An initial Senate hearing on a proposal for the establishment of a therapeutic psilocybin programme in New Mexico took place Tuesday. All lawmakers voted unanimously to support it.
Members of the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee voted 10–0 in favor of SB 219, known as the Medical Psilocybin Act. Patients with qualifying conditions could access and use the drug under the supervision of licensed healthcare providers if the bill is passed.
The therapy would include a session of preparation, a session for administration and an integration session afterward.
“Psilocybin in mushrooms is a natural substance that has been found…to be medically efficacious for a variety of treatments,” the measure’s lead sponsor Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D), told committee members at the hearing. The bill would create a medical program run by the Department of Health that is very limited and very thought out.
He said that “the proposal has been developed at every stage with the participation of the Department of Health.”
The text of the bill states that its goal is to “allow the beneficial use of psilocybin within a regulated medical system in order to alleviate qualified medical conditions,” such as major treatment resistant depression, PTSD and substance abuse disorders, or end-of life care. Additional conditions could be approved by the state Department of Health.
A license would be issued to producers who wish to produce mushrooms or psilocybin. Under the proposed legislation, synthetic psilocybin as well as its analogues would be prohibited.
It would be the responsibility of the state department of health to develop guidelines on training, for both clinicians as well as producers. These should include dosage, settings approved for administration, protocols for production and storage, and any other best practices.
A nine member advisory board will make recommendations on additional qualification conditions, as well as regulations around dosage and preparation. This board would also consider petitions from outside for new qualifying conditions.
Steinborn said that the process would take a few years, or two and a half, to complete. The department would then create an advisory panel of medical experts. This rule-making will determine the best dosages, licensing requirements, approved providers, production guidelines, and training practices.
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 to offset treatment costs. A medical psilocybin fund will provide grants for research on “any aspect of the medical uses of psilocybin.”
In terms of costs, the bill would appropriate $2 million from the state general fund to the Department of Health in order to administer the program, while an additional $1 million each would go to the new research and equity funds.
Steinborn said to the members of the panel: “It’s a very different product from cannabis. The people would not be issued cards. This is not a program for recreation. they would not even use it under this program…unless it was a hospice situation, on their own. The use of the product would have to be under medical supervision.
There are five sponsors listed on the 18-page legislation, which includes four Democrats as well as one Republican.
Martin Hickey, a doctor and co-sponsor, who spoke also at the hearing on Tuesday, referred to psilocybin as “almost equivalent” to penicillin and antibacterials in its ability treat mental disorders and drug addiction.
While some patients have gone to foreign countries to obtain psilocybin-assisted therapy, Hickey said that “we have got to find effective ways—not just with people who can maybe go to Jamaica or Peru or whatever—to have these experiences and these models. We have to figure out a solution so that everyone is able to access the therapy.
He called New Mexico a “state addicted to alcohol” and noted that the alcohol consumption per capita was the highest of the nation, while the alcohol-related death rate is twice the national average.
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Denali Wilson is also a New Mexico ACLU staff attorney who testified for the bill.
Wilson stated that research from the leading institutions shows that individuals with serious, resistant conditions can benefit long-term by psilocybin-assisted treatment. This gives hope to those who are suffering. This bill creates a structured and regulated program of psilocybin treatments, which ensures patients can access this miraculous treatment under medical supervision.
Steinborn explained that the technical amendment was adopted to fix a clause that had unintentionally caused a dispute over the legality of the psilocybin.
It will now be sent on to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Steinborn, who announced the bill late last month said the proposal was “a carefully-designed framework that will allow the Department of Health (to) establish a medical program to treat psilocybin usage.”
The New Mexican Minister of Health said: “It is important that New Mexicans are able to access every treatment available for severe behavioral health problems. And this therapy has proven results, offering new hope for the people who need it.”
Republican senator Craig Brandt said that he was “excited” to be able offer the New Mexicans this groundbreaking medical treatment.
He said that medical psilocybin was effective at treating traumatic head injuries, depression, and post-traumatic disorder (PTSD). As a vet, I hope that this new option in medicine will help my fellow veterans.
Hickey called SB 219 a “groundbreaking piece of medical legislation in the field of mental health and drug addiction”, when it was introduced.
In a press release, he stated that “it is similar to the discovery of antibiotics.”
Rep. Liz Thomas said (D), on the House’s side: “By establishing a tightly-regulated state-run treatment program, alternative treatments can be provided to patients who are not responding to standard therapy in a secure, controlled setting.”
We owe people suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental disorders that are debilitating to try promising new treatments, like psilocybin, the legislator added.
Rep. Stefani Lady (R) agreed, saying that lawmakers “owe New Mexicans the duty to investigate the therapeutic potential of Psilocybin”.
Lord stated that “research has shown that psilocybin, when used with a licensed therapist, can have positive effects for people suffering from depression or PTSD. It reduces fear and anxiety and disrupts negative thought patterns, resulting in long-term symptom reduction in a short period of time.”
Andrea Romero, D, added: “Psilocybin is revolutionizing the mental health care industry, giving hope to those who are battling anxiety, depression and PTSD.” New Mexico leads the way in innovative treatment, and this bill sets a precedent for science-based care that is compassionate.
New Mexico’s lawmakers and Governor passed a resolution last year. 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. The measure was not furthered in 2023.
This year, a number of other state legislatures are set to consider psilocybin reforms, including New York, Washington State, Missouri, Rhode Island and Nevada.
Meanwhile in New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is 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.
In a separate decision, commissioners in New Mexico’s largest county, which has the most residents of all counties combined approved details on a policy to end testing for marijuana and penalizing most employees who use it outside of work hours. Bernalillo County in New Mexico, which includes Albuquerque, is the first county to adopt such reforms following legalization in the state in 2021.
Psilocybin-Assisted therapy has been found to be effective for treating Methamphetamine dependence, according to a new study.
Image courtesy Wikimedia/Workman
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