intended for therapeutic use.

Status: Dead in the Legislature. Placed in Legislative Files on June 10, 2025 after failing to enact.

Introduced: March 12, 2025

Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Key Provisions (as implied by title and fiscal notes)

Decriminalization: Personal possession of therapeutic amounts of psilocybin by adults would be decriminalized. The current criminal penalties for possession would be removed or significantly reduced for qualifying amounts.

Scope: Applies to adults; relates to entheogenic (psychedelic) mushrooms containing psilocybin.

Implementation: The bill would require changes to enforcement and penalty structures, shifting from criminal penalties to a different enforcement framework (not specified in the provided documents).

Governance/Administration: The bill does not appear to create a licensing framework in the documents provided; focus is on decriminalization of possession.

Fiscal Impact

Document 3 (Fiscal Note, as Amended)

Legislative cost/study: Projected operating costs for a related study – $2,800 (FY 2025-26) and $3,050 (FY 2026-27). The Legislature’s budget includes funding for legislative studies in the same range for the 2025-27 biennium, with additional balances that may be available for this purpose. Additional staffing costs during interim could be absorbed with existing resources.

Governor’s costs: Minor and absorbable within existing resources.

Document 4 (Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement)

General Fund: Minor savings.

General Fund/Other Revenue: Minor revenue decrease.

Other: Minor revenue decreases in other special revenue funds.

Justice/Corrections: Minor workload reductions due to fewer cases, and minor reductions in fines collected.

Affected Parties and Impacts

Adults who possess psilocybin in therapeutic amounts: Would face decriminalization of possession, reducing or eliminating criminal penalties for personal use.

Law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and corrections: Anticipated reductions in case filings and related workload; potential shifts in enforcement and sentencing practices.

Fiscal/Revenue: Minor reductions in General Fund and other revenue from fines; small administrative costs related to any required study or oversight.

Legislative History and Timeline

March 12, 2025: Introduced and referred to the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

March–April 2025: Work sessions and committee work; reported out as OTP-AM/OTP/ONTP on May 28, 2025.

June 2–4, 2025: Processed through engrossment and concurrence steps; roll-call votes initiated.

June 9–10, 2025: House roll calls show narrow margins (e.g., Yeas/Nays around parity in key votes). The bill ultimately failed to pass and was placed in Legislative Files (DEAD) on June 10, 2025.

Notes

The provided material does not include the bill’s exact statutory language or a precise definition of “therapeutic amounts.” The summary reflects the bill’s stated objective and the general implications as described in the fiscal notes and legislative actions.

If you’d like, I can add a comparison with current Maine law on psilocybin penalties or extract any related committee testimony to provide deeper context.

Bill