Colorado Senate passed the House approved bill which would permit a prescription of a form psilocybin if federal approval is granted.
The Senate, after approving the bill in January from Reps. Anthony Hartsook and Kyle Brown as well as Sen. Dafna Michealson Jenet in a vote of 25-9 this month. The bill now goes to the Governor’s desk.
Jared Polis (D) signed into law in 2022 regarding the medical dispensing and use of MDMA, this bipartisan bill would empower doctors to prescribe drugs containing crystalline polymorph psilocybin. Jared Polis, (D), signed the bill into law for 2022, regarding medical use and dispensing of MDMA. The bipartisan legislation would allow doctors to prescribe drugs that contain crystalline polymorph Psilocybin pending federal reform.
Colorado has already approved psilocybin for use by adults over 21 years of age through an initiative that was approved on the ballot. However, the reform recently passed by the legislature would allow drugs synthesized using a psilocybin crystalized form to be available with a physician’s prescription.
According to the findings section of the bill, treatment-resistant depressive disorder is a serious public health problem. Clinical trials have shown that psilocybin “reduces depression scores for patients with treatment resistant depression significantly when compared to placebos”.
“The general assembly declares it in the interest of Colorado residents that mental health professionals have the capability to administer crystalline polymorph-psilocybin in order to treat treatment-resistant depressive patients if the federal [Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] It says that the FDA has approved it as a prescription drug.
Psilocybin would still be listed as a controlled substance under state statute—with the nuance that state law permits adults to cultivate and possess certain amounts of the raw mushroom. But this bill would create an additional carve out exempting crystalline polymorph psilocybin from the definition of the psychedelic.
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As of January, meanwhile, Colorado regulars have been authorized to approve licenses for psilocybin service centers where adults can access the psychedelic in controlled settings.
The governor signed a bill to create the regulatory framework for legal psychedelics in 2023.
Legislators are clearly interested in allowing a conventional distribution system for some psychedelics. In 2022, Polis also signed a bill to align state statute to legalize MDMA prescriptions if and when the federal government ultimately permits such use.
It is uncertain whether FDA will move forward with such approvals. In fact, last year the agency was criticized after it rejected an application for MDMA therapy to treat PTSD.
Colorado’s bill to limit THC content in marijuana, and ban psilocybin and other psilocybin derivatives will not be considered this year after the primary sponsor decided to withdraw it.
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Dick Culbert provided the photo.
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