The ongoing “Black Lives Matter” protests which have engulfed the country have given a local campaign effort in Washington D.C. a needed boost as they have been able to gather 5,000 signatures for their cause of putting psychedelics decriminalization on the November ballot.
Decriminalize Nature D.C. (“DNDC”) is the organization behind the campaign to decriminalize entheogenic substances, such as psilocybin and ibogaine, so that they drop down the list of law enforcement priorities in D.C.
The activists have to collect approximately 30,000 valid signatures of voters by July 6 if their plan to put the matter on the November ballot are to see the light of day.
However, the signature gathering campaign was dealt a huge blow when the coronavirus outbreak made it impossible to collect signatures in the traditional way. Local legislatures gave the drive a needed lifeline when emergency legislation was passed to accommodate alternative ways of gathering signatures apart from using in-person methods.
DNDC then mailed out 10,000 petitions to city residents as a test of how well this method could work in moving the campaign towards the attainment of the desired number of voter signatures. In less than four weeks, nearly 10% of the forms had been returned with valid signatures, and this has encouraged the campaigners to ramp up their efforts.
Consequently, they have set in motion a plan to send petitions to approximately 220,000 addresses with the city limits. Those addresses were picked on the basis of having at least one person eligible to vote.
To make sure that they beat the July 6 deadline, Decriminalize Nature D.C. has asked residents to return the forms by June 26 so the delays in the mailing system as well as the need to correct some errors on the forms don’t sabotage the drive.
The Black Lives Matter protests in the city have also provided an easier way to access residents and appeal to them to support the cause. The activists set up tents at the venues of the protests and ensured that social distancing was in place while people signed forms in support of the decriminalization campaign.
The campaigners managed to position their desire to have psychedelics decriminalized as a way of redressing some of the wrongs which have been visited upon minority communities during the war on drugs which has raged on for decades. This rallying call seems to have touched base with the protestors as 5,000 signatures have so far been gathered from the people out to protest.
It would be interesting to hear what suggestions psychedelics companies, such as StemSation and Entheogen Biosciences, have regarding how the decriminalization drive can be pushed to the finishing line despite the current challenges.
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