Activists in Alaska are working to put a measure on the 2026 state ballot to legalize certain psychedelics—including psilocybin, mescaline and DMT—and create a state-regulated system for facilitated use.

The group Natural Medicine Alaska this week officially began gathering signatures in the cities of Anchorage and Palmer as part of a first step in the state’s initiative process.

Organizers first have to submit 100 signatures of qualified registered voters to get the process rolling. From there, the state Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) has 60 days to decide whether to certify the proposal for further signature gathering to qualify for the 2026 ballot.

While language of the prospective ballot measure is not available on Natural Medicine Alaska’s website—and the group did not immediately respond to an emailed request from Marijuana Moment—a policy outline explains the plan as “building off of” Colorado’s voter-approved 2022 Natural Medicine Health Act, under which facilitators recently administered the state’s first legal dose of psilocybin.

The Alaska proposal would legalize non-commercial use, cultivation and sharing of DMT, non-peyote mescaline, psilocybin and psilocin under a so-called “grow, gather, gift” model popular among psychedelic reform proponents.

It would further create a state-regulated program where adults would be administered natural medicines in a supervised setting, and it would allow certain medical professionals to “prescribe and dispense microdoses…to patients.”

The policy outline says the measure “shifts away from a restrictive healing center model, allowing individual practitioners to provide [natural medicine] in their offices and at-home facilitation, increasing accessibility in rural communities” common in Alaska.

Facilities would need to be “majority Alaska-owned, ensuring economic benefits stay within the state.”

Traditional healers would also be protected under the proposed initiative for “ceremonial, spiritual, or cultural use of plant medicines” through legal exemptions to state drug laws.

“We see a future where natural medicines are available as an option to all who are seeking out healing and well-being, a future where education on these medicines empowers the Alaskan community with legalized personal use of psilocybin and other natural psychedelics,” says a Natural Medicine Alaska campaign video uploaded to YouTube in February. “We see an Alaska transformed by the decriminalization of entheogens into a regulated and supportive environment for the therapeutic use of psychedelics.”

One natural medicine, ibogaine, would be specifically prohibited for personal use, though ibogaine treatment centers are included in the proposal as component “to be implemented once Alaska’s regulated access program is established.”

“Traditional use [of iboga] by highly trained and recognized practitioners” would also be protected under the plan.

Other provisions in the policy outline include expungement and record-clearing for past criminal offenses related to natural medicine, local protections “for active duty [military] members, law enforcement and first responders who use [natural medicines] covered under the initiative” and support for synthetic versions of ibogaine “to promote sustainability and prevent overharvesting of natural sources.”

Alaska would be further required under the proposal, the outline says, “to provide psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention training for first responders to enhance their knowledge and skills to quickly and effectively respond to emotional and behavioral crisis events involving [natural medicines].”

A poll last year found that nearly half (49.4 percent) of adults in Alaska would support a ballot measure to more broadly remove criminal penalties for using substances such as psilocybin mushrooms.

That support rose markedly—to nearly two thirds (65 percent)—when participants were told that Alaska has high rates of mental illnesses that could potentially be treated with psychedelics.

Last year, Alaska lawmakers passed legislation to create a state task force to study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy. The measure took effect without the signature of Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R).

So far two other states have facilitated psychedelics programs that are fully operational. Oregon voters legalized therapeutic psilocybin in 2020, and Colorado’s program was passed at the ballot box in 2022, with the state’s governor signing legislation a year later to create the regulatory framework for the program.

In Oregon, more people could eventually access legal psilocybin following a recent federal court ruling in favor of plaintiffs who argued that the state’s first-in-the nation psilocybin law wrongfully prevents homebound patients from seeking care.

Four care providers—three licensed psilocybin facilitators and a physician specializing in advanced and terminal illnesses—sued the state about year ago, alleging that the state Psilocybin Services Act (PSA) discriminates against disabled individuals who can’t travel to designated service centers where the substance is administered.

In Maine, meanwhile, lawmakers last week reversed course and rejected a bill to legalize possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin by people 21 and older.

At the federal level, attorneys for a doctor seeking to reschedule psilocybin so he can administer it to terminally ill patients recently demanded an update from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which previously agreed to submit a request for a scientific review of the psychedelic from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Separately in Alaska, a federal judge ruled late last month that state officials did not violate the constitution when restricting intoxicating hemp products in 2023.

GOP Senators File Bill To Ramp Up Criminalization Of ‘Candy-Flavored’ Marijuana Edibles

Founded in 1974, High Times rose to prominence as an underground icon. In recent years, the brand fell into receivership, leaving its future uncertain. Josh Kesselman, Founder of RAW Rolling Papers, has personally purchased High Times and its associated assets in an all-cash transaction. Kesselman wants the rebirth of High Times to galvanize the cannabis community and reinvigorate the interest of newer generations in this incredible culture and its legends.Courtesy of Just Jessse[PRESS RELEASE] – PHOENIX, June 17, 2025 – High Times, the single most recognized brand in counterculture, cannabis and psychedelics, has been resurrected and is set to resume publication, Cannabis Cups and the rebuilding of a free-thinking counterculture community.

Josh Kesselman, the entrepreneur and founder of RAW Rolling Papers, has personally purchased exclusively the magazine, Cannabis Cups and associated assets in an all-cash transaction. Alongside partner and former 2000s-era High Times co-owner Matt Stang, this $3.5 million acquisition revives the publishing powerhouse that featured counterculture legends like Charles Bukowski, Willie Nelson, Debbie Harry, Hunter S. Thompson and Bob Marley.

Founded in 1974, High Times rose to prominence as an underground icon. In recent years, the brand fell into receivership, leaving its future uncertain. Kesselman wants its rebirth to galvanize the cannabis community and reinvigorate newer generations’ interest in this incredible culture and its legends.

“This is a ‘pinch yourself’ kind of moment for me, just unbelievable,” Kesselman said. “Eighteen-year-old stoner Josh would be in complete disbelief that I get to bring back a piece of history that has played such an important part in culture and impacted so many lives, including my own. This feels like a dream. Having Matt Stang, an OG and a former owner-operator of the magazine, involved in this acquisition just makes it all come full circle. It’s surreal to be a small part of giving back to the community that helped make me.”

High Times will soon be relaunched as a comprehensive platform serving as a hub for information and connection, mixing legacy with modern relevance. Plans include:

• Relaunching the print magazine in limited-run, collectible editions.
• Reintroducing the iconic Cannabis Cup event series, with third-party judging and zero pay-to-play involvement, returning legitimacy to the industry’s most revered competition.
• Rebuilding the digital platform to host a curated network of cannabis podcasts, experts and community voices.
• Commemorating the brand’s 50-year legacy and heralding the future of free thinking.
• Protecting the truth of the power of the plant.

“This incarnation of High Times is going to be bigger and better than ever,” Stang said. “As an original owner-operator, I’m energized about my partnership with Josh—we’re not just reviving High Times as a news source; we’re positioning it as a guiding light for culture and a definitive authority on all things cannabis and psychedelics. At its heart, this is about reigniting the passion of longtime fans while inspiring a new generation to carry the torch forward. It’s about sharing, connection and honoring the culture that we love so dearly.”

“Our goal is to rebuild the voice of authenticity that defined High Times’ legacy, to cut through the controversy of inaccurate information, create a truly cross-generational community, and restore High Times to its rightful place as an international beacon of counterculture,” Kesselman said. “And most importantly? HAVE FUN while doing it.”

The first revamped Cannabis Cup is expected to return in early 2026.

A Burlington, Connecticut man was busted for allegedly growing psilocybin mushrooms in a large, commercial-style factory with an estimated $8.5 million in street value. Weston Soule, 21, is accused of allegedly growing millions’ worth of psilocybin mushrooms. He was charged with possession with intent to sell narcotics and the operating of a drug factory.

An unidentified person snitched out Soule, police said. Agents from the DEA Hartford Task force and state police detectives received a tip that suggested a man was operating a clandestine psilocybin mushroom growing operation at a home on Lyon Road.

WFSB Hartford reported that law enforcement agents descended upon Soule’s home on Thursday morning. Once there, authorities said they talked to Soule and saw ventilation equipment throughout the residence that are consistent with psilocybin operations.

Soule led investigators to a detached garage on his property and police found his large mushroom growing operation, where Soule claimed he was simply growing a different type of mushroom.

When Soule initially denied police entry to his home, police submitted a search warrant to New Britain Superior Court, which was granted. Once the search warrant was approved, investigators said they found a large “mushroom factory” with multilevel racks neatly lined up with substrates, inoculation chambers, grains, nutrients, and other supplies. The grow factory contained psilocybin mushrooms in various stages of growth, with an estimated total street value of $8.5 million.

Soule was taken into custody at the scene and transported to state police headquarters in Litchfield, Connecticut where he was processed and charged. Neighbors say a series of factors indicated a grow operation was taking place.

“They were running air conditioners when it was a cold day which didn’t seem right. They had air conditioners in the top windows and front of the house. You also saw more cars there during the day which made it seem like a place of employment rather than someone sleeping there at night,” an eyewitness neighbor told WFSB Hartford.

UNH Criminal Justice Professor and retired FBI agent Kenneth Gray says that’s a usual sign in this operation. “In a marijuana grow house, the house is usually filled with lamps. In this case, mushrooms don’t need a lot of lamps, instead, they need a lot of ventilation,” Gray said.

Soule was held in jail on a $250,000 cash/surety bond and was scheduled to appear for arraignment at New Britain Superior Court on Friday.

Psilocybin Reform in Connecticut

People in Connecticut are also attempting to regulate the cultivation of it legally. In 2021, Dr. Bronner’s pushed for psilocybin reform in Connecticut. New Approach PAC, a lobbyist group, funded $14,000 in 2021 to local firm Grossman Solutions to promote drug policy reform in Connecticut. Dr. Bronner’s is among New Approach’s biggest donors.

CT Insider reported that a task force in Connecticut is examining the efficacy of psilocybin mushrooms for use in therapeutic settings. House Bill 6296, sponsored by Representative Josh Elliot and four other representatives, created a task force responsible for studying the efficacy of psilocybin for a variety of conditions—a key step in legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic purposes. Grossman Solutions will help New Approach engage with Connecticut’s psilocybin task force.

CEO David Bronner is the grandson of company founder Emil Bronner. He said his goal is to free psychedelics, specifically legalization of psilocybin for therapeutic purposes, adding it’s exactly what his grandfather would have done. “The passion of my grandfather was to unite spaceship earth,” Bronner said. “We honor that legacy in different ways,” among them “integration of psychedelic healing in medicine and therapy.” Bronner also said that he believes “psychedelic medicine can really help people heal and wake up, and grapple with pressing problems.”

A pilot program on the benefits of synthetic psilocybin for mental health issues like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is launching soon at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. 

A study cohort will consist of 50 patients, mostly veterans and first responders, who are with mental health concerns like depression and addiction. Participants will take 25 mg of synthetic psilocybin, and after the psychedelic effects wind down, they will discuss issues and progress (or lack thereof) with trained therapists.

Connecticut Post reports that the goal is to fulfill the need for state data that has been lacking, according to state Rep. Michelle Cook (D-Torrington). “We need to have the data to show that there is documented proof of what that therapy does,” Cook said. “We know that it has some incredible outcomes when it is done right, when it’s done by people that are trained in how to use it for treatment of PTSD and so forth.”

Cases like Soule’s would disappear if people in Connecticut gained access to regulated psilocybin as reform bills make their way through legislation.