A House committee in New Hampshire has advanced a bill that would decriminalize use and possession of psilocybin.
Members of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety voted unanimously, 16–0, to pass the bill, HB 528, from Rep. Kevin Verville (R).
Prior to moving the bill forward, the committee first adopted an amendment to temper the proposed reform. As originally introduced, it would have completely removed all penalties around obtaining, purchasing, transporting, possessing or using psilocybin, effectively legalizing it on a noncommercial basis.
The amended version of the legislation imposes penalties, but they’re significantly lower than the state’s current felony-level prohibition.
Under the new amendment, a first psilocybin offense would be a violation, subject to a fine of $100 or less. Second and third offenses would be class B misdemeanors, carrying fines of up to $500 and $1,000, respectively, but also with no risk of jail time.
Fourth and subsequent offenses would still be classified as felonies.
Notably, language of the proposal does not include any specific limit to the amount of psilocybin a person could possess.
The committee’s chair, Rep. Terry Roy (R), said that while he opposes full legalization of psilocybin, he believes the drug has medical value and ought not be punished as a felony.
“I’d like to see it done through proper scientific channels, through university studies and the [Department of Veterans Affairs],” Roy explained. “But having said that, I support this bill lowering it from a felony. We don’t need more intoxicated people, but we also don’t need more felons.”
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