Alaska\u2019s House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved amended legislation that would create a state task force to study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy in the event of federal approval of substances such as MDMA and psilocybin.<\/p>\n
After adopting a handful of changes to the bill a day earlier, the body passed the measure on a 36\u20134 vote following sometimes charged testimony from lawmakers.<\/p>\n
If it becomes law,\u00a0HB 228 would not change the legal status of any drugs in Alaska. Rather, it would create a legislative task force that would spend the rest of the year studying how to license and regulate psychedelic therapy in the state. A report from the group with recommendations would be due on or before January 31, 2025.<\/p>\n
A Senate companion, SB 166, has already passed out of one committee in that chamber<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0had another committee hearing in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both MDMA and psilocybin have been granted breakthrough therapy status by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and recent clinical trials have MDMA on pace for possible FDA approval later this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis August, it is widely anticipated that FDA will approve the most significant medicine for the treatment of mental health in decades,\u201d sponsor Rep. Jenny Armstrong (D) told colleagues ahead of Thursday\u2019s House vote, adding that approval of psilocybin could happen in the \u201cnext one or two years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHouse Bill 228 before us today would create a task force that would put forth recommendations for the next legislature to consider as it relates to this treatment,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether you are excited about the idea of psychedelics getting approved, you\u2019re neutral or you\u2019re flat-out against it, I think we can all agree that if it is coming. We should be prepared and be thoughtful in how we approach it.\u201d<\/p>\n !(function(src,cb){var s=document.createElement(‘script’);s.src=src;s.async=true;if(s.readyState){s.onreadystatechange=function(){if(s.readyState==”loaded”||s.readyState==”complete”){s.onreadystatechange=null;cb();}};}else{s.onload=function(){cb();};}document.head.appendChild(s);})(‘\/\/player.invintus.com\/app.js’,function(){Invintus.launch({“clientID”:”2147483647″,”eventID”:”2024051035″,”simple”:true});});<\/p>\n The bill\u2019s few opponents attacked the proposal as premature and irresponsible.<\/p>\n Rep. Dan Saddler, the Republican majority leader in the House, said he worried the bill \u201creflects an uncritical acceptance of the idea that use of psychedelic drugs are beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI rise against this bill because I don\u2019t believe we should be going off in a direction in what I believe to be a premature fashion,\u201d he said, claiming that the task force also \u201cto some degree encroaches on the purview of the legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Jamie Allard (R) said she found it offensive that veterans and their mental health needs were being used \u201cas a platform\u201d to further the cause of psychedelic medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing our military veterans as experiments? We aren\u2019t experiments,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are human beings who deserve to have things done in the proper manner, and slowly and concisely.\u201d<\/p>\n The most dire warnings came from Rep. David Eastman (R), who said that \u201cwhat you can use for good can also be used for ill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI look at the history of medicine in this country, and it was not that long ago that we were told\u2014and our entire government, you know, echoed\u2014that lobotomies were a good thing, and they were carried out in our country,\u201d Eastman said. \u201cI hope that we will not look back some number of years now and see that hallucinogens were also a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n But most members who spoke Thursday said they were open to the task force as a meaningful step toward addressing the state\u2019s mental health crisis. As Armstrong noted, Alaska has \u201cthe highest number of veterans per capita and, unfortunately, some of the highest rates of violence in our country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in support of this bill because I\u2019ve been affected by it directly,\u201d said Rep. Laddie Shaw (R). \u201cAs the former director for state Veterans Affairs, I\u2019ve had veterans come to me regarding this bill, and they have said, \u2018We\u2019ve done nothing for the past 50 years. Let\u2019s do something.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis task force gives us an opportunity to move forward with some productivity on behalf of our veterans,\u201d Shaw added. \u201cWe haven\u2019t done anything for the last 50 years. Let\u2019s move forward with something.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Sarah Vance (R) said the matter was \u201ca challenging and uncomfortable topic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven though psychedelic drugs make me very, very uncomfortable\u2014I\u2019m very, very reticent to say yes to the use of these medicines\u2014I want to know what the impact is,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why I\u2019m standing in support of this task force, to ask the appropriate questions.\u201d<\/p>\n During a House floor session<\/a> a day earlier, the body adopted a number of amendments to the bill.<\/p>\n Among them, a change from Rep. Justin Ruffridge (R)\u2014who voted in support of the bill on Thursday\u2014added a member to the task force selected by the board of directors of the Alaska Pharmacy Association. An amendment to that amendment, from Eastman, removed a University of Alaska faculty member from the task force in order to \u201cmaintain the same size of the task force,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A more substantial amendment from Eastman made a number of adjustments, for example extending the due date for the task force\u2019s report to the legislature until January 31, 2025 instead of December 31 of this year, as the bill previously specified. It also sunsets the task force at the end\u2014rather than at the beginning\u2014of the next legislative session. Other changes allow legislators on the task force to send designees if they cannot attend a meeting, and it clarifies that task force meetings could be held virtually.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are all items that we were looking to clean up with the other body if they weren\u2019t tackled today,\u201d Armstrong said after Eastman explained the new provisions,\u201d and so I fully support them.<\/p>\n Another amendment, from Rep. Andrew Gray (D), requires that some groups choosing task force members, such as the Alaska State Medical Association, specifically select physicians as representatives.<\/p>\n Now that it has cleared the House, the bill<\/a> has been scheduled for a Monday hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n The House State Affairs Committee approved the legislation in early April<\/a> after adopting an amendment that changed the proposed name of the task force and clarified its objective.<\/p>\n The amendment \u201csimply changes the name of the task force to make it clear what the task force will be taking part in,\u201d Rep. Ashley Carrick (D), who proposed the change, explained at the time, \u201cand that they will not be taking a position on legalization, decriminalization or medicalization of psychedelic drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n The name of the body would be the Alaska Task Force for the Regulation of Psychedelic Medicines Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Initially it would have been called the Alaska Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force.<\/p>\n Lawmakers rejected another proposed title change this week from from Eastman that would have added \u201cthe advisability of\u201d to the task force\u2019s name, thus making it the Alaska Task Force for the Advisability of<\/em> the Regulation of Psychedelic Medicines Approved by the FDA. Eastman said was intended to acknowledge that not all members of the group would support the state\u2019s eventual FDA-approved psychedelics. That amendment failed 3\u201336 on the House floor.<\/p>\n Another change from Eastman that colleagues denied would have put the governor in charge of appointing some task force members, rather than the legislature. Armstrong noted that the proposal initially would have created an executive task force, but it became a legislative one as the result of state legal guidance.<\/p>\n The amendment was rejected on a 1\u201339 vote. Armstrong again emphasized to colleagues that the task force \u201cis not going to be immediately implementing anything\u201d and would instead \u201csimply be making policy recommendations that then come to the legislature, for the legislature to consider\u2014and then you introduce bills and go through that whole process.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of say this a lot,\u201d she continued. \u201cThe task force is not taking a position on whether this is good or bad\u2026 There might be people in the task force who think the FDA doing this is terrible, and those in the task force who think the FDA doing this is great. We\u2019ve really narrowly limited this to insurance, licensing and other legal and other regulatory changes.\u201d<\/p>\n Armstrong has made similar assurances at committee meetings this session.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, our goal is to safely maximize the benefit of these medicines for Alaska,\u201d she said at last month\u2019s State Affairs Committee hearing. \u201cThis is not something where we are here to defend or promote or take a position on psychedelics. Rather, this is something that is coming. The clinical trials on this began 20 years ago. And so I think, perhaps, even if you are a little nervous or you are unsure, that is the reason why we want to have a task force.\u201d<\/p>\n She reminded members at the time that psychedelics are far from the only controversial class of medically beneficial drug. \u201cThere are many prescriptions that are controversial,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cEverything from birth control to painkillers and even ibuprofen can be controversial sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Armstrong has also noted in past hearings<\/a> that Alaska has \u201cthe highest share of veterans per capita and one of the highest suicide rates in the nation,\u201d arguing the state could benefit more than others from preparing for federal changes.<\/p>\n \u201cCoupled with also being a state where 43.3 percent of women and 30.2 percent of men in Alaska experience domestic violence and related crimes in their lifetimes and where 84 percent of American Indian\/Alaska Native women experience violence,\u201d she said in March, \u201cthere is a potential for these medicines to have a profoundly positive impact on the mental health crises we see statewide.\u201d<\/p>\n A fiscal note from the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development says the state would incur no cost from the change.<\/p>\n Members of a separate House panel previously adopted amendments to bring the bill into alignment with its Senate companion, SB 166, which has already passed out of one committee in that chamber<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0had another committee hearing in February<\/a>. Among the changes, the amendments made the task force a legislative group rather than an executive one\u2014designed to reduce the proposal\u2019s fiscal note to zero\u2014and added a member to the task force representing psychiatric nurse practitioners.<\/p>\n Also, rather than have the task force elect a chair itself, the latest version of the bill\u00a0says that the members appointed by the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives would by default serve as the group\u2019s co-chairs.<\/p>\n Sponsors\u00a0filed the legislation in both chambers in January<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alaskans generally support reforms to policies around psychedelics, especially with regard to mental health. Just under half (49.4 percent) of those surveyed in a recent poll said they favor broadly removing criminal penalties around substances such as psilocybin mushrooms. When respondents were told that Alaska has particularly high rates of mental illnesses that could potentially be treated with psychedelics, however,\u00a0support for the reform rose to 65 percent<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to see such a positive shift in how people view the use of these plant medicines,\u201d said the Alaska Entheogenic Awareness Council (AKEAC), an advocacy group that published the new poll. \u201cMore people are recognizing the value of these substances in addressing certain mental health conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Congressional Committee Approves GOP-Led Psychedelics Bill Focused On Military Veterans\u2019 Therapeutic Access<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Wikimedia\/Workman<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Alaska House Passes Bill To Create Psychedelics Task Force In Anticipation Of Federal Legalization<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Alaska\u2019s House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved amended legislation that would create a state task force to study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy in the event of federal approval of substances such as MDMA and psilocybin. After adopting a handful of changes to the bill a dayContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74939"}],"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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74940,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74939\/revisions\/74940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Alaska House Passes Bill To Create Psychedelics Task Force In Anticipation Of Federal Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"