New Mexico Senate passed a bill establishing a therapeutic program for psilocybin in the state.
The Senate approved the bill from Jeff Steinborn, a Democrat, on Wednesday with a vote of 33-4. It will now be sent to the House of Representatives.
The Medical Psilocybin Act, if passed, would permit patients who meet certain conditions to use the psychedelic under the supervision of licensed healthcare providers.
Steinborn, who spoke on the Floor, said: “I am now friends and acquaintances with many combat veterans and physicians and other providers, as well as practitioners and clinicians, who care for patients suffering from end-of life anxiety.” “This bill seeks to create a carefully calculated, thoughtful and patient program that would be developed by the Department of Health…to allow patients in a medical setting.”
This is totally different than cannabis. He said that it could only be used in medical settings by licensed professionals. Sometimes it’s as good as a single treatment and can provide long-term relief for the people who are suffering.
The sponsor said that they “recognize the need to continue research so that we can have the best programme here where the Department of Health makes the best decisions available on dosage, medical setting and other factors.”
Sen. Jay Block is himself a vet and he said that he initially was “adamantly against” the reform. However, after learning more about the “right-to-try” policy, it has helped him to understand this issue better. He cried during the Senate discussion, as he recognized veterans and other people who have since been told that the psychedelic has helped them.
On the floor, Sen. Katy Huhigg’s (D) amendment was approved to clarify the fact that the use of psilocybin that has been federally approved would be permissible under state law. But that these products wouldn’t be further regulated.
This amendment also would remove the requirement for the Department to develop “qualifying criteria” for clinicians and producers, and add a member of the health care industry to the advisory council that would be formed by this bill. It would also strike redundant language that was described by the sponsor.
According to the measure, its goal is “to allow for the use of psilocybin as a beneficial treatment in a regulated medical system” including severe, resistant depression, PTSD and substance abuse disorders. Additional conditions could be approved by the state Department of Health.
The therapy would include a session of preparation, a session for administration and an integration session afterward.
State Health Departments would have to establish training guidelines, such as dosage, acceptable settings for administration and production protocols, storage and handling, etc., for both clinicians, producers and others. The state officials will also issue licenses to producers who wish to cultivate mushrooms or process psilocybin.
Under the proposed legislation, synthetic psilocybins and their analogs would be prohibited.
Nine-member advisory boards will recommend rules and regulations regarding preparation, dosage, and additional conditions. This board would also consider petitions from outside for new qualifying conditions.
SB 219 will also establish two state funds. The medical psilocybin equity fund will help qualified patients meet the income criteria set by health departments offset treatment costs. The medical psilocybin treatment equity fund will issue grants in support of research that explores “any aspect” of the use of psilocybin for medical purposes.
The initial bill allocated to the Department of Health $2 million in the State General Fund to run the program. Additional $1 million was to be distributed to both the research and equity fund.
A Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee amendment removed the amount of the budget from the bill. Steinborn said that another bill would provide $2 million if the law is passed.
In the same amendment, a representative with experience was added to the advisory board.
Steinborn explained that the technical amendment was meant to fix a clause that had unintentionally caused a dispute over the legality of the psilocybin.
While the Judiciary Committee approved an amended to make it clear that psilocybin services providers are not subject to criminal prosecution in relation to their work relating to psychedelics but they can still face medical malpractice lawsuits.
The sponsor of the bill announced the proposed legislation in late January. He said the plan “creates an carefully designed framework that will allow the Department of Health (to) establish a medical program to treat psilocybin usage.”
He said that it was important to ensure New Mexicans had access to all available treatments for behavioral health issues. This therapy, which has been proven effective, offers hope for people in desperate need.
In the meantime, Republican Sen. Craig Brandt(R), who sponsored this bill in New Mexico, said he is “excited about being able to provide New Mexicans with this revolutionary medical treatment.”
He stated that “Medical Psilocybin has proven to be an effective treatment for traumatic head injuries, PTSD depression and other mental conditions.” “I’m a veteran and I am hopeful that the new medical treatment will be helpful to other veterans,” he said.
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New Mexico legislators passed and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) endorsed, a resolution requesting that state officials research the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and explore the creation of a regulatory framework to provide access to the psychedelic.
The prior year, the House Health and Human Services Committee passed a bill that called for the creation of a state body to study the possibility of launching a psilocybin therapy program for certain patients. This measure, however, did not progress further during the session of 2023.
Meanwhile in New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are urging a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit from licensed marijuana businesses that claim the agencies have been unconstitutionally seizing state-regulated marijuana products and detaining industry workers at interior checkpoints.
Separately late last year, the commissioners of New Mexico’s most populous County approved policy details for a plan that would stop testing government employees and punishing them if they used marijuana outside work hours. Bernalillo County, where Albuquerque is located, appears to be the first public body in the state to implement such a reform following the state’s legalization of cannabis in 2021.
A New Mexico House committee passed recently a law that protects medical marijuana users in New Mexico from having their off-duty cannabis use penalized by employers. The Senate also approved a companion bill.
Nevada Lawmakers file bill to create a psychedelics therapy pilot program
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