Detroit Proposal E (2021): Entheogen Decrim Explained

What Detroit Proposal E does

Detroit Proposal E directs the Detroit Police Department to treat personal possession and therapeutic use of entheogenic plants by adults as the city's lowest law-enforcement priority. Voters approved it on November 2, 2021, making Detroit the largest city in the Midwest to pass such a measure.

The measure became Ordinance No. 2021-62, Chapter 31, Article IX, Division 4 of the Detroit City Code. Unlike a city council resolution, it was placed on the ballot by citizens and approved by direct vote. That gives it stronger legal standing than a council-only resolution — the Detroit City Council did not need to act separately to implement it.

The ordinance does not create a permit system, a testing program, or a therapeutic licensing framework. It is purely an enforcement policy change: police are directed to look the other way on personal entheogen use among adults. Nothing else in Detroit's legal code changed.

Why it passed in 2021

Decriminalize Nature Detroit, led by organizer Moudou Baqui, collected the signatures needed to place Proposal E on the November ballot. Baqui and his brother had spent years running underground education meetings in Palmer Park to build awareness of entheogenic plant medicine. The campaign built on momentum from Ann Arbor, which had decriminalized entheogens in September 2020 — just 14 months earlier.

The vote and ballot measure text

Detroit Proposal E received 53,710 yes votes and 34,222 no votes on November 2, 2021, for a margin of approximately 61% in favor. The measure appeared on the same ballot as Proposal R (reparations task force) and Proposal S (expanded citizen initiative powers).

The ballot question asked voters whether Detroit should adopt an ordinance to the 2019 Detroit City Code that would "decriminalize to the fullest extent permitted under Michigan law the personal possession and therapeutic use of Entheogenic Plants by adults and make the personal possession and therapeutic use of Entheogenic Plants by adults the city's lowest law-enforcement priority."

The phrase "to the fullest extent permitted under Michigan law" is important. It means the ordinance cannot go further than state law allows. Because Michigan still classifies psilocybin and other entheogens as controlled substances, the ordinance binds only Detroit city police — not state or federal agents.

Substances covered

Detroit Proposal E covers entheogenic plants and fungi whose active compounds fall into the chemical classes of indole amines, tryptamines, and phenethylamines. In plain terms, this includes the following:

• Psilocybin mushrooms — "magic mushrooms" containing psilocybin and psilocyn. See our psilocybin guide for pharmacology and risks.
• Ayahuasca — the DMT-containing brew used in Indigenous and ceremonial contexts. See our ayahuasca guide.
• Peyote — the mescaline-containing cactus with deep roots in Indigenous religious practice. See our peyote guide.
• Iboga — the African plant containing ibogaine, studied for addiction treatment. See our ibogaine guide.
• Other tryptamine- and phenethylamine-containing plants — the ordinance language is broad enough to include similar natural materials.

The ordinance covers naturally occurring plants and fungi. Synthetic drugs — including lab-made MDMA, LSD, or methamphetamine — are outside the scope. The distinction is between entheogenic plant medicines and manufactured street drugs.

What it does not cover

Detroit Proposal E has three firm limits that are built into the ordinance text and that often get missed in coverage of the vote.

First, it covers adults only. The lowest-priority enforcement policy does not apply to minors. A person under 18 in possession of entheogenic plants is not protected by the ordinance.

Second, the ordinance does not cover distribution or sale. Giving, selling, or transferring entheogenic substances remains a criminal offense under Michigan law. A person who sells psilocybin mushrooms in Detroit receives no protection from Proposal E.

Third, activity on or near school grounds or in the presence of minors is outside the scope. The "personal and therapeutic use by adults" framing excludes use in contexts where children are present.

State and federal law still apply

Michigan state law and federal law both classify psilocybin, DMT, mescaline, and ibogaine as Schedule I controlled substances. Detroit's ordinance binds only city police. It has no effect on Michigan State Police, Wayne County Sheriff deputies, or federal DEA agents operating in Detroit.

This is the key practical limit of any city-level decriminalization measure. A person can be arrested, charged, and convicted under state or federal law even in a city where local police have been directed to stand down. No Michigan city has the power to override state or federal controlled substance law.

For a national picture of where psychedelics are legal and where they are not, see our guide to psychedelic legalization in the US and the legal status by state tool.

The Citizens Research Council analysis

Before the vote, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan published a nonpartisan analysis noting that the ordinance could create confusion because city and state enforcement responsibilities overlap. The Council flagged that while Proposal E would change Detroit police priorities, residents could still face Wayne County or state prosecution for the same conduct. This remains the main enforcement gap five years after passage.

Detroit vs. Oakland: how they compare

Detroit and Oakland both used the Decriminalize Nature template and both directed police to treat entheogenic plants as the lowest enforcement priority — but the two measures differ in legal mechanism, scope of covered entities, and political process.

When Detroit's approach matters more: the ballot-initiative route means the ordinance is harder to reverse than a council resolution. Oakland's Council could repeal its resolution by a simple vote. Detroit's ordinance would require a new ballot measure or supermajority council action to undo. When Oakland's history matters more: Oakland's 2019 vote was the catalyst for the national Decriminalize Nature campaign. Without Oakland, there would have been no Detroit Proposal E. See our full Oakland Decriminalize Nature guide for that side of the story.

Other Michigan cities that decriminalized entheogens

Detroit is one of four Michigan cities that have decriminalized entheogenic plants, all following the Decriminalize Nature template. Understanding the Michigan context helps explain why Detroit's passage was relatively smooth — it was not a first-mover but a follower in a growing in-state movement.

• Ann Arbor — passed a City Council resolution in September 2020, 14 months before Detroit. Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit then announced in January 2021 that his office would not prosecute entheogen possession regardless of amount. Ann Arbor's county-level non-prosecution pledge goes further in practice than most city ordinances.
• Detroit — November 2021, 61% voter approval, codified as Ordinance No. 2021-62.
• Hazel Park — passed a Decriminalize Nature resolution after Detroit's vote.
• Jackson — most recent Michigan addition, also following the Decriminalize Nature model.

Decriminalize Nature chapters were also forming in Traverse City, Flint, Ypsilanti, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo as of the years following Detroit's vote. For a full map of US cities that have decriminalized psilocybin and other entheogens, see our cities that decriminalized psilocybin guide.

Timeline

• June 4, 2019: Oakland City Council votes 8-0 to make entheogenic plants and fungi the lowest enforcement priority — the resolution that launched the national Decriminalize Nature campaign.
• September 21, 2020: Ann Arbor City Council passes a resolution decriminalizing entheogenic plants, the first Michigan city to do so.
• January 2021: Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit announces his office will not prosecute entheogen possession in Ann Arbor, regardless of amount.
• 2021 (pre-election): Decriminalize Nature Detroit, led by Moudou Baqui, collects signatures to place Proposal E on the November ballot.
• November 2, 2021: Detroit voters approve Proposal E with 61% of the vote (53,710 yes / 34,222 no).
• Late 2021: Proposal E becomes Ordinance No. 2021-62, codified in the Detroit City Code. No separate City Council ratification was required.
• 2022 onward: Hazel Park and Jackson adopt similar resolutions. Decriminalize Nature chapters continue forming in other Michigan cities.
• 2026: Detroit's ordinance remains on the books. No Michigan state-level entheogen bill has passed, leaving city policies as the only protection available at the local level.