North Carolina Senators of both political parties have submitted a bipartisan bill authorizing the establishment of a task force for the state to investigate and provide recommendations regarding the availability of alternative therapies in order to deal with serious mental conditions.
This legislation, which was introduced by Sens. The legislation from Sens.
As part of its responsibilities the North Carolina Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force must evaluate “the use of psychedelics in addressing North Carolina’s continuing mental health crisis,” as well as “barriers for implementation and equal access.”
The committee would be tasked with making recommendations and assessing “licensing and coverage requirements” for state practitioners if psychedelic drugs are reclassified and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
According to the bill, “the task force should also consider the possible effects that psychedelics may have on the public’s health and legal pathways leading to their legalization in the State.”
Chitlik said to MEDCAN24 that he wanted “to make sure we are both proactively promoting the mental and physically health of our Veterans and people who have suffered complex trauma, and also encouraging research and developments. We want to ensure that we take advantage of technology and medical innovations that are happening.” That’s the real goal behind this bill. “I see this bill as both a measure to improve mental health and as an economic step for our area.”
“I think that caring for our veterans is about as bipartisan and universal an issue as you can possibly get—not just in our state, but in our country,” she said. It was then that I began to believe hearts and mind changed when people heard from veterans themselves who were going through this kind of trauma.
Although the task force could be established and given various tasks, it would not be legally enforceable until the government department decides to do so, something that the statute says “may”.
Chitlik stated that the wording was deliberate, since the bill, as it is currently introduced, would not allocate funds. This serves as “a signal” to agencies of the state “that the General Assembly wishes to know more about this and encourages them to investigate this.”
She said that the goal is to “make it more bipartisan, and easier to implement.”
Should state officials institute the task force, it would need to be comprised of 13 members—including representatives of state departments of health, veterans affairs and commerce, four people appointed by legislative leaders in both chambers and various health experts.
The bill was approved by a North Carolina House Committee two years ago. It created a grant program of $5 million to fund research on the therapeutic potentials of psilocybin, MDMA, and to establish a Breakthrough Therapies Research Advisory Board. This measure, however, was never implemented.
In North Carolina, the Speaker of the House said recently that state Republicans may be willing to look at medical marijuana legalization during this session.
Last month, a poll found that 71 percent of likely voters in North Carolina support legalizing medical marijuana in the state, with majorities across party lines and in every surveyed demographic—aside from people over the age of 80—in favor of the reform.
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MEDCAN24 has been tracking the hundreds of bills relating to cannabis, psychedelics or drug policies that have passed through state legislatures as well as Congress in this past year. Patreon members who pledge at least $25/month gain access to interactive maps, charts and a hearing calendar.
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In recent years, lawmakers failed to advance medical marijuana legalization despite repeated attempts. At the beginning of this year, however, a top GOP state senator said there’s “an opportunity” to advance medical marijuana legalization this session, adding felt it should be coupled with legislation to impose restrictions on unregulated intoxicating hemp products.
Senate Pro Tempore Phil Berger, (R), said that “it appears that there’s a chance to deal with the medical cannabis issue” as well as the hemp-derived compounds such as Delta-8 THC which are currently being sold.
Last summer, the state Senate did approve a bill that would legalize medical marijuana—but it stalled out in the House once again.
According to a new study, nurses sleep better when using CBD-infused pillows.
Image courtesy Wikimedia/Mushroom observer.
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