A bipartisan California Senate Committee has passed a bill that will create a pilot psilocybin program for veterans of the military and first responders.
Around a week following the unanimous approval of the first Senate committee, the Education Committee has passed the legislation from Sens. The Education Committee passed the measure from Sens. Brian Jones and Josh Becker with 6-0 on Wednesday. Next, the bill will be sent to Senate Appropriations Committee.
“A few years ago, if you had told me I’d be involved in advocating for the use of psilocybin, you would have thought I was crazy—and I would have thought you were crazy for me thinking I was going to do it,” Jones said before the vote.
He said, “I was ignorant of this untapped potential, as were many others. These compounds can help veterans and first responders who are struggling with mental health problems related to trauma.”
The veterans and first-responders of our country have requested this treatment. It is only fair that we give it at least a test run, in a safe, restricted manner, using qualified doctors and researchers from the top universities around the globe. California is home to these two institutions, so we should take full advantage by passing the bill.
As amended by the Senate Health Committee last week, the proposal would create a pilot project that would be overseen and administered by the University of California system. The UC would then be asked to develop “psilocybin service” in partnership with licensed medical clinics for patients who qualify in five counties in the state.
Universities would be in charge of “protocol development, institutional review boards approvals, training psilocybin-facilitators, data collection and reporting”, of the pilot program.
The state will also create a Veterans and First Responders Research Pilot Special Fund, with continual funding to support the project.
In the findings section, it is stated that, “[e]merging studies suggest that, when used under controlled conditions, psilocybin, and psilocyn can be effective in treating certain mental health problems, including those related trauma or stress.”
It states that “Psilocybin must be made available to former first responders and veterans in a way that guarantees safety, effectiveness, and ethics standards. This includes use under proper supervision.”
The bill, SB 751, states that UC would be requested to “compile and submit the pilot program outcomes, data analysis, and recommendations from the university partners” into a report that would need to be submitted to the legislature by January 15, 2030.
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California legislators have found it difficult to pass psychedelics legislation in the past few years. There were both victories and losses for stakeholders and advocates.
Last year, for example, a Senate committee effectively killed a bill to legalize psychedelic service centers where adults 21 and older could access psilocybin, MDMA, mescaline and DMT in a supervised environment with trained facilitators.
It was drafted to respond to the concerns expressed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in 2023 when he vetoed a broader proposal that included provisions to legalize low-level possession of substances such as psilocybin.
Meanwhile, Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R), the lead on the Assembly side, sponsored a separate psychedelics bill last session focused on promoting research and creating a framework for the possibility of regulated therapeutic access that has moved through the Assembly last year with unanimous support.
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Dick Culbert is the photographer.
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