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New York lawmakers say there\u2019s a \u201creal chance\u201d that legislation to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy will advance through committee this session, emphasizing that delaying action would \u201cneglect\u201d many \u201cpeople who need help\u201d with certain mental health conditions.<\/p>\n
At a briefing on Wednesday, Assemblymember Pat Burke (D) and Sens. Nathalia Fernandez (D) and Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D) detailed a pair of bills that aim to provide access to the psychedelic in a supervised setting and expressed optimism about the momentum they say could move them through the legislature.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a mental health crisis, and so we need every tool that\u2019s available to us,\u201d Burke, who is sponsoring a bill to create a psilocybin therapy pilot program for 10,000 people<\/a>, said. He added that \u201cwe\u2019re here to turn the page\u201d on the broader drug war.<\/p>\n Another measure the lawmaker introduced last year would more broadly\u00a0allow people to receive psilocybin treatment from a certified facilitator<\/a>\u00a0in a clinical setting, or at their home if they\u2019re unable to travel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t get much bipartisan effort these days,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is one of the rare ones that both sides, I think, are starting to agree.\u201d<\/p>\n To that end, the lawmakers said in response to a question from Marijuana Moment that they do see a path to get the legislation through the Assembly Health Committee this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe chair of Health is a huge advocate for this,\u201d Burke said. \u201cI thought we would get it done last year. Of course, there\u2019s always more hurdles. But I think there is a real chance we move it out of our committees.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho knows? If a wave of support comes at the end of session, I think we\u2019ve got a shot,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I almost prefer to underpromise rather than overpromise, but there\u2019s a shot. I just think it requires all of us rowing in the same boat.\u201d<\/p>\n Fernandez agreed and pointed out that, since she filed an earlier companion version of the psilocybin legislation, more members have become aware and supportive of the reform, with some telling her that while they might not be willing to formally cosponsor it, they \u201cdo want to vote for this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are political worries of it, but education is our best tool\u2014and letting it be known and understood that this is not here to harm, this is something that is needed for some and many,\u201d the senator said. \u201cIt should be part of the conversation when we look at mental health needs overall.\u201d<\/p>\n Scarcella-Spanton also stressed the importance of supporters reaching out to their representatives to make it known that they back the legislation.<\/p>\n Marijuana Moment also asked the lawmakers whether they felt any lessons could be drawn from the state\u2019s experience legalizing marijuana as they work to enact a regulatory model for psilocybin.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re completely separate,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cCannabis is a medical tool as well, but it\u2019s more able to be recreational and I don\u2019t think psilocybin has that same possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Burke echoed that point, saying the drug policy issues are \u201ccompletely different things.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRecreational cannabis has had a lot of problems in its rollout. The structure that was created, it\u2019s frankly\u2014it\u2019s been a bit of a mess and everybody knows that,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want that to be used as a tool against preventing [psilocybin therapy.] They\u2019re completely different.\u201d<\/p>\n New York\u2019s legislature has been exploring a variety of psychedelics policy issues in recent sessions. In December 2022, for example, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D) separately\u00a0introduced a measure to legalize certain psychedelics such as psilocybin and ibogaine<\/a>\u00a0for adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n Under the psilocybin therapy pilot program legislation that Burke has most recently sponsored, the state Department of Health would be required to provide funding to cover the services and develop training guidelines for professional facilitators. It would need to issue a report on findings and policy recommendations to the governor and legislature every two years after enactment.<\/p>\n A total of 10,000 patients could participate, including veterans and their families, first responders and people who suffer from cluster headaches. They would need to reside in the western region of New York.<\/p>\n Lawmakers in states across the U.S. are gearing up for what has already proved to be an active year for psychedelics reform in 2024.<\/p>\n \u2014 On Tuesday, for example, an Arizona Senate committee unanimously approved a bipartisan bill that would legalize psilocybin service centers where people could receive the psychedelic<\/a>\u00a0in a medically supervised setting.<\/p>\n An Indiana House committee approved a Republican-led bill this week that would fund clinical research trials into psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0that has already cleared the full Senate.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, a New Mexico Senate committee unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution\u00a0requesting that state officials research the therapeutic potential of psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0and explore the creation of a regulatory framework to provide access to the psychedelic.<\/p>\n An Alaska Senate panel took testimony last week on a plan that would create a state task force to\u00a0explore how to legalize and regulate the therapeutic use of psychedelics<\/a>\u00a0in the state.<\/p>\n Bipartisan California lawmakers also recently introduced a bill to legalize psychedelic service centers where adults 21 and older could\u00a0access psilocybin, MDMA, mescaline and DMT in a supervised environment<\/a>\u00a0with trained facilitators.<\/p>\n A Nevada joint legislative committee held a hearing with\u00a0expert and public testimony on the therapeutic potential of substances like psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0last month. Law enforcement representatives also shared their concerns around legalization\u2014but there was notable acknowledgement that some reforms should be enacted, including possible rescheduling.<\/p>\n The governor of Massachusetts recently\u00a0promoted the testimony of activists who spoke in favor of her veterans-focused bill<\/a>\u00a0that would, in part, create a psychedelics work group to\u00a0study the therapeutic potential of substances such as psilocybin<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Missouri House committee considered a proposal last month that would\u00a0legalize the medical use of psilocybin in the state<\/a>\u00a0and mandate clinical trials exploring the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic.<\/p>\n Maryland Senate Committee Approves Bill To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients\u2019 Gun Rights Under State Law<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post New York Lawmakers Say Bill To Legalize Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Has A \u2018Real Chance\u2019 To Advance This Year<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
New York lawmakers say there\u2019s a \u201creal chance\u201d that legislation to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy will advance through committee this session, emphasizing that delaying action would \u201cneglect\u201d many \u201cpeople who need help\u201d with certain mental health conditions. At a briefing on Wednesday, Assemblymember Pat Burke (D) and Sens. Nathalia Fernandez (D)Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":72497,"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\/72496"}],"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=72496"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72498,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72496\/revisions\/72498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: New York Lawmakers Say Bill To Legalize Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Has A \u2018Real Chance\u2019 To Advance This Year<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"