The sponsor of a Colorado bill that would have forced social media platforms to ban users for talking positively online about certain controlled substances —including as state-legal psychedelics, certain hemp products and even some over-the-counter cough syrups—abruptly shelved the bill this week.
Advocates say their pushback to the proposal “caught the attention of the legislature” and convinced lawmakers to reverse course.
The legislation, SB24-158—a broad proposal concerning internet age verification and content policies—would have required social media platforms to immediately remove any user “who promotes, sells, or advertises an illicit substance.”
Though an earlier amendment from the bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Chris Hansen (D), made a carveout around statements advertising state-legal marijuana to adults over 21, the amended bill would have still applied to numerous other legal and illegal substances.
On Wednesday, the bill ‘s sponsor in the House, Rep. Meghan Lukens (D) shelved the measure in the Education Committee, a move that will “postpone indefinitely” its consideration, according to the legislature’s website.
“The reality is, this bill simply needs more time,” Lukens said during the committee hearing, according to a Westword report. “I am optimistic, after work during the interim, that I can come back with a strong, effective version of this bill. A version that protects all young people from bad actors on social media.”
Kevin Matthews, director of the campaign in Denver that made the city the first in the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin , called the development “a stunning reversal of events”
In an email to supporters, Matthews relayed that a “small yet mighty plant medicine coalition descended upon the Capitol grounds during lunchtime chanting ‘Our Freedom of Speech is Under Attack, Protect the Plants Protect the People,’” adding that the coalition’s actions—which also included a sign-on letter to House lawmakers—”caught the attention of the legislature and convinced lawmakers that SB24-158 was flawed policy.”
Matthews said it was a “bittersweet victory,” however:“The decision to lay over was announced at the beginning of committee, and the committee chair decided to allow heart-wrenching testimony only from proponents of the bill—teenagers who struggled with doom-scrolling addiction and lack of connection to the outside world, grieving parents […]
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