We Decriminalized Entheogens in 5 months in Arcata, California || Danielle Daniel

Full Transcript

How were psychedelics decriminalized in Arcata?

I learned about the national movement Decriminalize Nature while I was in the master’s program at Humboldt State University. I did some papers on them and I got to know Larry. And after graduating I did my thesis on mushrooms as well. So after graduating, Larry suggested that I start the movement here in Arcata. And I’m an introvert. I was like, I don’t have any friends that would help me.

There were a couple of business owners that were already interested in Arcata, so we linked up. And after a couple of meetings, I knew right away that they were really busy and I had a ton of time because I just got out of the Master’s program and I was still in study mode. So I took the lead and I got started on Instagram and just put a lot of information out on what entheogens are.

I started writing emails to the Arcata City Council and I started tabling. And the first time tabling, I got another community member who was interested in helping me. His name is David and he is the owner of Humboldt Mycology. We were tabling every Saturday at the Arcata Farmers Market. Being in the community, educating the community, getting that community support is so important.

We were getting community members to sign letters and every week we dropped those letters off at the city council. So we started this right after I graduated in May of 2021. And so by June we already got a council member, Sarah Schaefer, that was behind us, and she got our resolution on the agenda.

During this time, there were more community members that stepped up and that were helping me. And really, this cannot be done without the community and really certain community members stepping up to take responsibilities because it definitely can’t be done alone.

So in July the resolution got seen before the Arcata City Council, and it unfortunately didn’t pass yet. It was just so soon. They wanted us to be doing more things in the community. So we met with the safety committee and we were passed through that. Then I met with the chief of police. Although he did not agree with Decriminalization, that conversation is important to have. It’s really important to include everybody.

And then in August, we did a big event showing Fantastic Fungi at the ballpark – Arcata ballpark. And a ton of people came. We got so much support, we got some speakers to come, Larry being one of them. And then in September we did a showing of Ayahuasca: Drink The Jungle.

And then on October 6 is when we were seen in front of the city council again. And it passed! We did everything they asked. And during all that time, we were in communication, having meetings with the city council members. And a lot of it was just educating. There’s just so much misinformation about entheogens. And once there was an understanding, everyone agreed, yeah, this should be decriminalized. It’s actually helping people heal.

So that’s how it was done in such a short period of time. We were lucky because we got a council member right away who supported us. And also just, that was my job. That’s what I was doing every day is just writing emails on Instagram, just educating as much as possible. So it’s a lot of work and that’s why the next step is we were going to decriminalize in the county of Humboldt, but I was burnt out.

What is tabling?

What we did at the farmer’s market is a really good idea because there’s so many people that go to the farmer’s market. So you get permission, for one, to be able to table and then you want all the information on entheogens.

So like, what is ayahuasca? What are Psilocybin Mushrooms? So just having information, what is decriminalization? What benefits do these medicines have? So just a lot of information.

Also I wrote up a letter for people to sign, and that’s the easiest. So people can just sign a letter instead of writing their own letters. But I also did ask community members, like, hey, please email the city council. And I provided all the emails. Some people called the city council and the more community members that are involved in contacting the council members, really, the better, because they’re going to make their decision based on community support.

Why did the city council first vote no?

They wanted us to be more involved since it was only a couple of months and it was really quick. So they just wanted to make sure that all the important people were contacted, like the safety committee and for us to just be more known in the community. That’s why we did those two big events in August and September.

Was it hard to organize big community events?

Thankfully we had someone, one of the business owners, Jake, who had done events before. So he helped us with setting up the sounds and really kind of organizing the event. So we were lucky to have that assistance and guidance. But it’s not too difficult if you have someone who knows what they’re doing.

What kind of team do you need?

Yeah, so for me, everything was happening so quickly. So whenever people said they wanted to be members, I was like, yes, please help me, I need help. But if I had more time, I would have done interviews. How much responsibility can you take on? Just more of like, getting to know who a person is, what are your intentions, and really being able to make that decision out of a place of confidence and peace instead of a place of desperation.

How has Arcata changed after Decriminalization?

I would say it’s brought a lot more freedom in the community and a lot more peace from just being able to ask questions about these medicines, having confidence and feeling safe to work with these medicines like I was able to, and other people have been able to start a business.

I have a microdosing business where I coach people through their experience with microdosing Psilocybin mushrooms. And people come to me who have never thought about working with these medicines before because they’re sick and tired of the pharmaceuticals and they want to feel better and they feel safe to do that because they know they’re protected. And October 6 just happened this year, so it was our first anniversary. So I was able to collaborate with the Do Nothing Society, and it was called Microdose and Do Nothing. And I handed out microdoses and people just sat in hammocks and colored in psychedelic coloring books and enjoyed microdosing and doing nothing. And I was able to do a lot of education. Quite a few people came that have never microdosed before. So I got to explain microdosing and what the benefits are. There’s a lot of misinformation that with microdosing, you feel the psychoactive effects, which you do not. So it was awesome to have the freedom to do that and no one’s going to get arrested.

Who was your biggest opposition?

I would say it was probably the chief of police. I mean, I had an hour long conversation with him, and the beginning of the conversation was very domineering and uncomfortable. But after he was given the space to talk about what he needed to talk about, and then I was given the space to talk about my personal experience with healing from these medicines. And he really softened up. He still didn’t agree, of course, but he really softened up in realizing that these really can be received as medicines and aren’t always used as a drug.

What was the chief of police worried about?

His fears were that everything would just go crazy, people would end up getting hurt. That was his main concern. It’s very obvious he wanted to protect his community and it was just a lot of misunderstanding. And he’s an older gentleman, so he lived through the brainwashing of the 70s.

What advice do you have for others decriminalizing in their communities?

Just be out in the community as much as possible, educating and really having a strong foundation. So just have that foundation of inclusion and respect and confidence.

When did you decide that you would take the lead on decrim?

I didn’t want to do this. I did not want to do this. But Larry was like, come on, you should do this. And I was like, all right, I’ll give it a try. And after the first tabling, I made a decision. I was like, if no community member is going to help me, I’m not doing this. And then, thankfully, David showed up, and I was able to continue. But, I mean, throughout, you know, more people over time showed up and wanted to take on responsibility. But, yeah, in the beginning, you know, it was pretty much just me and then one other person.

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