Newsom Nixes Psychedelic Decriminalization and Cannabis Cafés

Gavin Newsom supported a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in California but rejected a social consumption measure.

As California's lieutenant governor in 2016, Gavin Newsom supported Proposition 64, the ballot initiative that legalized recreational marijuana in his state. As governor, he acknowledges the "exciting" potential of "psychedelic medicines" to "address mental health." Yet Newsom dealt blows to both of those causes on the same weekend in October, vetoing bills that would have decriminalized four naturally occurring psychedelics and authorized Amsterdam-style cannabis cafés.

Senate Bill 58, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D–San Francisco), passed the California State Legislature in September by a 43–15 vote in the Assembly and a 21–14 vote in the Senate. The bill, which was similar to a groundbreaking ballot initiative that Colorado voters approved in 2022, would have eliminated criminal penalties for adults 21 or older who use psilocybin, psilocyn, mescaline, or dimethyltryptamine. In addition to possession for personal use, the bill covered noncommercial production, distribution, and transportation.

In his veto message, Newsom said "peer-reviewed science and powerful personal anecdotes" had persuaded him that psychedelics are effective for "people suffering from certain conditions," including depression, post-traumatic stress, addiction, and brain injuries. But without "regulated treatment guidelines," he said, it would be reckless to stop threatening psychedelic users with arrest and jail.

Wiener called the veto a "huge missed opportunity" and "a setback" for Californians "who are safely using and benefiting from these non-addictive substances and who will now continue to be classified as criminals." He said he planned to introduce "therapeutic-focused legislation" that he hoped would satisfy Newsom's concerns about excessive pharmacological freedom.

Assembly Bill 374, sponsored by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D–San Francisco), would have expanded the options for California residents and visitors who want to consume cannabis in a social setting. The bill, which passed the Legislature in September by a 66–9 vote in the Assembly and a 34–3 vote in the Senate, would have allowed dispensaries, with local approval, to serve marijuana along with noncannabis food and beverages, which is currently illegal. It also would have explicitly allowed live music.

Again, this was a step too far for Newsom. "I appreciate the author's intent to provide cannabis retailers with increased business opportunities and an avenue to attract new customers," the governor wrote in his veto message. "However, I am concerned this bill could undermine California's long-standing smoke-free workplace protections."

That was news to Haney, who noted that on-site pot smoking is already allowed under Proposition 64. What's not allowed is doing that in a café where you can also eat, drink, and maybe listen to music. Haney said permitting such businesses would help "the highly taxed and regulated legal cannabis industry" compete with "a thriving cannabis black market."