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Utah lawmakers have unanimously approved a Republican-led bill to authorize a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as an alternative treatment option, sending it to the governor.<\/p>\n
Both chambers of the legislature passed the measure, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Kirk Cullimore (R) and House Speaker Pro Tempore James Dunnigan (R), earlier this month.<\/p>\n
This comes about two years after Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed into law a bill that created a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs<\/a> and possible regulations for their lawful use.<\/p>\n The new proposal that cleared the legislature this month provides for that regulated access at two types of health care systems in the state. Psychedelics could be administered by a privately owned, non-profit health care system with at least 15 licensed hospitals or within medical programs operated by institutions of higher education.<\/p>\n \u201cA healthcare system may develop a behavioral health treatment program that includes a treatment\u201d with psilocybin and MDMA that it \u201cdetermines is supported by a broad collection of scientific and medical research,\u201d the bill says.<\/p>\n By July 1, 2026, any hospital that establishes a psychedelics therapy pilot program would need to submit a report to the legislature that details which drugs are being utilized, healthcare outcomes of patients and any reported side effects.<\/p>\n If enacted into law, the legislation would take effect on May 1, 2024 and sunset after three years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bill raises, I guess, some pretty big philosophical questions,\u201d Rep. Raymond Ward (R) said during ahead of the House vote this month, noting that typically drugs are only made available to patients after receiving final approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this case, the drugs have only been designated by FDA as \u201cbreakthrough therapies,\u201d as the agency weighs an application to approve MDMA-assisted therapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The FDA approval process \u201ccan be pretty slow\u2014and oftentimes it results in products that are just really, really expensive when they do come on the market,\u201d he said. \u201cThe bill is proposing, really, an alternate pathway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I say it\u2019s a philosophical question,\u201d he said. \u201cDo you think that these medicines really only should always just go through this one pathway, the FDA first and then be allowed to be used? Or do you think there should be any other alternate pathway whereby a patient might be given these medications in a controlled setting from some of our best physicians, but where we really do not yet have all of the data that we normally would have before we gave them to patients?\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Brady Brammer (R), who sponsored the previously enacted psychedelics task force legislation, said psychedelics represent \u201cone of the few areas of research where we see that there are curative possibilities for mental health, particularly related to PTSD and treatment-resistant depression.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is another tool in our toolbox,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done the task force. They\u2019ve come back with their reports. And now we have this clinical trial of sorts that allows for some of the patients to get it under significant observation with the appropriate guardrails.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s unclear about the legislation<\/a> is whether its implementation would create any legal liabilities, as hospitals and universities must typically adhere to federal regulations and both psychedelics are still currently Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).<\/p>\n In any case, Utah is of several states where lawmakers are working to advance psychedelics reform legislation, with a focus on therapeutic use.<\/p>\n \u2014 For example, on Wednesday the Maryland House of Delegates\u00a0passed a bill to create a psychedelics task force responsible for studying possible regulatory frameworks<\/a>\u00a0for therapeutic access to substances such as psilocybin, mescaline and DMT. It would be charged specifically with ensuring \u201cbroad, equitable and affordable access to psychedelic substances\u201d in the state.<\/p>\n On Monday, an Arizona House panel approved a Senate-passed bill to legalize psilocybin service centers where people could receive the psychedelic<\/a>\u00a0in a medically supervised setting.<\/p>\n Last week a Missouri House committee unanimously approved a bill to legalize the medical use of psilocybin by military veterans<\/a>\u00a0and fund studies exploring the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic.<\/p>\n Connecticut lawmakers held a hearing on a bill to\u00a0decriminalize possession of psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0last week.<\/p>\n A\u00a0Vermont legislative panel continued its consideration this month of a bill<\/a>\u00a0that would\u00a0legalize psilocybin in the state and establish a work group<\/a>\u00a0on how to further regulate psychedelics for therapeutic use.<\/p>\n The governor of New Mexico recently endorsed a newly enacted 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 Illinois senator\u00a0recently introduced a bill to legalize psilocybin and allow regulated access<\/a>\u00a0at service centers in the state where adults could use the psychedelic in a supervised setting\u2014with plans to expand the program to include mescaline, ibogaine and DMT.<\/p>\n Alaska House and Senate committees are considering legislation that would create a task force to\u00a0study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy<\/a>\u00a0in anticipation of eventual federal legalization of substances like MDMA and psilocybin.<\/p>\n Lawmakers in Hawaii are also continuing to advance a bill that would\u00a0provide some legal protections to patients engaging in psilocybin-assisted therapy<\/a>\u00a0with a medical professional\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n New York lawmakers also said that a bill to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy in that state\u00a0has a \u201creal chance\u201d of passing this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n An Indiana House committee, meanwhile,\u00a0approved a Republican-led bill that would fund clinical research trials into psilocybin<\/a>\u00a0that has already cleared the full Senate.<\/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>\u00a0in January. 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 Massachusetts Governor To Pardon Hundreds Of Thousands With Marijuana Convictions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Dick Culbert<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Utah Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Bill To Allow Psilocybin And MDMA Treatment At Hospitals, Sending It To The Governor<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Utah lawmakers have unanimously approved a Republican-led bill to authorize a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as an alternative treatment option, sending it to the governor. Both chambers of the legislature passed the measure, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Kirk Cullimore (R) and House Speaker ProContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":73184,"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\/73183"}],"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=73183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73185,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73183\/revisions\/73185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Utah Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Bill To Allow Psilocybin And MDMA Treatment At Hospitals, Sending It To The Governor<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"