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Oklahoma lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill in committee to decriminalize low-level possession of psilocybin and promote research into the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic.<\/p>\n
The measure from Rep. Daniel Pae (R) is one of two GOP-led psilocybin reform bills that were filed in the Oklahoma House last month<\/a>. The other is less far-reaching in that it doesn\u2019t contain a decriminalization provision and is more targeted in its research guidelines.<\/p>\n The House Public Health Committee approved Pae\u2019s bill, HB 3414<\/a>, in a 7-2 vote.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old lawmaker\u2019s proposal would make it so possession of up to one and a half ounces of psilocybin would be punishable by a $400 fine.<\/p>\n To streamline studies into the substance, the measure would explicitly authorize research institutes to obtain psilocybin and use it for investigations into treatment efficacy for 10 different conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe depression and opioid use disorder.<\/p>\n Rep. Logan Phillips (R), the sponsor of the separate psilocybin research bill but worked on the committee-approved measure alongside Pae, discussed and took questions about his colleague\u2019s legislation at Wednesday\u2019s hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cThe number of veterans we\u2019ve seen die every year, every day is astronomical. The goal of this is to see if it can be an alternative and an extra tool inside the toolbox for therapists, for mental health professionals, to treat those issues,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I served [in the military] for six years. Most of the people I served with killed themselves after they came back,\u201d he said. \u201cThis treatment could have helped my soldiers, my friends, my colleagues\u2014so it\u2019s a passion to me to make sure that we get this to where we are moving the needle quickly to actually help these people.\u201d<\/p>\n Eligible research institutes would need to obtain a license for the state Department of Health \u201cfor the purposes of growing, studying, processing, and\/or dispensing psilocybin containing fungi or other naturally occurring source organisms, or studying, extracting, synthesizing, and\/or dispensing psilocybin or psilocin,\u201d according to the bill text.<\/p>\n People participating in psilocybin clinical trials would need to receive a written certification. Those conducting studies without a license, participating in a trial without a certification or otherwise acting out of compliance with the bill by possessing psilocybin outside of the confines of research would face a maximum $400 fine without the threat of jail time.<\/p>\n Before approving the bill, the panel adopted a small amendment from the sponsor that concerns certification requirements for research institutions that move forward with human clinical trials into the therapeutic efficacy of the entheogen.<\/p>\n The other Oklahoma psychedelics research bill from Phillips has not yet received a committee hearing. While the lawmaker\u2019s measure is more dialed back compared to Pae\u2019s by excluding the decriminalization provision, Phillips told Marijuana Moment in an earlier interview that he does support the policy change.<\/p>\n He also said that he feels both measures \u201chave an extremely good chance of being enacted\u201d in the conservative legislature, noting that a bill passed in Texas last year that requires the state to carry out studies on psychedelics for veterans<\/a>.<\/p>\n Under Phillips\u2019s proposal, universities and research institutes would be authorized through a statewide investigational new drug program to carry out studies into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for veterans of the military and Oklahoma National Guard who suffer from \u201cmajor depressive disorder, severe depression, or any other form of depression or anxiety that is not adequately treated by traditional medical therapies.\u201d<\/p>\n The studies would still need to be approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).<\/p>\n If the studies that are facilitated through his or Pae\u2019s bill and show therapeutic value for psilocybin, Phillips said that he could \u201cabsolutely\u201d see an opportunity to expand on the reform by establishing a medical program for the psychedelic in Oklahoma\u00a0similar to what Oregon voters approved in 2020<\/a>, which is actively being implemented.<\/p>\n This latest committee development in Oklahoma is just the latest example of state lawmakers following the tide of local decriminalization efforts that have played out across the country.<\/p>\n Just last week, a Hawaii Senate committee approved a bill to set up a state working group to study the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms<\/a> and develop a \u201clong-term\u201d plan to ensure that the psychedelic is accessible for medical use for adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n The Utah House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill last week<\/a>\u00a0to create a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs\u00a0and possible regulations for their lawful use.<\/p>\n A group of Maryland senators recently filed a bill that would\u00a0create a state fund that could be used to provide free access to psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while also supporting research into their therapeutic potential.<\/p>\n A Republican Missouri lawmaker introduced a bill last month to give residents with serious illnesses legal\u00a0access to a range of psychedelic drugs<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin, ibogaine and LSD \u00a0through an expanded version of the state\u2019s existing right-to-try law.<\/p>\n A bill to decriminalize a wide array of psychedelics in Virginia was taken up by a House of Delegates panel last month,\u00a0only to be pushed off until 2023<\/a>. A separate Senate proposal to decriminalize psilocybin alone\u00a0was later defeated in a key committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n California Sen. Scott Wiener (D) told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview that his bill to\u00a0legalize psychedelics possession<\/a>\u00a0stands a 50\/50 chance of reaching the governor\u2019s desk this year. It already cleared the full Senate and two Assembly committees during the first half of the two-year session.<\/p>\n Washington State lawmakers\u00a0also introduced legislation last month<\/a>\u00a0that would legalize what the bill calls \u201csupported psilocybin experiences\u201d by adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n New Hampshire lawmakers filed measures to\u00a0decriminalize psilocybin and all drugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last year, the governor of Connecticut signed legislation that includes language requiring the state to\u00a0carry out a study into the therapeutic potential<\/a>\u00a0of psilocybin mushrooms.<\/p>\n Similar legislation was\u00a0also enacted by the Texas legislature<\/a>, requiring the state to study the medical risks and benefits of psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and a military-focused medical center.<\/p>\n Activists in Colorado recently\u00a0filed revised versions of 2022 ballot initiatives<\/a>\u00a0to similarly legalize psilocybin and establish \u201chealing centers\u201d in the state. A competing campaign\u00a0filed a different psychedelics legalization last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michigan activists\u00a0filed a statewide ballot initiative<\/a>\u00a0this month that would legalize possessing, cultivating and sharing psychedelics and set up a system for their therapeutic and spiritual use.<\/p>\n A pair of Michigan senators also introduced a bill in September to\u00a0legalize the possession, cultivation and delivery<\/a>\u00a0of an array of plant- and fungi-derived psychedelics like psilocybin and mescaline.<\/p>\n At the congressional level, bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last month, urging that the agency\u00a0allow terminally ill patients to use psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0as an investigational treatment without the fear of federal prosecution.<\/p>\n Bill To Create State-Run Marijuana Shops In New Hampshire Approved By House<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Dick Culbert<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Oklahoma Lawmakers Approve Psilocybin Decriminalization And Research Bill In Committee<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill in committee to decriminalize low-level possession of psilocybin and promote research into the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic. The measure from Rep. Daniel Pae (R) is one of two GOP-led psilocybin reform bills that were filed in the Oklahoma House last month. TheContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":52991,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52990"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52990"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52992,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52990\/revisions\/52992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Oklahoma Lawmakers Approve Psilocybin Decriminalization And Research Bill In Committee<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"