In three Massachusetts cities that 'decriminalized' psychedelics, police say public health was already prioritized over enforcement, and arrest volume was low

In three Massachusetts cities that ‘decriminalized’ psychedelics, police say public health was already prioritized over enforcement, and arrest volume was low
Updated 6:00 AM;
In Northampton, it should be the lowest priority of police to investigate, or arrest any person for planting, purchasing, possessing or in other ways interacting with entheogenic plants, the City Council declared two weeks ago.
In Cambridge, no city official should use public resources to enforce laws banning entheogens, or natural psychedelics, the City Council there said in early February, following a similar resolution in Somerville two weeks prior.
But interviews with police officials in Northampton and Cambridge indicate that, regardless of intent, the resolutions generally had no significant effect on law enforcement operations. In both cases, police said they already didn’t prioritize enforcing bans on hallucinogens by making arrests or investigating low-level drug possession. The Somerville Police Department did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

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