Last week at a House committee hearing in New Hampshire, one Republican lawmaker shared her personal reasons for supporting legislation legalizing psilocybin, detailing her longstanding battle against cluster headaches that the psychoactive substance is thought to treat.
Rep. Kathleen Paquette (R) of Ohio spoke out in support of Rep. Kevin Verville (R), who introduced legislation which would remove criminal penalties for adults 21 and over possessing, purchasing, transporting, using psilocybin mushrooms.
Paquette stated her support of this legislation stems from personal experience: her medical condition could potentially be treated by using psychoactive substances as part of its therapy regime.
“Today I want to share something deeply personal that affects me deeply; something I usually only share with those closest to me,” stated lawmaker Jahi McShane. “I want to show all of you my pain; my true self.”
Trigeminal cephalalgia, also referred to as cluster headache, causes intense, excruciating pain that tends to cycle and come in clusters,” explained she. When in her cycle, “I experience unbearable attacks of burning, stabbing pain behind my eye that are so intense I cry out in agony as the attacks come back again and again – eventually leading me down onto the floor in sobbing fits and eventually ending in me clutching my head sobbing in agony before sobbing myself asleep by vomiting my stomach contents.”
Psilocybin may help alleviate chronic headaches for many individuals like her by interrupting and preventing headache cycles, said she. Psilocybin may do this through its actions on inflammation in the brain, alter pain perception and reset neural pathways which disrupt these cycles.
“Even small doses of non-hallucinogenic, microdoses–sometimes only one!–have proven successful at increasing remission periods or stopping cycles completely in their tracks,” Paquette explained. Even just a single dose has the power to give someone relief that’s been lacking for years or decades; to restore dignity; and most importantly save lives.”
“I ask for you to please consider passing House Bill 528–at the very least make an attempt at making it work–so people like me won’t have to choose between living our lives legally and breaking laws,” she stated.
Verville defended his proposal before Paquette testified by noting how legalizing psilocybin for adults represents a drug policy “compromise” which he hopes his colleagues would embrace.
Another committee member questioned why he only presented legalization measures pertaining to psilocybin rather than making more comprehensive legislation available that legalized therapeutic uses of multiple psychedelics like previously suggested by him.
Verville stated that he knows pushing for broad reform is “a big bite”, with people being sympathetic but failing to cast votes in his favor; therefore he rolled this initiative back this year to only address psilocybin-specific measures.
“My dream of medical psychedelics available to the masses is my goal for that day to arrive.” There have been proven medical benefits from taking these substances for depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome and addiction; indeed psychedelics could even help address addiction at an unprecedented level of success.
This bill, however, should serve as the start of an honest and open dialogue regarding healthcare costs in this nation.
Verville explained that his strategy involves anticipating that his bill on psilocybin will fail early on during this two-year session so as to be in position for another shot with follow up legislation next year.
“If there’s cake to be had and two chances to eat it, then taking both is always worthwhile,” he stated. “Like in a pie eating contest; if I could finish eating my piece in one bite then that would be preferable than nibbling away at this piece; after all this is what’s important!”
“While I may not propose one myself next year, there will certainly be people that do that are worthy bills that you will see coming forward next year,” he stated about therapeutic psychedelic proposals. He requested the committee not give this issue too little weight by giving advice that is impossible or time consuming to legislate – knowing full well there will likely be one coming forward soon enough.
“If this bill passes by God’s will and we experience an increase in mushroom usage here, I commit that I’ll be first in line to come back before this committee and propose common-sense legislation to rein it back in,” said Smith. He went on to point out that illegal drugs such as LSD are readily available across 50 states for very reasonable black-market prices; so prohibition has no real affect.
Verville recently presented legislation before another New Hampshire House committee that proposed creating a therapeutic psychedelic program similar to what exists for medical marijuana use. Unfortunately, that bill failed and neither committee considered moving it forward.
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Image by Kristie Gianopulos.
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