Mississippi legislators are considering allowing trials to determine the potential therapeutic benefits of ibogaine, a psychedelic drug used in treating serious mental conditions.
On August 28, a joint hearing between the House and Senate Public Health and Human Services Committees, led by Rep. Sam Creekmore of the House committee’s chairperson (R), will be held.
It is intended to begin a conversation on alternative treatments for those with mental illnesses, especially for veterans suffering from post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) or addiction.
Creekmore said that this hearing is an important part of a “big effort” to help Mississippians recover, heal, and be well.
The chairman stated that the hearings will inform the proposed legislation. This legislation, he explained is in large part based upon a Texas law that was approved by the legislature and became law in June.
The measure is designed to create a research consortium backed by the state that will conduct clinical studies on ibogaine, a potential treatment for mental disorders such as substance abuse. Project’s ultimate goal is to turn the psychedelic drug into a prescribed medication with FDA approval.
Creekmore wrote in a recent Facebook posting: “This is an important first step to take action on the crises our communities and veterans face.
“Rather than restoring quality of life, this pharmaceutical overload contributes to a crisis: More than 6,000 veterans die by suicide each year—including 60 to 65 Mississippians,” he said. “Countless other suffer in silence. They are caught between failing drug strategies and having no alternatives. It’s more than just a medical error. It’s a policy failure—and one we can change.”
“That path forward begins with ibogaine—a plant-derived compound with extraordinary potential in treating opioid addiction, PTSD, and trauma-related disorders,” the chairman said.
Creekmore has said that he would like to see legislation pass to encourage ibogaine-based clinical trials in collaboration with health and university institutions, to reclassify the drug at the federal level, to extend the Right to Try laws of California, and to reject the false binary “pills or prison” for addicts.
“Let us be bold.” Let’s get going. Let’s lead.”
Hearings are scheduled for later in the month, and patients, experts on medical care and veterans will be expected to speak.
The Magnolia Tribune reported that Creekmore said, “This is a hearing to educate people about this procedure which they may not be familiar with and answer their questions.”
During an interview on SuperTalk Mississippi, the chairman explained that former President Richard Nixon’s drug war mission meant a “wide swath of psychotropic drugs” were placed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act “without a whole lot of studying this—and ibogaine got caught up in that.”
But this is an actual solution to the problem. He said, “We have been fighting for a long time.” I mean, there are veterans in Mississippi who suffer, mental illness is so common in America, this can help.
Although it is yet to be determined whether or not the conservative Mississippi state legislature will support the Chairman’s push for reform of the ibogaine laws, the topic has seen significant advancement in recent years both in blue and red states. The issue has also been a hot topic in Congress where both parties have tried to simplify research and improve access to therapeutic psychedelics.
A powerful Senate Committee recently passed a bill with an attached report encouraging increased research on psychedelics.
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also working with the head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Doug Collins, to advance psychedelics-assisted therapy for military veterans, and he projected that eligible candidates will see expanded access to the novel treatments within the next year.
A GOP-controlled House committee in June separately approved an amendment attached to a must-pass defense bill that would require a “progress report” on an ongoing psychedelic therapy pilot program for active duty military service members and veterans.
While Congress has been notably amenable to psychedelics research proposals in recent sessions, the House Rules Committee on Monday separately blocked a bipartisan amendment to a spending bill led by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) that would have given DOD another $10 million to support clinical trials into the therapeutic potential of substances such as ibogaine and psilocybin.
Image courtesy Flickr/Scamperdale
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