Nevada Assembly amended and advanced the joint resolution passed by the Senate, calling for Congress to reschedule some psychedelics and streamline research. It also called on Congress provide protections for those who use these substances according to state law.
On the chamber floor on Thursday, lawmakers voted 36-6 to advance the measure—SJR 10, from Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D)—which now returns to the Senate to consider changes made in the Assembly.
This resolution calls for the Federal Government to reschedule DMT, Ibogaine, Mescaline, MDMA, Psilocybin and psilocin to reflect their therapeutic benefits, the low risk of abuse, and the safety of use of these compounds under medical supervision.
This article points out the federal development on this issue. The Food and Drug Administration has designated certain psychedelics “breakthrough treatments” and there is research funded by both the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate these substances.
The measure urges Congress to increase funding for further research, establish a “streamlined process for approving and conducting research with psychedelic compounds,” and reschedule psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline and MDMA under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
It also calls for “legal protection from federal prosecution of individuals or entities that comply with state laws concerning the controlled adult use of psychoactive compounds, and requires states to form research partnerships under the Controlled Substances Act with the Attorney-General to study public health outcomes.”
Assembly members passed a committee’s amendment days in advance of floor approval. The brief change clarified that those using psychedelics only under supervision by a facilitator are protected.
Nguyen’s change is the one that will be implemented. proposal The now calls on Congress to protect individuals and entities that comply with state and local laws regarding the The supervised “Adult use of psychoactive compounds.”
The word “supervised”, which was removed by an earlier amendment, is now added back into the text.
Members of the Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections adopted a new amendment. advanced Measure was voted on by voice during an earlier work session.
Nguyen stated that on the Senate Floor last month the proposal “puts forward the argument” that certain research trials and therapeutic tests have proven promising results when it comes to the use of the substances for disorders such as post-traumatic shock disorder, certain depression disorders, and other conditions.
“The measure notes the low abuse potential for classic psychedelics and highlights their safety in therapeutic session settings,” she said, adding that “SJR 10 expresses Nevada’s continued support for expanded research opportunities…and urges Congress and the appropriate federal agencies to increase related funding” for psychedelic medicines.
Before the Senate vote on the floor, Nguyen’s amendments were adopted by a Senate committee to clarify the statistics that had been cited and to expand the language of federal protections so as to also include local protections.
A separate Nevada Assembly Committee passed last month a bill for a pilot program that allows certain patients to access psilocybin and other psychedelics such as DMT, mescaline, DMT or ibogaine.
If enacted, the program would allow the medically supervised use of psychedelics among military veterans and first responders with certain mental health conditions.
The Assembly Health and Human Services Committee took public testimony on the bill in March, hearing from reform advocates, veterans and their families and members of a state Psychedelic Medicines Working Group, which late last year called on lawmakers to establish a system for regulated access.
Max Carter, Assemblymember (D), measure’s sponsor, was among several Nevada legislators who participated in a recent psychedelic policy summit and expressed optimism that the state could make progress toward legalizing therapeutic use of the substances in the coming year.
Carter joined Nguyen in a discussion panel organized by the Nevada Coalition for Psychedelic Medicines. Both lawmakers were members of the state Psychedelic Medicines Working Group that in December issued a report calling on the legislature to create a program for regulated access to psychedelic-assisted therapy.
In 2023, Nguyen sponsored legislation that would have legalized psilocybin and promoted further research into the drug, as well as encouraged studies of MDMA—but the was significantly scaled back in a Senate committee to examine the use of entheogens “in medicinal, therapeutic, and improved wellness” and develop a future plan for regulated access. It ultimately became the vehicle that created the state psychedelics working group.
In the legislature of the state, legislators are also considering a bill that allows people who have been convicted in the past for marijuana possession to be foster parents if the amount they were found guilty of is now allowed under the law.
A conviction for the possession, distribution, or use of any controlled substance disqualifies a prospective foster parent.
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Photos courtesy of Wikimedia/Workman.
