📝 usncan Note: Alaska Psychedelics Legalization Group Gets OK To Collect Signatures
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A proposal to legalize certain natural psychedelics in Alaska has been cleared by state officials, allowing supporters to begin collecting the signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot for next year’s general election.
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Alaska state officials last week gave the backers of a proposed initiative to legalize certain natural psychedelic drugs clearance to begin collecting the signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot for the 2026 election. If passed, the proposed ballot measure would legalize and regulate psilocybin mushrooms and other natural psychedelic drugs for healing and traditional purposes, according to a report from the Alaska Beacon.
Acting in her capacity as head of the Alaska Division of Elections, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom certified the proposed ballot measure on Thursday, noting that the Alaska Department of Law had reviewed the application and determined it is consistent with constitutional and statutory requirements.
“This certification reflects the constitutional and statutory requirements for citizen-led initiatives in Alaska,” Dahlstrom said in a statement on August 14. “While voters will ultimately decide the merits of the proposal, the application meets all legal criteria for form and content.”
Measure Modeled After Colorado’s Psychedelics Legalization Initiative
The proposed psychedelics legalization initiative, known as the Alaska Natural Medicine Act, is backed by the nonprofit Natural Alaska Medicine Inc., a group “dedicated to fostering charitable, educational, and social welfare initiatives that promote the safe and responsible use of natural medicines,” according to its website. The measure is modeled after a Colorado psychedelics legalization measure approved by nearly 54% of voters in the 2022 general election.
The president and other members of Natural Alaska Medicine Inc. are Indigenous Alaskans. The proposed psychedelics legalization measure includes language to protect Alaska Native traditional healers who use psychedelic compounds.
Proposal Legalizes Psychedelics For Personal And Therapeutic Use
If the measure qualifies for the ballot and receives majority support from Alaska voters in next year’s general election, the proposal will make it legal to possess, use, display, store or transport decriminalize the possession, use, display, storage and transportation of “fungi containing psilocybin or psilocyn, psilocybin or psilocyn in extract or other concentrated form, or plants or fungi capable of producing psilocybin, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), or mescaline (except from Peyote).” The measure would apply only to adults aged 21 and older.
Personal cultivation of psychedelic plants and fungi is limited to an area no larger than 144 square feet. The sale or trading of personally cultivated psychedelics would not be permitted under the proposed ballot measure.
Proposed Ballot Measure Creates Psychedelics Regulatory Bodies
The proposed legislation would also create a Natural Medicine Control Board as part of the state Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development to oversee licensing, regulation and public education covering natural psychedelic drugs included in the measure. Additionally, the proposal would establish stablish a Traditional Use Council to support cultural and spiritual practices with natural psychedelics.
Ismail Ali is the interim co-executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a national nonprofit that works to study psychedelic substances and advocates for their safe use. He said that the Alaska initiative would legalize activities that already regularly occur in the state.
“There’s millions and millions of Americans who use psychedelics every year, and most of the time that goes off without a hitch, and people don’t even know about it,” Ali told the Alaska Beacon last month.
Supporters Have One Year To Collect Signatures
Under the Alaska Constitution, backers of the proposed ballot measure will have to collect enough signatures from registered voters to equal 10% of the ballots cast in the state’s previous general election. The supporters of the proposal will have a year to collect the necessary number of signatures, which must also come from at least 30 of the state’s 40 House of Representatives legislative districts. If they succeed, the initiative is expected to appear on the ballot for the November 2026 general election.
