Assemblymember Marie Waldron is a Republican from San Diego at a time when California鈥檚 Democrats were waging a legislative war with Donald Trump.
San Francisco Sen. Scott Wiener is a Democratic rising star who鈥檚 considered to replace one of the right鈥檚 biggest villains, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, should the former House speaker retire from Congress.
The pair may not seem to have much in common, but they have formed an unlikely bipartisan partnership on an unusual issue: .
Waldron has appeared twice beside Wiener in recent weeks. Most recently, they addressed reporters to announce they coauthored that would allow adults 21 and older to use psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA, DMT and mescaline under the supervision of a licensed and trained facilitator.
And, in January, they sat side-by-side before the Assembly Health Committee to advocate for Waldron鈥檚 bill which would convene a workgroup to study psychedelic-assisted therapy with the goal of making recommendations for regulating treatment by Jan. 1, 2026. Waldron鈥檚 advanced without opposition through the Assembly and will be taken up by the Senate this year.
Both pieces of legislation are in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 October that would have decriminalized the use of plant-based hallucinogenic drugs. Waldron along with fellow Republicans Heath Flora of Ripon and Bill Essayli of Corona last year cast the measure out of the Assembly prior to Newsom鈥檚 veto.
In his veto message, Newsom said, 鈥淭his is an exciting frontier and California will be on the front-end of leading it.鈥� First, however, he asked legislators to draft another bill with 鈥渞egulated treatment guidelines鈥� that included dosing information and rules to prevent patients from being exploited and ensure patients with psychoses wouldn鈥檛 be harmed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful that the governor didn鈥檛 simply say 鈥榥o,鈥� but indicated what he would say yes to, which was a therapeutic-focused bill.鈥� Wiener told the health committee.
Wiener, Waldron are unlikely partners
It may not come as a surprise that Wiener would advocate for legalizing psychedelics. After all, he represents San Francisco, a city known for its liberal politics, with a reputation for embracing hallucinogenic drugs dates to the 1960s. Their most famous champion, Timothy Leary, in 1967 told 30,000 hippies in the city鈥檚 Golden Gate Park to 鈥淭urn On, Tune In, Drop Out.鈥� The gathering called the 鈥淗uman Be-In鈥� to California banning LSD the year prior. Leary鈥檚 remarks became an instant counterculture slogan. The federal government .
Wiener told the health committee that the state and federal decisions 50 years ago to shut down research into psychedelic drugs were a mistake. Therapists 鈥渨orking in the shadows鈥� have amassed evidence that the drugs can save the lives of those suffering from trauma, he said.
鈥淲e want to make sure that our folks, including our first responders who are suffering, have access 鈥� not in the shadows but in the sunlight 鈥� to therapies that 鈥� (are) literally saving people鈥檚 lives and stopping them from killing themselves,鈥� Wiener told the health committee.
It鈥檚 perhaps more surprising that Waldron has taken on the issue. She represents a safe Republican district in San Diego, in a region known for its straight-laced, military presence. San Diego County is the home to the U.S. Navy鈥檚 Pacific Fleet, tens of thousands of Marines and .
In an interview with CalMatters, Waldron said it was actually military veterans who brought psychedelics to her attention.
On Veteran鈥檚 Day 2021, Waldron attended a fundraiser for a veteran鈥檚 group at the Hotel Del Coronado resort on the edge of the San Diego Bay. There, she heard from a group of Navy SEALs who described crippling PTSD and depression when they came back from combat. Psychedelics, Waldron said, helped them cope with their trauma.
鈥淭hey were saying 鈥� how it changed their life and actually ended their desire to commit suicide, restored their family,鈥� Waldron said. 鈥淭hey had a normal life; they didn鈥檛 have the triggers that brought on PTSD.鈥�
Psychedelics in therapeutic settings, Waldron said, take a person鈥檚 mind 鈥渂ack to the scene of the trauma鈥� and 鈥渁ctually break the trauma in a way.鈥�
鈥淲hen you come out the other end,鈥� Waldron said, 鈥測ou鈥檙e able to deal with it.鈥�
She notes that she鈥檚 hardly the . , the eye-patch-wearing Navy SEAL veteran from Texas, and , the conservative firebrand from Florida, have supported the use of psychedelics. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, in 2021 to study the drugs鈥� therapeutic benefits.
Waldron a Republican 鈥渙utlier鈥�
Waldron鈥檚 bill may have advanced to the Senate without a single vote against it, thanks in part to Wiener鈥檚 support. But at least one Democrat had reservations. Assemblymember Akilah Weber, a physician from La Mesa, abstained from voting.
At the health committee hearing last month, she peppered Waldron and Wiener with questions and appeared skeptical there was enough legitimate medical research for California to craft a set of therapeutic guidelines by 2026. She noted the federal government only recently approved clinical research.
鈥淲hat kind of studies are they going to be evaluating, especially given the fact that the regulations or the guidelines of how these clinical trials should be done just came out in June of 2023?鈥� Weber asked.
Wiener countered that research is underway and available.
鈥淭here are already a number of peer-reviewed studies in places like the New England Journal of Medicine,鈥� Wiener said. 鈥淪o I don鈥檛 want anyone to walk away thinking there are no scientific peer-reviewed studies. There are.鈥�
None of Waldron鈥檚 17 Republican colleagues voted against Waldron鈥檚 bill when it was on the Assembly floor, though 12 abstained or were absent. The Republicans might not have wanted to go on record opposing a bill championed by their former leader. Some Republicans may also fear the vote could be used against them in a campaign.
Waldron doesn鈥檛 have to worry about what a challenger might say, since she鈥檚 serving her final term in the Legislature due to term limits.
Nonetheless, she said she would have worked with Wiener on the issue of psychedelics even if she was up for reelection. She notes she was a coauthor with Wiener on , and she fought for prison inmates with state Medi-Cal services in the months before their release in the hopes they transition easier into drug treatment when they re-enter society.
鈥淚t makes me kind of an outlier in many ways on the Republican side of things,鈥� Waldron said of wanting to help inmates. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e always tried to figure out how to help people when they come home to be able to stay home and not 鈥� go back to prison.鈥�
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