African American community leaders in California held a press conference on July 8 to voice opposition to a bill that would legalize hallucinogenic drugs in the state. Senator Scott Wiener (D-Calif.) has stated that Senate Bill 519 is meant to address the war on drugs and to help veterans better access these drugs to manage their mental health needs. “Let’s be clear that there’s another reason, and that is … the racist war on drugs, which has fueled mass incarceration and torn apart communities, particularly communities of color, but not made us any safer,” Wiener said during a press conference on June 28. Attendees at the July 8 conference disagreed with Wiener’s reasons. “We are not the scapegoats who make drugs legal in this country. We are not,” said Tak Allen, president of the Congress of Racial Equality, during the conference. “If there is a senator, an assembly member, anybody …