State-level psychedelics policy reform is moving fast throughout the U.S. Below is a recap of February 2024 moves.
Introduced in the House on February 26, the joint committee on Judiciary will next hold a public hearing on the bill on March 6. If approved by Senate and House, the measure would become effective by October 1, 2024.
Separately, GOP-led HB2274 providing firefighters and certified peace officers diagnosed with PTSD with workers compensation coverage including MDMA-assisted therapy also moved fast: first introduction in House on Jan. 16, the measure faced three readings and finally passed the chamber on Feb. 22 when, sent to Senate, it was read for a first time and assigned to the Rules committee. Companion bill SB1677 passed the Senate's majority and minority caucuses on Feb. 27.
The legislation was tabled three times this year (Jan. 24, Feb. 21 and finally Feb. 28) in a discussion held at the joint committee, after being carried over from the past year's legislative discussion to the present one.
The bill's House counterpart, HB1830, faced a hearing on the Veterans committee Jan. 30, where it still sits.
Hubbard has also partnered with the Reaching Everyone in Distress Foundation (REID,) an Ohio-based charitable organization focused on addiction, for the execution of FDA-approved ibogaine clinical research trials in the state. Funds could come from the state's settlement with opioid manufacturers, where a total $1 billion dollars was granted to battle addiction.
See the full breakdown and commentary on the state's draft Natural Medicine rules by Vicente LLP on Psychedelic Alpha.
The bill calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to create and administer a new program regulating the provision of such psychedelic-assisted therapies for a list of qualifying conditions in adult state residents in "alternative treatment centers." The bill models its proposed statute after RSA 126-X, which established the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
The list of health conditions includes anxiety, depression, panic disorder, OCD, post-traumatic stress, social anxiety, body dysmorphia, anorexia nervosa, eating disorders, substance use disorder, sleep disorders, personality disorder, chronic pain, migraines and cluster headaches, among others.
The measure was unanimously approved by the Health and Public Affairs Committee after adding that the State Department must partner with the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center for the research.
The House bill, after a first reading in the Health and Government Operations Committee held a hearing on Feb. 21. The Senate bill, following a first reading in the Finance Committee, will have its hearing on March 14.
Additionally, newly filed HB1057 calls for the creation of a task force to study the use and possession of minimal quantities of controlled dangerous substances. Following a first reading in the Judiciary Committee, the measure faced a hearing on Feb. 20.
It has now been referred to the committee on Ways and Means. Filed as an emergency measure, the proposal would become effective immediately upon passage, and officials would have to establish a process for administering the fund and process applications by July 1.
The bill was cleared the Senate floor on Feb. 6, after which it was sent to the House where it had a first hearing. Before passing, the chamber's committee adopted one amendment, adding alcohol and tobacco use disorders to the list of conditions to be studied as well.
The new CURE Act would establish the Illinois Psilocybin Advisory Board under the Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation to create a training program, ethical standards and licensing requirements.
Meanwhile, a similar House measure – first introduced in 2022 – HB 0001 has been assigned to the chamber's Executive Committee on Feb. 14. Both legislations are Democrat-led.
At a recent briefing, lawmakers stated they believe there's a "real chance" for the bill legalizing supervised psilocybin-assisted therapy to move forward this 2024, found Marijuana Moment.
The bills would not legalize psilocybin itself but rather enable qualified patients and their caregivers to be exempt from current state laws on psilocybin. Mental health professionals would need to identify a person as having at least one of listed eligible medical conditions, and write a recommendation for psilocybin therapy -up to five grams per session, and paired with preparation and integration sessions.
Facilitators would need to meet certain criteria, plus complete a "psychedelic integration training program" with a curriculum approved by the state's Office of Wellness and Resilience (OWR). Noticeably, the measure is reportedly the product of a 2023-formed task force on breakthrough therapies hosted within the OWR, in the governor's office.
The House bill was sent, with amendments, to the Finance committee on February 16; while the Senate measure was referred to multiple committees including Health and Human Services and Judiciary on Jan. 26.
H. 7047's effective penalties' removal on possession, home cultivation and sharing of up to an ounce of the psychedelic mushrooms is also temporary (final date mid-2026), and would not allow for the establishment of a commercial retail system.
Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Alexander Volkov and canbedone on Shutterstock.
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