King County leaders voted to deprioritize law enforcement’s response to psychoactive drugs including psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, and mescaline in order to encourage expanded research into their potential for mental health benefits, making investigation, arrest, and prosecution of adults using such substances among the county’s lowest priorities.
The Metropolitan King County Council voted 6-2 on a motion Tuesday to support “entheogen-related activities.” Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, a sponsor of the measure, said the effort is focused on reducing barriers to treatment for people facing serious mental health challenges.
“Anyone who needs additional medical treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, for anxiety, for addiction issues that they may be facing, for traumatic brain injury, we don’t want to have any additional barriers with potentially seeking medical treatment that could help them,” Mosqueda said.
The resolution formalizes the council’s ongoing support for entheogens, which are sometimes referred to as “magic mushrooms,” as alternative treatment options. It also calls on state and federal governments to allow expanded research. Mosqueda pointed to studies suggesting psychedelics may help treat depression, PTSD, and substance use disorders. “We’ve seen a number of studies affirm that depression, anxiety, PTSD, even substance use disorders, have a higher rate of success with the use of entheogens,” she said.
Councilmember Reagan Dunn opposed the motion, saying the legalization of psychedelics in Oregon did not go well and overdose statistics shot up. “We’ve got to be real cautious when we are sending the signal that psychedelics are basically going to be legal here in King County. We need to have the NIH (National Institute for Health) do a bunch more research on it before we get to that point,” Dunn said.
The measure comes as several Washington cities, including Seattle, Olympia, Tacoma, and Port Townsend, have adopted similar policies urging decriminalization and increased research. Under federal law, most entheogens remain classified as Schedule I controlled substances, though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated psilocybin-assisted therapy as a “breakthrough therapy” for certain forms of depression.
In King County, officials said enforcement is already limited. Mosqueda said both the King County Sheriff’s Office and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office have indicated they are not actively prioritizing cases involving these substances. “We just want to reaffirm our county’s commitment to helping invest in the health and well-being of all residents,” Mosqueda said.
The proposal emphasizes that the policy applies only to adults and personal use, not commercial distribution or activities that threaten public safety. “We are talking about adults. We are talking about sole use, so single-purpose use. We’re not talking about any sort of distribution. Law enforcement would continue to pursue problematic behavior,” Mosqueda said.
Supporters said expanding access to alternative treatments could be especially meaningful for veterans and people struggling with addiction. “Too often treatment options available to those struggling with mental health conditions are limited, inaccessible, or ineffective. It matters that we give those who served our country, at great personal cost, access to the full range of science-backed tools to heal when they come home,” said Jordan Crawley, an Army veteran.
