Both chambers of the Maine Legislature reversed course on a controversial bill this week, ending an effort from Rep. Grayson Lookner (D-Portland) to legalize the possession of psilocybin, often called “magic mushrooms.”
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In House and Senate votes on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, each chamber narrowly voted against the enactment of the bill. Those votes came just one week after the House voted 70-69 and the Senate voted 17-16 to accept the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety’s minority “Ought to pass” recommendation.
The bill, LD 1034, drew co-sponsorship from five Democrats and three Republicans, including Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland), who championed marijuana legalization.
It would have decriminalized the possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin for adults over 21. Proponents, such as the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lookner, suggested that small doses of the drug could have beneficial effects on people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The bill was reported out of the work session with three recommendations: one “ought to pass,” which initially passed in the legislature, one “ought not to pass,” and one “ought to pass as amended,” the majority report of the committee that would have turned the bill into a study rather than immediate legalization.
The House accepted the minority “ought to pass” recommendation, with 12 members absent, only after Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) changed his no-vote when it became apparent that the bill would fail without him.
The initial vote was not split cleanly along party lines, though a majority of Republicans opposed the bill and a majority of Democrats supported it. At least two Republican representatives supported the bill because of the potential benefit psilocybin is reported to have for veterans coping with PTSD.
The Senate likewise accepted the recommendation with a single vote margin. Though Republican senators were unified in their opposition to the bill, two Democrats, Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot) and Sen. Tim Nangle (D-Cumberland), joined Republicans, and two senators were absent.
When the time came on Monday for the House to enact the bill, only five members were absent, and the bill failed with a 74-72 vote against enactment. Multiple representatives on both sides of the issue changed their votes from last week, allowing it to fail by a two-vote margin.
The bill’s fate was sealed with the failed Senate vote on Tuesday. None of the senators changed their votes, though three were absent compared to the two who were absent for last week’s vote. The same senators were not absent each time, and that change, combined with the additional absence, led to a 16-16 vote, which was insufficient to enact the bill.
