Missouri officials are asking for expert assistance as they prepare to award $5 million to study whether psilocybin can help treat opioid use disorders and curb overdose deaths.<\/p>\n
In a memo posted on Monday, the state Department of Mental Health asked contractors to help the agency develop competitive grants for the psychedelics project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis [request for information] is to allow the opportunity for vendors to provide us with ideas, suggestions, and other relevant information as it relates specifically to opioid related research and its ability to treat addiction of opioids,\u201d the memo says.<\/p>\n
Eventually the goal is to develop a request for proposals on psilocybin-related opioid research.<\/p>\n
The grant program is the result of HB 2010, a spending bill that included a $5 million allocation from the state\u2019s opioid settlement fund to study opioid overdoses. Initially the provision was for twice that amount\u2014$10 million\u2014and was was briefly earmarked to study ibogaine as a potential treatment rather than psilocybin.<\/p>\n
The line was later amended to focus on psilocybin, but before its final passage, all references to the specific substances were removed.<\/p>\n
As passed by lawmakers, the line is ambiguous. The section once said the money was \u201cto study ibogaine and its ability to treat opioid addiction,\u201d which was later changed to say it was \u201cto study psilocybin and its ability to treat opioid addiction.\u201d In its final form, the measure<\/a> says the money is \u201cfor opioid research and its ability to treat opioid addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless, the Department of Mental Health is giving money out with a focus on psilocybin.<\/p>\n \u201cThe purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to obtain written feedback from the vendor community for use in preparation of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for procurement of Opioid Related Research of Psilocybin for the State of Missouri,\u201d the new document says.<\/p>\n Here are the questions asked on the request<\/a> for information:<\/p>\n Respondents must submit their replies by the end of October.<\/p>\n Eapen Thampy, a lobbyist and founder of the group Psychedelic Missouri who supported the ibogaine provision, said that \u201cat the end of the day, it is a very exciting thing that Missouri is looking to understand what role psychedelics may play in solving substance use crises, including opioids.\u201d<\/p>\n But he emphasized that he\u2019d still like to see further investigation into what role ibogaine can play.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to be exploring pathways to fund ibogaine research as a breakthrough therapy for opioid use disorder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n HB 2010 was sponsored by Rep. Cody Smith (R), The short-lived addition of ibogaine, meanwhile, was the doing of Rep. Chad Perkins (R), a longtime police officer.<\/p>\n Smith, who also brought the subsequent amendment that replaced ibogaine with psilocybin, previously explained that the ibogaine proposal was nixed as the result of a conversation he had with the state Department of Mental Health.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had concerns about the ibogaine research they had read, and there are concerns about the dangers involved in that research,\u201d Smith\u00a0said. \u201cHowever, they are interested in the psilocybin piece. And we\u2019ve seen many other states use their opioid settlement funds to that end.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, Perkins said he was \u201cnot disappointed\u201d with the change.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that bringing more exposure to the benefits of psychedelics has been an ancillary effect of the pursuit of this budget item,\u201d he told Marijuana Moment. \u201cThis issue will hopefully raise the profile of psychedelics and provide a foundation on which we can base future policy decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n As for ibogaine, a Stanford University study published earlier this year found that military combat veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) saw \u201cdramatic\u201d and \u201clife-changing\u201d improvements in their symptoms and cognitive functioning<\/a> immediately after receiving treatment with the substance. In response to the increased demand for research, DEA has proposed a dramatic escalation in the production quota for ibogaine and other psychedelic compounds<\/a>\u00a0in 2024.<\/p>\n Meanwhile in Missouri, marijuana employers are embroiled in a legal challenge over workers\u2019 effort to unionize, with St. Louis-based Beleaf Medical cannabis company contending that their employees are agricultural workers and thus don\u2019t have a right to organize<\/a>.<\/p>\n Allegations are also continuing that predatory entrepreneurs took advantage of social equity-eligible applicants for business licenses<\/a> in the state\u2019s marijuana program in order to secure control of the industry.<\/p>\n Top Congressional Democrats Push DEA To \u2018Swiftly\u2019 Reschedule Marijuana And \u2018Continue To Assess\u2019 Full Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Wikimedia\/Mushroom Observer<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Missouri Is Supporting Research On How Magic Mushrooms Can Treat Drug Addiction With $5 Million In Opioid Settlement Funds<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Missouri officials are asking for expert assistance as they prepare to award $5 million to study whether psilocybin can help treat opioid use disorders and curb overdose deaths. In a memo posted on Monday, the state Department of Mental Health asked contractors to help the agency develop competitive grants forContinue 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],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78110"}],"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=78110"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78111,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78110\/revisions\/78111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Missouri Is Supporting Research On How Magic Mushrooms Can Treat Drug Addiction With Million In Opioid Settlement Funds<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"