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A Hawaii Senate committee has approved a bill to promote studies into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin, MDMA and other alternative treatments for mental health conditions, while also advancing another measure that more narrowly focuses on psilocybin research only.<\/p>\n
Both measures cleared the Senate Ways & Means Committee with unanimous votes after receiving supportive testimony from the governor\u2019s office. They next head to the Senate floor.<\/p>\n
The broader bill to create a \u201cbeneficial treatments advisory council\u201d is being sponsored by Sen. Chris Lee (D), and perviously\u00a0moved through another panel<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n The separate proposal to establish a state working group to study the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin specifically is being carried by Sen. Ron Kouchi (D).<\/p>\n The panel adopted technical amendments to both bills before approving them.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Lee\u2019s SB 1531<\/a> would accomplish:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n An advisory council would be created, tasked with exploring state and federal regulations on certain psychedelics, in addition to reviewing scientific literature related to using them for mental health treatment.<\/p>\n It would also require the advisory council to develop a \u201clong-term strategic plan to ensure the availability of therapeutic psilocybin, psilocybin-based products, and [MDMA] that are safe, accessible, and affordable for adults twenty\u2014one years of age or older.\u201d<\/p>\n The nine-member council would consist of five ex officio voting members\u2014including the state attorney general and director of health\u2014and four additional members with backgrounds in medicine, psychedelics advocacy and academia.<\/p>\n The advisory council would fall under the governor\u2019s Office of Wellness and Resiliency (OWR). As introduced, it would have been under the state Department of Health, but that was amended in an earlier committee.<\/p>\n \u201cThe legislature finds that mental health conditions are treated in various ways, depending on the condition, and can include medication, therapy, and psychosocial services,\u201d the bill text says, adding that psilocybin and MDMA have been designated as breakthrough therapies by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).<\/p>\n \u201cResearch supports that the effectiveness of natural and alternative medicines and therapies, such as the use of MDMA, psilocybin, and other therapies, as being safe and effective ways to treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, end-of-life psychological distress, and other afflictions,\u201d it continues.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s OWR said in written testimony that \u201cresearch being conducted on use of alternative therapies to treat mental health disorders has shown promising outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHaving the discussion in our state will assist in making data informed decisions on how we should address and resource attention on complex social issues, like mental health,\u201d it said. \u201cThis advisory council can provide an ongoing venue to have the continuous conversation so when new therapies become known, the review of literature can occur through this mechanism and issues don\u2019t go unaddressed.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, on the House side of the legislature, lawmakers in the Health and Homelessness Committee approved a companion version of the bill<\/a>\u00a0from Rep. Adrian Tam (D) in a 7-0 vote.<\/p>\n \u2014 Here\u2019s what Kouchi\u2019s SB 1454<\/a> would achieve:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The legislation would direct a new therapeutic psilocybin working group to examine the \u201cmedicinal and therapeutic effects of psilocybin to treat conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and end-of-life psychological distress.\u201d<\/p>\n Its members would also examine the effectiveness of such therapies in Oregon and Colorado, where medicinal psilocybin has been recently legalized.<\/p>\n They would also need to develop a long-term plan to \u201censure the safe availability and accessibility of affordable, therapeutic psilocybin and psilocybin-based products for adults twenty-one years of age or older.\u201d<\/p>\n The working group would be comprised of the state\u2019s top health official or a designee, the state attorney general or a designee, leadership of relevant legislative standing committees, a physician, a psychiatrist and more.<\/p>\n \u201cAs negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to show up in our daily lives, promising interventions for mental health disorders should be included in conversations relating to trauma,\u201d the governor\u2019s OWR said in a written testimony ahead of the committee hearing. \u201cTo make informed decisions on how we should address and resource attention on complex social issues like mental health disorders and trauma, research needs to be examined.\u201d<\/p>\n The House companion version<\/a> of this legislation that\u2019s being sponsored by Rep. Amy Perruso (D) was recently taken up<\/a> by the House Health & Homelessness Committee, but action was deferred.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been\u00a0significant interest in psychedelics policy<\/a>\u00a0in the Aloha State this session, with a main focus on creating a research framework that could inform future legislation on providing regulated access to the substances.<\/p>\n Sen. Stanley Chang (D) recently filed a Senate concurrent resolution<\/a> that would request a \u201cMedicinal Psilocybin and Psilocin Working Group\u201d to study local, state and federal laws on the entheogens, existing scientific literature on the therapeutic value of the fungi and possible the medical protocol for administering psilocybin.<\/p>\n That resolution has been referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, but it hasn\u2019t been scheduled for a hearing yet.<\/p>\n Separately, a pair of bills to legalize marijuana in Hawaii were approved in Senate committee last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both measures seek to end prohibition and create a system of regulated cannabis commerce for adults 21 and older, but the question remains as to which might ultimately serve as the vehicle for the reform this session.<\/p>\n Newly inaugurated Gov. Josh Green (D) supports legalizing marijuana.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Meanwhile, when it comes to psychedelics, reform bills have been introduced in more than a dozen states<\/a> across the U.S. this legislative session.<\/p>\n Last week, for example, a Washington State Senate committee\u00a0voted to dramatically overhaul to a psilocybin services bill<\/a>, removing sections that would have\u00a0legalized use of the psychedelic drug by adults<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oklahoma lawmakers approved bill in committee last week to\u00a0promote research into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0while providing legal protections against prosecution for people with eligible conditions who possess the psychedelic.<\/p>\n Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire and Utah are also some of the latest states where\u00a0lawmakers are working to advance the issue<\/a>.<\/p>\n Virginia\u00a0lawmakers rejected a bill last month<\/a>\u00a0that would have allow people with serious mental health conditions to possess and use psilocybin mushrooms with a doctor\u2019s recommendation. Then, last week, a Virginia Senate-passed measure to create a psilocybin advisory board and reschedule the psychedelic was killed in a\u00a0committee of the GOP-controlled House of Delegates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Legislators in\u00a0Connecticut and Massachusetts<\/a>\u00a0have also filed bills to revise laws governing entheogenic plants and fungi.<\/p>\n New York Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D) filed legislation\u00a0to 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 also psychedelics reform efforts underway in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, New Jersey and Oregon.<\/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 New Hampshire House Passes Marijuana Legalization Bill That\u2019s Sponsored By Top Republican And Democratic Lawmakers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Dick Culbert<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Hawaii Senators Approve Two Psychedelic Research Bills With Support From Governor\u2019s Office<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Hawaii Senate committee has approved a bill to promote studies into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin, MDMA and other alternative treatments for mental health conditions, while also advancing another measure that more narrowly focuses on psilocybin research only. Both measures cleared the Senate Ways & Means Committee with unanimousContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":62032,"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\/62031"}],"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=62031"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62033,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62031\/revisions\/62033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Hawaii Senators Approve Two Psychedelic Research Bills With Support From Governor\u2019s Office<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"