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Legislation to allow the therapeutic use of psychedelics in California keeps getting narrower — and seemingly closer to becoming law.
After bills on the proposal have gone up and down and been reshaped, there appears to be consensus support in the Legislature. The biggest hurdle right now may be budgetary. California needs to close a gaping deficit and all legislation that costs money is getting extra scrutiny — and sometimes blocked.
Nevertheless, a new push was launched just days ago by state Sen. Brian Jones, R-Santee. His involvement underscores that San Diego County has become something of an epicenter in advancing the use of controlled substances including psilocybin and psilocyn to treat certain mental health issues, particularly among veterans and first responders experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Jones and Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, are carrying Senate Bill 803, which would allow pilot programs in San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Cruz counties. Assemblymember Marie Waldron, R-Valley Center, has pursued previous legislation in this area and is a principal coauthor of the bill.
The psychedelic therapy bills have been among the more intriguing legislation in Sacrament not just because of the experimental treatment and the promise it has shown elsewhere, but because of a rare political occurrence these days: bipartisanship.
Part of that is due to veterans groups convincing lawmakers, particularly Republicans, that treatment with psychedelics has helped people with certain forms of trauma. Jones, the Senate minority leader, had opposed a much broader bill earlier, but now he is pursuing more narrowly focused pilot programs under the bill he and Becker have called the “Heal Our Heroes Act.”
Waldron, the former Assembly Republican leader, has said her advocacy stems from a 2021meeting with the group Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, which promotes the emerging science of using naturally occurring psychedelics to treat PTSD, help prevent suicide and cope with traumatic brain injuries.
Last year, a bill by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, that would have allowed psychedelics for mental health treatment and decriminalize small amounts for personal possession was approved by the Legislature, even though the substances would still be illegal under federal law.
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 58 in October but suggested he could support “new opportunities to address mental health through psychedelic medicines like those addressed in this bill.”
A month later, Waldron teamed up with Wiener on a bill focused solely on therapy, seemingly in sync with Newsom’s guidelines. Their effort eventually morphed into Wiener’s SB 1012, but the measure was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee last month.
Wiener acknowledged in a statement the bill was coming in “a terrible budget year, where all bills with significant costs are at risk.”
An analysis for the appropriations committee said the SB 1012 would create three new state boards and result in “unknown significant ongoing costs, likely ranging in the low millions of dollars” to fund them, while establishing unspecified licensing fees.
Despite the unknowns, that may not seem substantial in a budget of nearly $300 billion, but the state is facing a two-year deficit of $45 billion.
Pilot programs in just three counties under SB 803 wouldn’t seem to generate much further stress on the state budget. Jones’ office said details on costs will emerge as the legislation moves through the process. The bill does not call for expanding the state bureaucracy.
In an email, Jones’ office said there are many nonprofits and programs “that are ready and willing to pay for these pilot projects.” Further, the counties could “set up the programs as they see fit,” including requiring fees to cover administrative costs.
SB 803 authorizes, but does not mandate, the three counties to create the programs.
Jones said the individuals would undergo suitability screening before being deemed eligible for the treatment.
“To be clear, I’m not calling for the widespread legalization of psychedelic drugs,” Jones said in a statement issued Thursday. “Rather, I’m championing a targeted medical treatment aimed specifically at aiding veterans and first responders in their recovery.”
The SB 803 requires data collection and analysis of effectiveness, with a report required after two years. The programs would sunset after three years, unless they are extended and/or expanded by the Legislature.
The counties would be responsible for authorizing people who must be a physician or surgeon, clinical psychologist, clinical social worker, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, professional clinical counselor, or a naturopathic doctor, according to a background sheet on SB 803..
The new bill has yet to have a public hearing, though the concept clearly has gained momentum. But there have been skeptics. Assemblymember Akilah Weber, D-La Mesa, expressed concern at a broader earlier proposal backed by Waldron and Wiener.
At a committee hearing in January, Weber, a physician, questioned whether there was enough legitimate medical research for California to craft a set of therapeutic guidelines by 2026, according to CalMatters. Weber noted the federal government only recently approved clinical research.
“What kind of studies are they going to be evaluating, especially given the fact that the regulations or the guidelines of how these clinical trials should be done just came out in June of 2023?” Weber asked.
Wiener responded that there were a number of studies, including one published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
“So I don’t want anyone to walk away thinking there are no scientific peer-reviewed studies,” Wiener said.
Dozens of state and local laws have been introduced across the nation, with some limited to allowing, or studying, psychedelics for therapeutic purposes, while others call for broader decriminalization.
A clinical trial has been conducted by UC San Diego in conjunction with the Veterans Administration San Diego Healthcare.
Whether the Jones-Becker bill survives this time around, it seems certain there will be some level of permissible psychedelic treatment in California in the near future.
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Michael Smolens: It's not if, but when psychedelic therapy will be allowed in California – The San Diego Union-Tribune
