Tacoma police won’t prioritize arrests of those who use plant psychedelics, city decides
The Tacoma City Council voted unanimously in support of decriminalizing the use of psychedelic plants and mushrooms last week and said Tacoma police would not prioritize investigating, arresting and prosecuting anyone who engages in entheogen-related activities.
Entheogens refer to any living, fresh, dried or processed plant or fungus that contains psychoactive indolamines, tryptamines and phenethylamines, including psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca tea, mescaline and iboga, according to the council resolution.
Before making their decision Jan. 28, council members cited scientific and clinical studies that have shown the benefits of entheogen use when treating depression, severe anxiety, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress, end-of-life anxiety, grief, isolation, trauma and other physical and mental health conditions. Entheogens are also a part of sacred, cultural, spiritual and religious practices worldwide.
Although cities in Washington don’t have the power to decriminalize substances, because that power lies with the state, in passing the “deprioritization” measure Tacoma joined cities like Seattle, Olympia and Port Townsend in supporting the decriminalization of entheogens in the state and nation.
Under Washington law, psilocybin is a Schedule I hallucinogen, and the manufacture, delivery and possession of entheogens with intent to deliver are class C felonies. Tacoma’s resolution comes as the Washington Legislature considers a bill that would allow adults 21 and older “a regulated, safe means of accessing psychedelic substances to be overseen by the department of health.” A public hearing on that issue happens Thursday.
At a public hearing in Tacoma last week, 21 people spoke in favor of passing the resolution. Many were members of the Tacoma Psychedelic Society and said entheogenic use helped them work through PTSD from the military, improved their relationships and marriages, benefited their mental health, made them happier overall and transformed their lives. No one spoke against the measure.
The council, with council member Sarah Rumbaugh absent, all voted in favor of the resolution, which was sponsored by Mayor Victoria Woodards and council members Joe Bushnell, Olgy Diaz and Jamika Scott.
Sale and manufacturing of entheogens still banned
The resolution approved last week does not permit commercial manufacturing or sales of entheogenic plants or fungi.
Likewise, the public cannot drive under the influence of entheogenic substances, possess or distribute them in schools or parks, or conduct themselves in any way that “puts public safety at risk or causes a public nuisance that violates the law.”
Under the resolution, police would not prioritize investigations of adults in Tacoma who plant, cultivate and gift entheogenic plants. Psychedelics remain prohibited under state and federal law.
A path for healing
Cole Schrim is a Tacoma therapist and founder of the Tacoma Psychedelic Society. Schrim, who uses they/them pronouns, said entheogens have changed their life and the lives of some of their patients.
Schrim specializes in helping clients with trauma, neurodivergence, chronic pain and illness. They got into entheogen activism after using psychedelics to assist in their recovery from alcohol-use disorder.
“I was on a mission to stop drinking alcohol because it didn’t serve my highest purpose, and so I started using psychedelics as an intentional way to take a deeper look inside,” Schrim told The News Tribune on Tuesday. “As a person who has a master’s in counseling [and] has been in my own therapy, I just saw something in plant and fungi medicine that just transcended the limitations of therapy. And I felt that rather than just keep it for myself and my own healing, I wanted to find a way to turn it to advocacy and create access for people.”
Schrim said psychedelics impact people in different ways but often allow the user to “see through their own barriers of their psyche” and individual suffering to gain a new perspective.
“It’s almost like an experience that already knows you and is able to work with your unique brain chemistry and your memories and experiences to help you revisit parts of yourself, parts of your past, parts of how you function in relationships, and really just see yourself and see the world through a [new] perspective,” they said. “A lot of the day-to-day judgments and barriers and ways that we become hardened — those are all just sort of lifted and removed. I think that’s kind of a general way to explain it. And, of course, there’s also for a lot of people, an existential or spiritual component. Not for everybody but for many.”
Schrim founded the Tacoma Psychedelic Society in 2023, and it has grown to have more than 200 members in Pierce County. Different committees within the group work to educate the public and government officials on the benefits of natural psychedelics and push for decriminalization in Washington, Schrim said. The society also hosts a monthly Psychedelic Book Club at Kings Books and monthly “Integration Circles” where members can come together and share, process and make sense of their psychedelic experiences.
Members include people of all backgrounds and professions, Schrim said.
“We have retired librarians, creatives, film makers, therapists, nurses, physicians. But then we also have veterans. We have people who are queer, people who are leaders in the local BIPOC community. We have people who are searching for ancestors in their psychedelic experiences, people who are seeking to want to live again after periods of not wanting to be here and succeeding, finding the will to live again, and not just the will, but the enthusiasm,” they said. “For some people, [it’s] creativity. For others, [it’s] overcoming suicidal ideation. But the one thing that binds us all, the golden thread, is the passion for natural psychedelics, the passion for how they can impact different people in different ways, but ultimately resulting in miracles.”
Schrim says historically people haven’t been arrested for psychedelic mushroom use in Tacoma. The point of passing a resolution like this is affecting grassroots change statewide, they said.
“We are actually the fifth resolution to pass in the state of Washington. We join Olympia, Seattle, Port Townsend and all of unincorporated Jefferson County,” Schrim said. “That’s 14% of Washington state’s population. So we’re trying to send a message to state legislators that this is something that the community wants.”
The Tacoma Psychedelics Society feels that decriminalization is the path forward, by allowing people to cultivate, grow and use entheogens on a personal basis, rather than a commercial basis, Schrim said.
Under Washington law, only licensed cannabis producers and medical patients are authorized to grow cannabis under current regulations. Schrim said many cannabis activists are disappointed as that has resulted in businesses profiting off cannabis yet restricted the public from growing “a plant for their own health.”
“We really don’t want to see the same thing happen with natural psychedelics, especially with this greater capacity for natural psychedelics to be included in mental health treatment,” they said.
Although some local weed shops might sell products like “mushroom gummies,” Schrim doesn’t recommend people purchase them because those products often contain amanita muscaria, “which is unscheduled [and] more akin to a deliriant than a psychedelic.”
“We really would like to offer education to people, to help them learn to cultivate themselves. That’s the best possible way to source. We have a lot of people who are mycelial enthusiasts and have a lot of knowledge and information to share,” Schrim said. “I think the best possible scenario is you grow them yourself. Second best would be a [gift from a] trusted friend.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
