On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the King County Council voted 6-2 to urge county law enforcement to put investigation, arrest, and prosecution of adults who possess or cultivate small amounts of naturally occurring entheogens, including psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca, at the very bottom of their to-do list. The motion backs making such cases among the county’s lowest criminal-enforcement priorities and voices support for ongoing research into entheogen-assisted therapies. It also encourages state and federal leaders to move toward full decriminalization for limited, personal, noncommercial use. Sponsors Teresa Mosqueda and Rod Dembowski presented the move as a public-health step aimed at widening treatment options for people living with PTSD, depression and substance-use disorders.
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda stressed that the resolution is tightly drawn and stops well short of opening the door to commercial sales or large-scale distribution. “This is not a decriminalization motion,” she said, emphasizing that the council’s focus is on therapeutic use rather than a free-for-all. As reported by the Auburn Reporter, the motion explicitly disclaims support for driving under the influence, distribution to minors, use on public transit, and commercial manufacturing or sales.
What the motion asks
The motion calls on the council to endorse continued research into treatment models that use entheogens and to request that “investigation, arrest, and prosecution” of adults involved in limited, noncommercial cultivation and possession of naturally occurring entheogens be treated as among King County’s lowest criminal enforcement priorities. It narrows its scope to small-scale, noncommercial use in nonpublic places and notes that the request is aimed at unincorporated areas of the county, without overriding tribal law or the laws of contract cities. The motion also states, “Nothing in this motion shall be interpreted to alter, supersede, or limit the application of state or federal law,” as detailed by King County Council records.
Council vote and dissent
The motion “carried by the following vote” and passed 6-2, with Councilmembers Jorge Barón, Rod Dembowski, Steffanie Fain, Rhonda Lewis, Teresa Mosqueda and Sarah Perry voting yes, while Claudia Balducci and Reagan Dunn voted no; Pete von Reichbauer was excused, according to the council’s minutes. Opponents warned that the gesture could easily be misread by the public as broad legalization and pointed to concerns about outcomes tied to wider decriminalization in other places. Supporters countered that the county should lean toward treatment and research instead of criminal penalties, a tension described in local coverage. The official tally is recorded in the council minutes available from King County.
Where this fits regionally
With this vote, King County joins a growing list of Washington jurisdictions that have adopted similar approaches in recent years. Seattle passed a resolution on entheogens in 2021, and Tacoma and other cities have moved toward deprioritization, creating a patchwork of local policies that all leave state and federal law intact while nudging local enforcement priorities in a different direction. Seattle’s Resolution 32021 and Tacoma’s steps are part of that pattern, as reflected in Seattle City Clerk records and regional reporting in The Seattle Times…