{"id":68684,"date":"2023-09-20T06:52:57","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T14:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/09\/20\/congressional-lawmakers-file-new-bill-to-protect-states-that-legalize-psilocybin-from-federal-intervention\/"},"modified":"2023-09-20T19:46:26","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T03:46:26","slug":"congressional-lawmakers-file-new-bill-to-protect-states-that-legalize-psilocybin-from-federal-intervention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/09\/20\/congressional-lawmakers-file-new-bill-to-protect-states-that-legalize-psilocybin-from-federal-intervention\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressional Lawmakers File New Bill To Protect States That Legalize Psilocybin From Federal Intervention"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A new congressional bill has been filed to prohibit federal intervention in jurisdictions that legalize psilocybin mushrooms.<\/p>\n

Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) are sponsoring the Validating Independence for State Initiatives on Organic Natural Substances (VISIONS) Act.<\/p>\n

The two-page legislation simply says that no federal funds can be used to \u201cprevent any State or unit of local government from implementing such State\u2019s or unit of local government\u2019s own laws that authorize the use, distribution, sale, possession, research, or cultivation of psilocybin.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s similar to existing protections in place for state medical cannabis programs that have been enacted annually through appropriations riders.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrent federal law lags behind the growing body of evidence that suggests that the psychedelic treatment that psilocybin offers can provide relief for those suffering from anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders,\u201d Garcia said in a press release on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\n

Proud to introduce the VISIONS Act today, which protects legal psilocybin\/mushroom use from federal prosecution anywhere where psilocybin is legal. Psilocybin treatments can offer relief to those suffering from anxiety, depression and PTSD for veterans. https:\/\/t.co\/WXIHlbkYwF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) September 20, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u201cHere in the U.S. we have countless military and law enforcement veterans who have seen their lives improve thanks to these groundbreaking treatments,\u201d he said. \u201cThe potential benefits of psilocybin have been overlooked for years and my aim is to protect the areas and states that want to delve into the real progress this treatment can offer for people in their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blumenauer, whose state became the first to legalize regulated access to psilocybin through a vote-approved ballot initiative in 2020, said that, for too long, \u201cthe federal government has perpetuated a broken system that has denied patients access to the therapeutic potential of psilocybin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time for the federal government to get out of the way of states like Oregon who are making progress,\u201d the congressman said.<\/p>\n

The bill could also be timely for Garcia\u2019s state of California, where lawmakers have delivered a bill to the governor that would legalize possession and cultivation of certain psychedelics<\/a>, including psilocybin, by adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Psychedelics reform policy has become a recurring theme in Congress this session.<\/p>\n

This month, the GOP-controlled House Rules Committee cleared two psychedelics research amendments for floor consideration<\/a> as part of a large-scale spending bill covering the Department of Defense (DOD)\u2014though it also blocked separate marijuana-related proposals from advancing.<\/p>\n

In March, Blumenauer and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) filed a bill to clarify that federal \u201cRight to Try\u201d (RTT) laws give seriously ill patients access to Schedule I drugs, including marijuana and psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for its part, is taking steps to facilitate research into psychedelic therapies. Not only has it designated psilocybin and MDMA as \u201cbreakthrough therapies,\u201d but the agency has released first-ever draft guidance<\/a>\u00a0to scientists on best practices to study the entheogenic substances in the interest of drug development.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) also called for research into the impact of evolving laws around psychedelics<\/a>, including the effects of allowing regulated access to substances like psilocybin.<\/p>\n

NIDA separately announced in May that it is soliciting proposals\u00a0for a series of research initiatives<\/a>\u00a0meant to explore how psychedelics could be used to treat drug addiction, with plans to provide $1.5 million in funding to support relevant studies.<\/p>\n

At a Senate committee hearing in May, Volkow told members that there\u2019s emerging evidence that psychedelics carry \u201csignificant potential\u201d as therapeutic treatments for certain mental health conditions, and\u00a0it\u2019s a topic of \u201cgreat interest\u201d for researchers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year, Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) pushed top federal officials to provide an update on\u00a0research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics<\/a>, arguing that ongoing federal prohibition has stymied studies.<\/p>\n

NIDA responded to the inquiry by saying that federal prohibition makes it\u00a0more difficult to study the benefits of psychedelics<\/a>, requiring researchers to jump through additional regulatory hoops. Volkow previously said that\u00a0she\u00a0personally hesitates to study Schedule I drugs<\/a>\u00a0because of those complications.<\/p>\n

The director told Marijuana Moment in 2021 that\u00a0researchers need to prioritize psychedelics research<\/a>, as more people are likely to use them as they\u2019re exposed to studies showing the therapeutic potential of the substances.<\/p>\n

Read the text<\/a> of the VISONS Act below:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Here\u2019s The New Marijuana Banking Bill Text That Senators Negotiated As Committee Prepares To Vote Next Week<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The post Congressional Lawmakers File New Bill To Protect States That Legalize Psilocybin From Federal Intervention<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n
\nRead More: Congressional Lawmakers File New Bill To Protect States That Legalize Psilocybin From Federal Intervention<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new congressional bill has been filed to prohibit federal intervention in jurisdictions that legalize psilocybin mushrooms. Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) are sponsoring the Validating Independence for State Initiatives on Organic Natural Substances (VISIONS) Act. The two-page legislation simply says that no federal funds can beContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":68685,"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\/68684"}],"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=68684"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68686,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68684\/revisions\/68686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}