Council votes to continue psilocybin mushrooms discussion

by Garth Meyer

Redondo Beach City Councilmembers Nils Nehrenheim and Zein Obagi, Jr., will draft a resolution for the city to consider supporting decriminalization of psilocybin mushrooms in California, following a 2-2 vote July 23, broken by Mayor Jim Light.

Councilman Todd Loewenstein was absent.

Councilmembers Scott Behrendt and Paige Kaluderovic opposed drafting the resolution, preferring instead to receive and file information about the plant’s use in alleviating mental health issues, and for city staff to inform the council if a bill is introduced in Sacramento.

Kalduderovic said her position was not that she would never support the declassification of these drugs, but she wanted to know more about them.

“Being a parent, I don’t take this lightly. I just don’t feel I have enough information at this time to support this,” she said.

Kaluderovic and Behrendt both called for input from Beach Cities Health District, Redondo Beach Police Department and Redondo Unified School District. Nehrenheim and Obagi presented information on studies they described as showing promise for the use of the psilocybin mushrooms in treating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

“This is not a right or left issue,” Nehrenheim said. 

Psilocybin mushrooms are a Schedule 1 substance under state law, meaning it is illegal to possess, sell, use or distribute them.

The council cannot override state law, but it could direct the city’s lobbyist to advocate for legalization.

Obagi, Jr., cited a “60 Minutes” report about research at Johns Hopkins University suggesting effective use of the mushrooms to treat depression. 

“This is important for mental health, but not something we need to spend money on,” he said. 

Obagi said the results call for more research by the State of California.

Councilman Nehrenheim referred to international studies, saying that the “War on Drugs” in the United States shut down research here.

“(Interest has) lately come back, because we’ve had so many traumatic wars,” he said. 

Obagi and Nehrenheim first brought the issue to the city council in April.

Schedule 1 substances are categorized as drugs with a high potential for abuse with no accepted medical purpose in the U.S.

“Mental health is so important, but it’s unclear at this time if promoting the use of this is a good idea,” Behrendt said. “Let’s take a wait and see approach.”

He noted that city staff had other priorities to spend their time on.

Nehrenheim made a motion for staff to come back with a draft resolution for the council to discuss. Obagi then suggested in an amendment that he and Nehrenheim write the resolution for the council to consider, with supporting documents.

Psilocybin is a chemical that appears in certain kinds of mushrooms, which grow in much of the world. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the mushrooms may cause people to experience distortion of images and sounds, feel intense emotions and can cause nausea or increased heart rate. NIDA is supporting research of psilocybin as a clinical treatment for mental illness. ER