On Wednesday, the Texas House of Representatives gave its initial approval to a measure that will establish a study to investigate the treatment of conditions like PTSD and Depression with psilocybin MDMA or ketamine.
Lawmakers voted 98–41 to pass HB 4014, from Rep. John Bucy III (D), on second reading. The measure will be sent to the Senate after a third-reading vote, which is expected in the near future.
This proposal is intended to prepare the state in preparation for the federal approval that supporters believe will come eventually. In its current form, it would create a study program under the state Health and Human Services Commission, which would assess clinical trials and published literature into the efficacy of psychedelics—specifically MDMA, psilocybin and ketamine—as a treatment PTSD, depression and other mental health disorders.
Officials will also evaluate the treatment guidelines and recommend recommendations in order to ensure that Texas patients can access these treatments.
Bucy stated on the House floor that “this bill will ensure Texas is prepared for the safe integration of psychedelic treatments into its healthcare systems,” “ensuring Texans with PTSD and depression have access to affordable and innovative treatment when FDA approves it.”
The commission must report its findings to the state legislature by December 1, 2026. It will also make recommendations to lawmakers on “legislative or other actions necessary to guarantee patient access to psychoactive therapies to treat post-traumatic disorder, depression and co-occurring disorders after these therapies have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.”
Before Wednesday’s voting, House members amended the proposal in order to reinstate text that states the state will work on this project with Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas at Austin Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy researchers. The language in question was deleted last month by way of a change made to the committee’s amendment.
Rep. Tony Tinderholt’s (R) amendment stated that these schools were “leading institutions” in the field psychedelic medical research. They are also well-equipped for this type of study.
He noted that the amendment was requested by the Health and Human Services Commission and “will reduce the costs or fiscal note for this bill more than 50%.”
The bill would take effect September 1 of this year and expire September 1, 2027.
This is what will happen. Bucy, in his testimony last month at another committee hearing, said: “This will happen.” It is just a study bill. We want to be ready to go when the time comes.
Another measure favorably reported by the House Committee on Public Health last month—HB 4813, from Rep. Tom Oliverson (R)—also aims to minimize delay at the state level if and when FDA approves a new drug—such as psilocybin or MDMA—for treatment. This would mandate that substances reclassified by federal law are similarly controlled in state law, “as quickly as possible.”
The House is scheduled to consider the proposal in its initial form on Wednesday.
We are only trying to change the law to speed up this process, as these compounds have shown great promise in these situations. Oliverson had previously spoken about the bill. The bill was previously said by Oliverson.
Oliverson is an anesthesiologist. He said, at that time, the goal was “to avoid an unnecessary and lengthy delay” for accessing psychedelic treatments in Texas, in the event federal approval of them.
He said: “I’m a doctor and I just want to tell you that my personal belief is I would like people to be able to access drugs that are effective, as quickly as possible.
Lynnette Averill – a Baylor College of Medicine faculty member and the director of Menninger Clinic’s research – also testified at an earlier hearing in support of this measure.
Averill said the proposal would build on a measure passed in Texas in 2021 to study psychedelics as a possible treatment for veterans with PTSD, which she said helped make the state “a pioneer in this space.”
Meanwhile last week, a Texas House committee approved a Senate-passed bill that would prohibit cities from putting any citizen initiative on local ballots that would decriminalize marijuana or other controlled substances—as several localities have already done despite lawsuits from the state attorney general.
The proposal would amend state law to state that local entities are not allowed “to place an item, including a charter amendment or municipal charter, on a local ballot which provides the local entity would not enforce fully” the state’s drug laws.
While several courts have previously upheld local cannabis decriminalization laws, an appellate court comprised of three conservative justices appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has recently pushed back against two of those rulings, siding with the state in its legal challenge to the marijuana policy in Austin and San Marcos.
Meanwhile, despite the ongoing litigation and advancement of the House and Senate bills, Texas activists have their targets set on yet another city, Kyle, where they hope put an initiative before voters to enact local marijuana reform at the ballot this coming November.
Also last month, a House panel approved legislation that would to tighten regulations on intoxicating hemp products—a plan at odds with proposals from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican senator and his Senate colleagues favor an outright ban of THC products.
Proponents and stakeholder groups have stated that an outright ban of hemp-derived products would effectively eliminate the state’s industry. This is because they prohibit any THC in these products.
That and another measure from Rep. Joe Moody (D) to decriminalize cannabis statewide are among nearly two dozen cannabis-related proposals filed in Texas for the current legislative session. Other proposals include measures to legalize marijuana for adults, eliminate criminal penalties associated with cannabis possession, adjust existing medical marijuana law in Texas, etc.
Moody sponsored a similar marijuana decriminalization bill last legislative session, in 2023. That measure, HB 218, passed the House on an 87–59 vote but later died in a Senate committee.
The House had already passed earlier cannabis decriminalization proposals during the two previous legislative sessions, in 2021 and 2019. But the efforts have consistently stalled in the Senate amid opposition from the lieutenant governor.
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Images courtesy carlosemmaskype & Apollo.