CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION declaring that the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of anyone engaging in entheogen-related activities should be among The City of Seattle's lowest law enforcement priorities and stating the Council's support for full decriminalization of these activities.
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WHEREAS, punitive drug policies disproportionately impact people of color and low-income communities; and state and federal scheduling of entheogens and other substances has served as a pretext for disrupting and criminalizing those communities, which has destroyed countless lives and torn families apart, this resolution is an effort to begin correcting the irreparable harm caused by the U.S. war on drugs; and
WHEREAS, entheogens is a term encompassing any living, fresh, dried, or processed plant or fungal material, including teas or powders, that may contain currently scheduled or analog psychoactive indolamines, tryptamines, or phenethylamines, including, but not limited to, psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca tea, mescaline, and iboga; and
WHEREAS, with respect to Tabernanthe iboga (ibogaine), most of it is produced by overharvesting Tabernanthe iboga, with the exception of that which is derived from Voacanga africanus and sustainably produced; and
WHEREAS, Lophophora williamsii (also known as peyote) has a particular history in the United States, a vulnerable ecological status, and a religious and cultural significance to Indigenous people of the American Southwest. Due to this special history and overharvesting and collapse of peyote gardens in southern Texas, and to the long time required for plants to mature in cultivation, peyote is not included in the definition of entheogens adopted by this resolution; and
WHEREAS, depression, severe anxiety, problematic substance use, post-traumatic stress, end-of-life anxiety, grief, intergenerational trauma, and other physical and mental conditions are plaguing many communities, exacerbated ...
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