A woman finds psilocybin mushrooms at the base of Douglas fir trees in Columbia Park in North Portland on Nov. 10, 2023. (Lynne Terry/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
A group seeking to decriminalize Alaskans’ use of certain medicinal mushrooms and other psychedelics can start collecting signatures to try to put the question before voters.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees the Alaska Division of Elections, said Thursday she has certified a statewide initiative application that proposes legal but regulated use of certain natural medicines for therapeutic and traditional purposes. The sponsors may now start gathering the petition signatures they need to place their initiative on a statewide ballot.
The proposed initiative, titled the Alaska Natural Medicine Act, is modeled after an initiative in Colorado that voters in that state passed in 2022. Oregon’s 2020 voter-approved law allows psilocybin use for therapeutic purposes in state-regulated centers.
Sponsors of the initiative are with Natural Alaska Medicine Inc., a nonprofit organization “dedicated to fostering charitable, educational, and social welfare initiatives that promote the safe and responsible use of natural medicines,” according to its website.
The president of Natural Alaska Medicine Inc. and other team members are Indigenous Alaskans. The proposed ballot initiative includes provisions for Alaska Native traditional healers.
While the initiative would decriminalize adults’ personal use or home cultivation of psychedelic mushrooms and other psychedelics, it also proposes a regulatory system. It would establish a Natural Medicine Control Board in the state Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. And it would establish an advisory Traditional Use Council.
Certain psychedelics are excluded and their use would not be allowed, under the initiative’s wording.
To qualify the initiative for the ballot, the petition sponsors must gather signatures equal in number to 10% of the voters in the state’s last general election, according to the Alaska Constitution. Additionally, signatures must come from at least 30 of the state’s 40 legislative House districts. Sponsors have a year in which to gather those signatures.
In her announcement Thursday, Dahlstrom did not indicate a position on the proposed initiative.
“This certification reflects the constitutional and statutory requirements for citizen-led initiatives in Alaska,” she said in a statement. “While voters will ultimately decide the merits of the proposal, the application meets all legal criteria for form and content.”
Alaska Beacon, like the Capital Chronicle, is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: info@alaskabeacon.com.
