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Headlines: California Might Decriminalize Possession of ‘Magic Mushrooms’ and Other ‘Natural’ Psychedelics

10:40 AM PST on December 20, 2022

shroom

Photo via waqas anees/Flickr.

Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.

—Sacramento: A new bill supported by healthcare professionals could decriminalize the possession of "magic mushrooms," ayahuasca, and other psychedelics. The proposal excludes synthetic psychedelics like LSD and MDMA. [LAT]

—Ferndale: Residents of a Humboldt County town were awoken to a 6.4 magnitude earthquake this morning. More than 70,000 Northern California customers are without power. [CNN]

Terry Hall, the lead singer of The Specials, died "after a brief illness," the British ska band confirmed in a statement. [BBC]

Neto Reyno, a famous Mexican rapper, died of cancer at age 40, according to media reports. [Yahoo]

—East Hollywood: Thousands of dollars worth of boulders were suspiciously left in a parking lot across the street from LACC. The owner of the lot has a history of using fences and other tactics to displace street vendors around the parking lot's perimeter. [Twitter]

—DTLA: Former Hollywood producer and convicted sex offender, Harvey Weinstein, was convicted of rape in Los Angeles on Monday after more than nine days of deliberations. [LAT]

—West Hollywood: Former New England Patriot Willie McGinest was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. Video footage obtained by TMZ Sports shows McGinest and a group of men approaching a man seated at a table at Delilah on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. The two appear to have a few words before McGinest throws a punch and a mostly one-sided brawl ensues. A table is knocked over and eventually, it looks like someone associated with the nightclub breaks up the fight. Towards the end of the video, McGinest places what looks to be a glass bottle on a bench and walks out of frame. [TMZ]

—In the next 90 days, 10 percent of the world could contract COVID, according to experts. [NPR]

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