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Connecticut lawmakers sent the governor a large-scale budget bill on Tuesday that includes provisions to set the state up to provide certain patients with access to psychedelic-assisted treatment using substances like MDMA and psilocybin.<\/p>\n
The language largely mirrors a standalone bill that moved through committee earlier this session<\/a>. However, the budget legislation is more limited with respect to who would be eligible for the treatment option compared to the standalone proposal.<\/p>\n The budget measure cleared the House on Monday and then passed the Senate on Tuesday. It now heads to the governor.<\/p>\n Under both the budget bill<\/a> and HB 5396<\/a>, psychedelic treatment centers would be established in the state where people could receive psilocybin-assisted or MDMA-assisted therapy as part of an expanded access program for investigational new drugs through the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).<\/p>\n While the legislation would not legalize the psychedelics, it would set up a regulatory infrastructure to enable Connecticut to play a leading role in providing access to this alternative treatment option as federal agencies continue to fund and facilitate clinical trials.<\/p>\n Psychedelic therapy would be specifically provided and funded for military veterans, retired first responders and health care workers under the budget measure.<\/p>\n The standalone bill, meanwhile, was more expansive by also including any person from a \u201chistorically underserved community, and who has a serious or life-threatening mental or behavioral health disorder and without access to effective mental or behavioral health medication.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed a separate bill last year that includes language requiring the state to carry out a study into the therapeutic potential<\/a>\u00a0of psilocybin mushrooms. A\u00a0workgroup<\/a>\u00a0has since been meeting\u00a0to investigate the issue.<\/p>\n \u2014 The new budget measure approved by the legislature, as well as the standalone bill, would require the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to launch a \u201cpsychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program to provide qualified patients with the funding\u201d to receive MDMA or psilocybin therapy as part of FDA\u2019s expanded access program.<\/p>\n The pilot program would cease \u201cwhen MDMA and psilocybin have been approved to have a medical use by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), or any successor agency.\u201d At that point, state statute on the substances would be aligned with the federal government\u2019s.<\/p>\n The legislation would further establish a Qualified Patients for Approved Treatment Sites Fund to provide \u201cgrants to qualified applicants to provide MDMA-assisted or psilocybin assisted therapy to qualified patients under the pilot program.\u201d<\/p>\n Another difference between the newly passed budget measure and the earlier standalone bill is that the latter called for $3 million to be appropriated to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services from the general fund to facilitate the treatment centers, whereas the former simply provides funding \u201cwithin available appropriations.\u201d<\/p>\n Both measures would further create a Connecticut Psychedelic Treatment Advisory Board under the department. Legislative leaders and the governor would be empowered to appoint members of the board.<\/p>\n The board would be tasked with making recommendation on the \u201cdesign and development of the regulations and infrastructure necessary to safely allow for therapeutic access to psychedelic-assisted therapy upon the legalization of MDMA, psilocybin and any other psychedelic compounds.\u201d<\/p>\n There would be seven key areas that the board would be responsible for advising the department on:<\/strong><\/p>\n Also in Connecticut, regulators recently began\u00a0accepting certain marijuana business license applications<\/a>\u00a0as part of the\u00a0recreational cannabis law that Lamont signed last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the state\u2019s Social Equity Council\u00a0approved a list of geographic areas disproportionately impacted<\/a>\u00a0by the drug war, which will be used to determine eligibility for social equity business licenses. Under the state\u2019s new cannabis program, half of all licenses must go to equity applicants, who may also qualify for lower licensing fees, technical assistance, workforce training and funding to cover startup costs.<\/p>\n Last year, Lamont also announced the launch of a new website to provide residents with up-to-date information<\/a>\u00a0on the state\u2019s new marijuana legalization law.<\/p>\n As it stands, adults 21 and older are already able to possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis for personal use.<\/p>\n For example, the Colorado Senate approved a House-passed bill last week<\/a> to align state statute to legalize MDMA prescriptions if and when the federal government ultimately permits such use, sending the measure to the governor.<\/p>\n Maryland lawmakers\u00a0recently sent a bill to the governor<\/a>\u00a0that would create a state fund to provide \u201ccost-free\u201d access to psychedelics like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury.<\/p>\n The Maine Senate approved\u00a0a bill last month to to create a medical psilocybin program<\/a>\u00a0in the state, but the House of Representatives refused to go along.<\/p>\n Also last month, Georgia lawmakers advanced a bipartisan resolution that calls for the formation of a House study committee to investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin and make recommendations for reforms.<\/p>\n The governor of Utah signed a bill in March to create a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs<\/a>\u00a0and possible regulations for their lawful use.<\/p>\n A Missouri House committee also held a hearing that month on a GOP-led bill to legalize a wide range of psychedelics for therapeutic use<\/a>\u00a0at designated care facilities while further decriminalizing low-level possession in general.<\/p>\n The Washington State legislature recently sent a budget bill to the governor\u2019s desk that includes a proposal to\u00a0direct $200,000 in funding to support a new workgroup<\/a>\u00a0to study the possibility of legalizing psilocybin services in the state, including the idea of using current marijuana regulatory systems to track psychedelic mushrooms.<\/p>\n In March, the Hawaii Senate approved a bill to set up a state working group to study the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms<\/a>\u00a0and develop a \u201clong-term\u201d plan to ensure that the psychedelic is accessible for medical use for adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n Also that month, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill to decriminalize low-level possession of psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0and promote research into the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic.<\/p>\n Rhode Island lawmakers introduced\u00a0a pair of drug decriminalization bills in March<\/a>\u2014including one focused on psilocybin and buprenorphine that would authorize doctors to prescribe the psychedelic mushroom.<\/p>\n An Oregon Senate committee also recently advanced a bill to ensure that equity is\u00a0built into the state\u2019s historic therapeutic psilocybin program<\/a>\u00a0that\u2019s actively being implemented following voter approval in 2020.<\/p>\n A bill to decriminalize a wide array of psychedelics in Virginia was taken up by a House of Delegates panel in January,\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 in January<\/a>\u00a0that would legalize what the bill calls \u201csupported psilocybin experiences\u201d by adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania bill meant to promote research into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms for certain mental health conditions may be in jeopardy, with the sponsor saying that the chair of a key House committee is\u00a0expressing reservations even after the legislation<\/a>\u00a0was amended in an effort to build support.<\/p>\n New Hampshire lawmakers filed measures to\u00a0decriminalize psilocybin and all drugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Legislation was\u00a0also enacted by the Texas legislature<\/a>\u00a0last year 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 At the congressional level, bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to DEA in January, urging that the agency allow terminally ill patients to use psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0as an investigational treatment without the fear of federal prosecution.<\/p>\n New Jersey Lawmakers File Bills To Restrict Marijuana Use By Police And Other Workers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Dick Culbert<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Connecticut Lawmakers Send Psychedelic Treatment Program Proposal To Governor As Part Of Budget Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Connecticut lawmakers sent the governor a large-scale budget bill on Tuesday that includes provisions to set the state up to provide certain patients with access to psychedelic-assisted treatment using substances like MDMA and psilocybin. The language largely mirrors a standalone bill that moved through committee earlier this session. However, theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":54592,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54591"}],"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=54591"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54593,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54591\/revisions\/54593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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In the psychedelics space, reform is advancing in states across the country.<\/h3>\n
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\nRead More: Connecticut Lawmakers Send Psychedelic Treatment Program Proposal To Governor As Part Of Budget Bill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"