Should psychedelic drugs be decriminalized in Mass.? Advocates see opening
Successful campaign in Somerville and push by lawmaker could provide momentum
By Dan Adams Globe Staff,Updated February 4, 2021, 7:57 a.m.
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A resident of Washington, D.C., where psilocybin has been decriminalized, shows off the Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms he is growing.Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post
Somerville in January became the first jurisdiction in Massachusetts to move toward decriminalizing plant-based psychedelic drugs, with city leaders voting unanimously to recognize the medical uses of natural entheogens â including psilocybin, the active ingredient in âmagic mushroomsâ â and make them among the lowest enforcement priorities for local police.
When friends and family failed to hear from Jalajhia Finklea a day
after she went missing, they contacted police and media outlets anybody who could help spread the word and help them find her.
Finklea, a pregnant 18-year-old member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, was last seen on Oct. 20, getting into a car with Luis Zaragoza on Coggeshall Street in New Bedford.
After more than a month of interstate investigations, by police in New Bedford, Mashpee and Florida, Finklea s body, with two shotgun wounds, was found in a field off Route 95 in Fellsmere, Fla. Her death was ruled a homicide and Zaragoza, her suspected killer, died in a police shootout.
When friends and family failed to hear from Jalajhia Finklea a day
after she went missing, they contacted police and media outlets anybody who could help spread the word and help them find her.
Finklea, a pregnant 18-year-old member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, was last seen on Oct. 20, getting into a car with Luis Zaragoza on Coggeshall Street in New Bedford.
After more than a month of interstate investigations, by police in New Bedford, Mashpee and Florida, Finklea s body, with two shotgun wounds, was found in a field off Route 95 in Fellsmere, Florida. Her death was ruled a homicide, and Zaragoza, her suspected killer, died in a police shootout.
GOP Rep. McKenna re-ups effort to relax gun licensing checks
Katie Lannan
State House News Service
BOSTON State Rep. Joe McKenna, R-Webster, is again proposing a process that would allow Massachusetts residents to apply for firearms licenses during the COVID-19 pandemic without first getting fingerprinted, refiling legislation that did not gain traction at the tail end of last session.
McKenna s bill would allow local police chiefs or the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to temporarily waive the requirement that applicants for firearms identification cards and licenses to carry a firearm have their fingerprints taken for a background check, if they determine it s unsafe or unreasonable to collect prints.