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Detroit Votes to Decriminalize Psychedelics: Here are the Details

Elena Schmidt · November 5th, 2021

When asked:“Shall the voters of the City of Detroit adopt an ordinance…that would decriminalize…the personal possession and therapeutic use of Entheogenic Plants by adults and make [it]… the city’s lowest law-enforcement priority?”

Michigan voters overwhelmingly said “yes.”

As a result, Detroit joins multiple cities and states that have decriminalized plant and fungi-based entheogens.

Michigan’s recent stance on entheogens

Michigan has become widely known for its pro-psychedelics stance this year. On September 21, Ann Arbor voters decided that policing entheogens like psilocybin, ayahuasca, and DMT was not worth wasting law enforcement resources.

After Ann Arbor’s decision, Michigan’s Washtenaw County prosecutor said his department would not chase psychedelic possession charges either–regardless of the amount in question.

The Grand Rapids City Council enacted a similar resolution in September championing the decriminalization of various naturally grown psychedelics.

Adding a cherry on top, Michigan lawmakers declared September “Entheogenic Plants and Fungi Awareness Month.” It appears this midwestern state is inching toward legalization, one city at a time.

Michigan’s largest city–Detroit–is the latest to make its voice heard. After thousands of people signed an initiative petition, Detroit lawmakers added the decriminalization measure to November’s ballot.

When election officials finished counting the votes on November 2, they found 61% of Detroiters supported the proposal. As a result, the city has agreed to decriminalize the possession and therapeutic use of entheogenic substances, including:

Proposal E also says the police shall make entheogenic plant use and possession among its “lowest law enforcement priorities.”

What decriminalization means (and doesn’t mean) for Detroit

According to Detroit Free Press, Proposal E does not legalize the use of psychedelic plants, which are still federally classified as schedule-1 illicit drugs.

Instead, the measure instructs Detroit’s police department to stop investigating and prosecuting residents who use or grow these substances.

Proposal E also does not address the sale of hallucinogenic plants, which is still illegal in the city.

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