DC Initiative 81: Entheogenic Plant & Fungus Act

What DC Initiative 81 does

DC Initiative 81 made police enforcement against natural psychedelics the lowest priority in Washington, D.C. Voters approved it on November 3, 2020, with about 76% support. Its official name is the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020.

The measure did not change any criminal penalty. Instead, it directs the Metropolitan Police Department to treat non-commercial use, possession, and cultivation of entheogenic plants and fungi as among its lowest enforcement priorities. It applies to people 18 and older.

Initiative 81 also makes a non-binding public call. It asks the DC Attorney General and the US Attorney for the District of Columbia to stop prosecuting residents for these activities. That request carries no legal force.

Why it matters in 2026

DC Initiative 81 was the largest jurisdiction to deprioritize natural psychedelics when it passed, with millions of residents and visitors. It is a national symbol because it sits in the nation's capital, next to Congress. But its real reach is narrower than its symbolism, and that gap is the most misunderstood part of the law.

Which substances it covers

Initiative 81 covers plants and fungi that naturally contain ibogaine, DMT, mescaline, psilocybin, or psilocyn. These are the same compounds DC already lists as Schedule I controlled substances. The measure groups them together as "entheogenic plants and fungi."

In everyday terms, that means:

• Psilocybin mushrooms — "magic mushrooms," which contain psilocybin and psilocyn. See our psilocybin guide.
• Ayahuasca and other DMT plants — brews and plants containing DMT. See our ayahuasca guide.
• Mescaline cacti — such as San Pedro, but note the peyote concern below.
• Iboga — the plant source of ibogaine, studied for opioid addiction.

What changed vs. what stayed illegal

Initiative 81 changed police priorities, not the law itself. The clearest way to read it is as a short list of what shifted against a longer list of what did not. The table below sorts the two.

So the headline is simple. Initiative 81 lowered the odds that DC police pursue an adult for personal, non-commercial activity. It did not make any psychedelic legal, and it created no place to buy them.

Why DC's federal status makes 81 weaker

DC Initiative 81 is weaker than a state decriminalization law because Washington, D.C. is not a state. The District has no full sovereignty over its own criminal law, and a large share of its land falls under federal control. Both facts limit what a local ballot measure can deliver.

Congress has direct power over DC under the Constitution. Every DC law, including Initiative 81, must pass a Congressional review period before it takes effect. The measure was sent to Congress for a 30-legislative-day review and only took effect on March 15, 2021, after the review ended with no objection.

Congress can also block DC drug policy through spending riders. A long-running rider has limited how DC spends money to change the legal status of Schedule I drugs. That is one reason Initiative 81 was written as an enforcement-priority measure rather than a tax-and-regulate program — the structure sidesteps a restriction that a Colorado-style commercial market could not.

Denver 301 vs. DC 81

Denver Initiative 301 and DC Initiative 81 are both deprioritization measures, but they differ in scope and reach. Denver moved first in 2019 and covered only mushrooms; DC followed in 2020 with a broader plant-and-fungus list. The table compares the two.

When the distinction matters: if you only care about mushrooms, the two read alike. If you care about ayahuasca, mescaline, or iboga, only DC's list reaches them. For the full picture of where these measures sit nationally, see our roundup of US cities that decriminalized psilocybin and the Denver Initiative 301 guide.

Timeline of Initiative 81

• 2019–2020: Decriminalize Nature DC gathers signatures to put Initiative 81 on the ballot.
• November 3, 2020: Voters approve Initiative 81 with about 76% yes (214,685 to 67,140).
• Late 2020: The DC Board of Elections certifies the result; it won every precinct in all eight wards.
• February 2021: DC transmits the act to Congress for a mandated 30-legislative-day review.
• March 15, 2021: The measure takes effect after the review period ends with no Congressional objection.

The real limits for residents

Initiative 81 does not make Washington, D.C. a place to buy or freely use psychedelics. There is no store, no mail order, no licensed center, and no public-use right. The substances remain illegal; police are simply told to look elsewhere first for non-commercial cases.

Selling stays fully illegal and is not deprioritized. Sharing for money, driving under the influence, and any conduct involving minors all stay enforceable. So does possession on federal land, which is common in DC.

For how the rest of the country compares, check our legal status by state tool and the US psychedelic legal map. Both show where deprioritization, decriminalization, and regulated programs each apply.