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A Republican Missouri lawmaker filed a bill on Wednesday that would provide therapeutic access to psilocybin<\/a> for people with serious mental health conditions.<\/p>\n Rep. Tony Lovasco (R) introduced the legislation, which has been revised from an earlier version he worked to advance last year. It\u2019s one of the latest examples of how legislators across the U.S. are approaching psychedelics reform for the 2023 session.<\/p>\n Under the new proposal, patients could obtain psilocybin for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe depression, terminal illness or any other condition where traditional therapies haven\u2019t worked if approved by regulators.<\/p>\n The bill, HB 869, doesn\u2019t seek to amend state drug statute by legalizing psilocybin; rather, it provides affirmative defenses against criminal prosecution for patients who possess up to four grams of the psychedelic, as well as doctors, caregivers and professionals who provide psilocybin services.<\/p>\n The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) would hold regulatory responsibility. Any person could petition the department to add a qualifying condition for psilocybin, and regulators must approve the petition if the person establishes that there\u2019s evidence that the natural medicine \u201cbenefits persons with the proposed condition in a manner equal to or greater than the benefit\u201d of psilocybin for other conditions that are already approved.<\/p>\n \u2014 The bill<\/a> is \u201ca first step to addressing pervasive mental health crises that affect every sector of our society and economy by creating access to clinically validated therapies,\u201d Lovasco said in a press release. \u201cI am especially encouraged at clinical research suggesting psilocybin may be a tool to address our opiate addiction crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawmaker\u2019s earlier version\u2014which received a hearing in the House Health and Mental Health Policy Committee<\/a> last March but did not advance\u2014included other psychedelics like mescaline or ibogaine. But Lovasco told Marijuana Moment earlier this month that it\u2019s been winnowed down to psilocybin because \u201cthat\u2019s what we have the most data and research on.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill has also been revised to include \u201ctrigger language,\u201d where the pool of patients eligible for the psychedelic treatment would be expanded if psilocybin is placed in a less restrictive category under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) or removed entirely.<\/p>\n Should that happen, a person could become an eligible patient in Missouri if they\u2019re 21 or older and have documentation showing that they do not have a condition where there\u2019s \u201cany specific contraindications for the use of natural medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am all for giving veterans the best fighting chance to integrate back into society and become productive members\u2014and I think that this is probably one of the most promising areas that we have,\u201d Rep. Aaron McMullen (R), a military veteran himself who is cosponsoring the psilocybin bill, told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday.<\/p>\n McMullen said that the reason he feels this issue has generated bipartisan interest is that mental illness \u201ctouches everybody\u2019s life,\u201d and \u201cwe\u2019re getting to the point now where we can reach across the social stigma that these alternative therapies have and take a more pragmatic approach.\u201d<\/p>\n New Haven, Missouri Police Chief Chris Hammann said in a press release that \u201claw enforcement and first responders routinely experience traumatic events in the line of duty,\u201d and consequently, \u201cwe face multiple expanding crises including personnel retention, alcoholism, and suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCreating legal access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy would be a first step to breaking that cycle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While Lovasco\u2019s earlier psychedelics bill was not enacted last session, Missouri lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have made clear that they\u2019re interested in at least discussing the possibility of providing a pathway for patient access.<\/p>\n In September, for example, the House Interim Committee on Veterans Mental Health and Suicide\u00a0held a hearing where they received testimony<\/a>\u00a0about the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for military veterans with severe mental health conditions.<\/p>\n Separately, Missouri Rep. Michael Davis (R) has twice filed bills to give residents with serious illnesses legal\u00a0access to a range of psychedelic drugs<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin, ibogaine and LSD by expanding the state\u2019s Right to Try law.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Missouri\u2019s\u00a0voter-approved marijuana legalization law took effect<\/a>\u00a0last month, and regulators are preparing to\u00a0allow recreational sales to begin<\/a> as early as next month.<\/p>\n So far this session, bipartisan lawmakers in more than a dozen states\u00a0are working on psychedelics reform legislation<\/a>, reflecting the growing interest in ending criminalization over natural plants and fungi as well as the therapeutic potential of certain entheogens.<\/p>\n For example, a Republican New Hampshire lawmaker recently filed a bill to legalize the possession and use of psychedelics<\/a> like psilocybin and LSD by adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n New York Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D) pre-filed legislation late last month to legalize certain psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0like psilocybin and ibogaine for adults 21 and older. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) also recently signed a bill mandating that\u00a0the state immediately reschedule or deschedule Schedule I drugs<\/a>\u00a0like MDMA and psilocybin if they\u2019re reclassified under federal law.<\/p>\n Bipartisan Washington State senators also recently\u00a0unveiled a revised bill to legalize psilocybin services<\/a>\u00a0for adults.<\/p>\n There are\u00a0also psychedelics reform efforts underway in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia.<\/p>\n Oregon voters approved a historic\u00a0ballot initiative to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic use<\/a>\u00a0in 2020, and Colorado voters passed a\u00a0broad psychedelics legalization and psilocybin services measure<\/a>\u00a0during the November election.<\/p>\n An analysis published in an American Medical Association journal last month concluded that\u00a0a majority of states will legalize psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0by 2037, based on statistical modeling of policy trends.<\/p>\n Back in Missouri, meanwhile, regulators recently released sample applications<\/a> for adults who want to be able to grow marijuana at home for personal use. Missouri\u2019s voter-approved marijuana law took effect last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Majority Of American Voters\u2014Including Most Republicans\u2014Back Federal Marijuana Legalization And Social Equity, New Survey Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Dick Culbert<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post GOP Missouri Lawmaker Files Psilocybin Therapy Bill For 2023 Session<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Republican Missouri lawmaker filed a bill on Wednesday that would provide therapeutic access to psilocybin for people with serious mental health conditions. Rep. Tony Lovasco (R) introduced the legislation, which has been revised from an earlier version he worked to advance last year. It\u2019s one of the latest examplesContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":60863,"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\/60862"}],"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=60862"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60864,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60862\/revisions\/60864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: GOP Missouri Lawmaker Files Psilocybin Therapy Bill For 2023 Session<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"