Lawmakers are once again considering a bill to decriminalize small amounts of psilocybin, the drug in psychedelic mushrooms.
Advocates say the substance helps them treat mental health issues at a time when doctors are struggling to keep up with a rise in demand for services.
“Mental health agencies are not supplying the correct treatments, or they can’t help enough people,” Victor Constanza, president of Connecticut for Accessible Psychedelic Medicine, said after a public hearing Wednesday at the Legislative Office Building.
Currently people convicted of possession of psilocybin could face a year in prison.
Under the bill, anyone caught with a half-ounce or less would be fined $150 for a first offense and up to $500 for each offense after that.
The bill proposes no changes to laws against growing or selling psilocybin.
“In terms of decriminalizing and ensuring that someone who does have that small amount doesn’t face criminal penalties, I as an individual legislator thinks it’s fine to move forward with,” Sen. Gary Winfield, (D-New Haven) said.
Constanza told lawmakers he’s been dealing with PTSD and borderline personality disorder since he was 14.
He tried various treatments and therapies but would ultimately return to overusing alcohol. Then he tried psilocybin last summer and noticed an immediate impact.
Constanza said his life would likely be different if he hadn’t started taking the drug.
“I would be wasting my life with alcohol and possibly having more suicide attempts,” he said.
Republicans weren’t sold on the bill. Sen. John Kissel, (R-Enfield), noted the Department of Mental Health and Human Services recommended Connecticut first run a pilot program to test the idea of letting people use psilocybin for medicinal purposes.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is also running tests.
“I’d feel much more comfortable if we got the results from those studies,” Rep. Tom O’Dea, (R-New Canaan) said. “Anything that you need a trip-sitter to take seems like a bad idea to me.”
Other Republicans had concerns about letting people use the drug.
The state decriminalized marijuana in 2011, 10 years before the legislature voted to legalize the drug for recreational use.
Democrats said this proposal is not a first step to do the same with psilocybin.
“Frankly, this is a step towards saying this product should not be treated with a year in prison if someone is caught with it, and nothing more,” rep. Steven Stafstrom, (D-Bridgeport), said.