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A Texas House committee has amended and advanced a pair of bills designed to ensure speedy access to psychedelic-assisted therapy in the event of federal approval<\/a> from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).<\/p>\n One measure, HB 4014, would establish a state-backed study into the substances and their use to treat conditions such as PTSD and depression. The other, HB 4813, would dictate that substances reclassified under federal law be similarly controlled under state law.<\/p>\n Sponsors have said the bills are intended to work together to minimize delays to military veterans and others who stand to benefit from the potentially life-saving therapy.<\/p>\n The House Committee on Public Health amended both measures prior to reporting them favorably on Thursday of last week.<\/p>\n Among changes to the study bill, from Rep. John Bucy III (D), the revised measure would house the program under the Health and Human Services Commission rather than within the Department of State Health Services, as the bill\u2019s language initially proposed.<\/p>\n The amended three-page measure also removes earlier text that said the state would work in consultation with researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas at Austin\u2019s Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy. And it clarifies that to fund the program, the state \u201cmay solicit and accept federal funds\u201d as well as \u201cgifts, grants, or donations from any source.\u201d<\/p>\n The project would include an assessment of clinical trials and published literature into the efficacy of psychedelics\u2014specifically MDMA, psilocybin and ketamine\u2014as a treatment PTSD, depression and other mental health disorders.<\/p>\n Officials would also review FDA actions around the therapies, evaluate treatment guidelines and make recommendations to eventually ensure legal access for Texas patients.<\/p>\n By December 1, 2026, the commission would need to provide a report to state lawmakers with results of the study as well as \u201cany recommendations for legislative or other action necessary to ensure patient access to psychedelic therapies for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other co-occurring conditions after those therapies are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is going to happen. This is coming,\u201d Bucy said in testimony at an earlier hearing last week. \u201cThis is the study bill to make sure we\u2019re ready when it comes to implement.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill<\/a> would take effect September 1 of this year and expire September 1, 2027.<\/p>\n The other measure favorably reported by the committee at Thursday\u2019s hearing\u2014HB 4813, from Rep. Tom Oliverson (R)\u2014also aims to minimize delay at the state level if and when FDA approves a new drug\u2014such as psilocybin or MDMA\u2014for treatment.<\/p>\n That proposal was also amended by the committee, according to the legislature\u2019s website, although text of the amendment has not been posted. Oliverson, the bill\u2019s sponsor, did not immediately respond to an emailed request from Marijuana Moment for the revised language.<\/p>\n As introduced, the bill<\/a> said that if and when the federal government reclassifies a substance, Texas officials would need to quickly reschedule that drug to align with the change.<\/p>\n \u201cAll we\u2019re seeking to do is to amend statute to accelerate that process for these very promising compounds that have been shown to be very effective in these conditions.\u201d Oliverson told committee members at an earlier hearing on the bill.<\/p>\n He noted that psilocybin and MDMA are both in Phase 3 clinical trials \u201cand are likely to be approved by the FDA, you know, any day now.\u201d<\/p>\n An anesthesiologist, Oliverson said at the time that the goal is to \u201cavoid an unnecessary, lengthy delay\u201d to access to psychedelic therapies in Texas in the event the federal government approves them.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a doctor, I\u2019m just telling you my own personal feeling is I want people to have access to drugs that work,\u201d he said, \u201cand I want them to have access to it as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Also testifying in support of the measure at the earlier hearing was Lynnette Averill, a Baylor College of Medicine professor and director of research at the school\u2019s Menninger Clinic.<\/p>\n Averill said the proposal would build on a measure passed in Texas in 2021\u00a0to study psychedelics as a possible treatment for veterans with PTSD<\/a>, which she said helped make the state \u201ca pioneer in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a bill like this would do,\u201d she said, \u201cis really continue build on the landmark move that Texas made in the 2021 legislative session.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that there are often significant regulatory delays [and] bureaucratic delays, and ultimately what that translates to, in this case, is loss of life,\u201d Averill told the panel. \u201cWe know that that is the reality. We are in a mental health crisis unlike anything we have dealt with previously, and we have to acknowledge that and treat these interventions as the life saving potential that they are, and to do everything in our power to be ready to provide these at a scalable level as soon as we are able.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Meanwhile in the state legislature, a House committee took up a bill last week that would prohibit cities from putting citizen initiatives on local ballots to decriminalize marijuana<\/a> or other controlled substances.<\/p>\n Just two days after\u00a0a Senate version of the measure cleared that full chamber<\/a>, the House State Affairs Committee held a hearing on the companion version from Rep. Jeff Leach (R), with proposed amendments to align both bills.<\/p>\n In the last few years, members, several local governments across the state of Texas have adopted policies and ordinances that are designed to decriminalize controlled substances or instruct law enforcement or prosecutors not to enforce our state\u2019s drug laws,\u201d Leach said, noting that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has filed lawsuits against multiple municipalities where the local reform was enacted.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear why, if\u00a0the attorney general\u2019s lawsuits assert that local decriminalization laws are already prohibited<\/a>\u00a0under statute, the proposed amendments to the code are necessary. But the legislation does appear to escalate enforcement and penalties.<\/p>\n While several courts have\u00a0previously upheld local cannabis decriminalization laws<\/a>, an appellate court comprised of three conservative justices appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has recently pushed back against two of those rulings, siding with the state in its legal challenge to the marijuana policy in\u00a0Austin<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0San Marcos<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, despite the ongoing litigation and advancement of the House and Senate bills, Texas activists have their targets set on yet another city, Kyle, where\u00a0they hope put an initiative before voters to enact local marijuana reform<\/a>\u00a0at the ballot this coming November.<\/p>\n Abbott has lashed out against the municipal cannabis reform efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cLocal communities such as towns, cities and counties, they don\u2019t have the authority to override state law,\u201d\u00a0the governor said last May<\/a>\u00a0\u201cIf they want to see a different law passed, they need to work with their legislators. Let\u2019s legislate to work to make sure that the state, as a state, will pass some of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n He said it would lead to \u201cchaos\u201d and create an \u201cunworkable system\u201d for voters in individual cities to be \u201cpicking and choosing\u201d the laws they want abide by under state statute.<\/p>\n Abbott has previously said that he\u00a0doesn\u2019t believe people should be in jail over marijuana possession<\/a>\u2014although he mistakenly suggested at the time that Texas had already enacted a decriminalization policy to that end.<\/p>\n In 2023, Ground Game released a report that\u00a0looked at the impacts of the marijuana reform laws<\/a>. It found that the measures will keep hundreds of people out of jail, even as they have led to blowback from law enforcement in some cities. The initiatives have also driven voter turnout by being on the ballot, the report said.<\/p>\n Another\u00a0cannabis decriminalization measure that went before voters in San Antonio<\/a>\u00a0that year was overwhelmingly defeated, but that proposal also included unrelated provisions to prevent enforcement of abortion restrictions.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, late last month the Texas Senate approved a bill that cannabis advocates and stakeholders said\u00a0would effectively eradicate the state\u2019s hemp industry<\/a>, prohibiting consumable products derived from the plant that contain any amount of THC.<\/p>\n That, as well as another measure from Rep. Joe Moody (D) to decriminalize cannabis statewide, is one of the\u00a0latest of nearly two dozen cannabis-related proposals filed so far in Texas<\/a>\u00a0for the current legislative session. Various other measures would legalize adult-use marijuana, remove criminal penalties for cannabis possession and adjust the state\u2019s existing medical marijuana laws, among others.<\/p>\n Moody\u00a0sponsored a similar marijuana decriminalization bill last legislative session<\/a>, in 2023. That measure, HB 218, passed the House on an 87\u201359 vote but later died in a Senate committee.<\/p>\n The House had already\u00a0passed earlier cannabis decriminalization proposals<\/a>\u00a0during the two previous legislative sessions, in 2021 and 2019. But\u00a0the efforts have consistently stalled in the Senate<\/a>\u00a0amid opposition from the lieutenant governor.<\/p>\n Trump-Appointed U.S. Attorney Says His \u2018Instinct\u2019 Is Medical Marijuana Dispensary Shouldn\u2019t Be \u2018In The Community\u2019 As He Warns Of Federal Prosecution<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Wikimedia\/Workman<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Texas Committee Approves Amended Bills To Speed Access To Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Upon Federal Approval<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Texas House committee has amended and advanced a pair of bills designed to ensure speedy access to psychedelic-assisted therapy in the event of federal approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One measure, HB 4014, would establish a state-backed study into the substances and their use toContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":81073,"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\/81072"}],"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=81072"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81074,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81072\/revisions\/81074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Texas Committee Approves Amended Bills To Speed Access To Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Upon Federal Approval<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"