A Virginia Senate subcommittee has advanced a bill that would help fund clinical trials involving veterans and \u201cbreakthrough therapies\u201d as designated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\u2014including psychedelic substances such as psilocybin and MDMA.<\/p>\n
The measure from Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) would also establish a six-member state advisory council to study and make further recommendations about the therapies, potentially in advance of a broader compassionate use program. A report would be due to lawmakers and the governor by December 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
While the text of the legislation, dubbed the Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, doesn\u2019t explicitly mention psychedelics, Hashmi noted at a hearing Tuesday that FDA has granted MDMA status as a breakthrough therapy for PTSD and designated psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy for certain depressive disorders.<\/p>\n
She called the measure \u201can effort to address crisis points in mental health as well as the trauma that so many of our veterans are struggling with.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are hoping to do with this legislation,\u201d Hashmi told members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health\u2019s Subcommittee on Health, \u201cis to establish a dedicated fund for breakthrough therapies for veteran suicide prevention that would support clinical trials, patient access, as well as training for healthcare professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chair of the subcommittee, Sen. Barbara Favola (D), said immediately after Hashmi\u2019s opening remarks that \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any opposition to the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do like the bill, and there\u2019s so many aspects to like,\u201d she said. \u201cI just think this is a really needed idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Subcommittee members voted to report the bill favorably, with four votes in favor, none opposed and one abstention.<\/p>\n
\nThe bill, SB 1101<\/a>, is an updated version of a similar proposal, SB 229<\/a>, that last year passed out of the Senate but didn\u2019t make it out of the House.<\/p>\n The new bill references the FDA breakthrough therapy designation and the federal Right to Try Act\u2014intended to give patients with terminal conditions the opportunity to try investigational medications that have not been approved for general use\u2014as well as a number of conditions that research shows psychedelics may help treat, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment-resistant depression, major depressive disorder and traumatic brain injury.<\/p>\n It notes that those conditions \u201cdisproportionately impact veterans and significantly increase the risk of suicide\u201d\u2014a point Hashmi also made in her comments Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cVeteran suicide, sadly, remains a crisis with rates that are significantly higher than our civilian population,\u201d she said. \u201cNationally, an estimated 17 to 44 veterans die by suicide or by substance-related deaths every day. That\u2019s an unacceptable number to us.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe reason why I\u2019m so passionate about this legislation is the compelling research coming out of Johns Hopkins as well as research facilities in Texas and in Stanford,\u201d she added, \u201cthat a lot of times, the traditional medications that we have for PTSD, depression and related conditions are either slow-acting or they just fall short and they don\u2019t bring the kind of relief that many of our individuals need.\u201d<\/p>\n Alison Messick, chief programs officer at the Navy SEAL Foundation, testified in favor of the bill and told lawmakers that the proposal \u201coffers an opportunity\u2026not only to mitigate suicide risk, as Sen. Hashmi has mentioned, but also to improve the overall quality of life for our veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy passing this legislation, Virginia can build the infrastructure needed to support this groundbreaking research,\u201d Messick said. \u201cVirginia has consistently shown up for its nearly 700,000 veterans, standing as a leader in providing resources and support. This legislation is an opportunity to build on that legacy and deliver another meaningful advancement in care for those who have sacrificed so much.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates at Reason for Hope\u2014which Hashmi recognized for helping craft the proposal\u2014and the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition said the bill would help Virginia lead the nation in addressing veteran suicides through \u201cinnovative, research-backed treatment options.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy investing in Breakthrough Therapies, Virginia establishes a roadmap for other states to follow, directly improving outcomes for those who have served our country,\u201d the groups said in a factsheet<\/a> about the legislation.<\/p>\n Hashmi has for years been an advocate of expanding legal access to substances like psilocybin to treat depression and PTSD.\u00a0In 2021, for example, co-hosted an event with the advocacy group Decriminalize Nature Virginia to bring attention to psychedelic-assisted therapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that has intrigued me in the process of learning myself is the kind of tremendous research that is available that demonstrates that these particular plant based medicines have the capacity to heal, to help and assist people in ways that other medicines often cannot do,\u201d Hashmi said at the time.<\/p>\n The following year, Hashmi and another Democrat, Del. Dawn Adams, introduced measures to decriminalize the possession of psychedelics among adults 21 and older<\/a>, reducing the penalty from a Class 5 felony to a $100 civil fine. Money collected would have gone to the state\u2019s Drug Offender Assessment and Treatment Fund, which supports substance misuse treatment programs and drug courts. That legislation failed to advance out of committee<\/a> that session.<\/p>\n Hashmi\u2019s new proposal\u00a0would not immediately change state law around psychedelics or other substances designated by FDA as breakthrough therapies. Rather, it would provide funding to clinical trials and other research in an effort to lay the groundwork for further reform.<\/p>\n Money in the so-called Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Fund would also pay for research into optimal methods of treatment as well as safety and efficacy.<\/p>\n The fund would also pay for the establishment of a compassionate use program \u201cincluding data collection and analysis\u201d as well as \u201cpatient access pilot programs,\u201d although the bill\u2019s text doesn\u2019t cover specifically how those programs might eventually function. It does, however, note that if FDA therapies are rescheduled or descheduled under federal law, the state\u2019s Board of Pharmacy would have regulatory control over the substances.<\/p>\n Reason for Hope and the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition said that provision would help with \u201censuring swift availability of lifesaving treatments once federally approved,\u201d adding that the bill\u2019s intended funding for research and training \u201cwill ensured a skilled workforce ready to deliver high-quality care.\u201d<\/p>\n A study last year estimated that as many as 6 in 10 people currently receiving treatment for depression in the U.S. could qualify for psilocybin-assisted therapy<\/a> if the treatment were approved by FDA.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, with Virginia\u2019s 30-day legislative session now underway, a separate Senate committee this week advanced a proposal to legalize and regulate adult-use marijuana sales in the state<\/a>. Even if the legal sales legislation is passed by lawmakers, however, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has signaled he\u2019ll again veto the reform as his did with a similar proposal last year.<\/p>\n That measure, SB 970, is one of a pair of bills introduced earlier this month by Sen. Aaron Rouse (D) and Del. Paul Krizek (D). Last year the two lawmakers presented competing versions of a legal sales framework, ultimately arriving at a compromise that passed the legislature<\/a>\u00a0but was\u00a0vetoed by Youngkin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since the bill\u2019s introduction, Youngkin in his recent State of the Commonwealth address\u00a0emphasized that he has no interest in cooperating with lawmakers to legalize retail marijuana sales<\/a>, claiming that doing so would hurt children, worsen mental health and increase violent crime.<\/p>\n Use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults are already legal in Virginia, the result of a Democrat-led proposal\u00a0approved by lawmakers in 2021<\/a>. But Republicans, after winning control of the House and governor\u2019s office later that year, subsequently blocked the required reenactment of a regulatory framework for retail sales. Since then, illicit stores have sprung up to meet consumer demand.<\/p>\n Also this week, lawmakers introduced legislation reflecting a number of changes recommended by the Virginia State Crime Commission, including a plan to seal all criminal records pertaining to marijuana offenses for simple possession<\/a> and revise the state\u2019s record-sealing process around cannabis paraphernalia crimes.<\/p>\n Following the governor\u2019s veto of the legislature-passed bill last session, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), which focuses on electing Democrats to state legislatures,\u00a0slammed Youngkin for his marijuana reform opposition, saying that he \u201ccontinues to hold Virginia back<\/a>\u00a0and block the progress made by Democrats in control of the legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor last year also greeted less controversial marijuana reforms coldly. Earlier in March, for example, he vetoed a separate proposal that would have prevented the state from using marijuana alone as evidence of child abuse or neglect despite the measure\u00a0winning unanimous or near-unanimous approval in votes on the Senate floor<\/a>.<\/p>\n After that action, Del. Rae Cousins (D), the bill\u2019s sponsor, accused the governor of \u201cturning his back on the needs of our children<\/a>\u00a0and neglecting their well-being by encouraging the courts to move forward with unnecessary family separations.\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, last April, Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Shelton said her agency had received a sufficient number of reports of minors getting sick from cannabis products\u00a0that the commonwealth would create a \u201cspecial surveillance system\u201d<\/a>\u00a0to track the issue.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s New DEA Head Blamed Marijuana For School Shootings And Claimed Rescheduling Push Was Politically Motivated<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Virginia Senate Panel Advances Proposal To Fund Psychedelic Therapy Trials And Pave Path To Broader Reform<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Virginia Senate subcommittee has advanced a bill that would help fund clinical trials involving veterans and \u201cbreakthrough therapies\u201d as designated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\u2014including psychedelic substances such as psilocybin and MDMA. The measure from Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) would also establish a six-member state advisory councilContinue 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\/79848"}],"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=79848"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79849,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79848\/revisions\/79849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Virginia Senate Panel Advances Proposal To Fund Psychedelic Therapy Trials And Pave Path To Broader Reform<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"