On Monday, a Texas House Committee heard testimony about two bills that would prepare Texas to offer rapid access to therapeutic psychoedelics if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved them.
HB4014 is one measure that would set up a collaborative study between the state and university researchers on the treatment of mental health disorders, such as PTSD, depression, or anxiety. The bill would require officials in the Department of State Health Services to issue recommendations to “ensure patient access to psychedelic treatments” after FDA approval.
The second bill (HB 4813) would require that substances reclassified by federal law are similarly regulated under state law.
At the hearing on Monday, members of the House Committee on Public Health listened to sponsors and comments from public speakers but took no action on any bills.
The proposals, according to supporters, would minimize the delays for veterans and other individuals who could benefit from this potentially lifesaving treatment.
This is what’s going to happen. Rep. John Bucy III, sponsor of HB 40014 and a member of the Democratic Party, told reporters that “this is going to happen.” This is the study legislation to ensure we are ready for implementation.
Bucy’s proposal would create a study backed by the state on the use of psychedelics for mental disorders such as PTSD and Depression, with the help of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas at Austin Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy.
The project would include an assessment of 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.
The officials would review FDA action around therapies, evaluate treatment guides and make recommendations in order to ensure that Texas patients could eventually access legal treatments.
In a second report due on December 1, 2026 the DSHS must “recommend legislation or other steps necessary to ensure that patients have access to psychedelic therapy following FDA approval, including considerations regarding provider availability and affordability, accessibility and training, and any other regulatory requirements.”
SB 3005, the companion bill by Sen. Cesar Blinco (D) has also been sent to Senate Health and Human Services Committee. However, it still hasn’t received an official hearing.
On Monday, the House Committee heard HB4813 from Rep. Tom Oliverson, which aims to minimize delays at state level if FDA approves a drug for treatment, like psilocybin.
Oliverson told committee members, “All we are seeking is to amend the statute in order to speed up this process with these compounds which have shown great promise and effectiveness under these conditions.” Oliverson informed committee members.
He stated that MDMA and psilocybin are currently in the Phase 3 of clinical trials. “They are expected to receive FDA approval any moment now,” he said.
The bill states that “as soon as FDA decreases the class of penalty from [Schedule I] to something lower—meaning that providers can prescribe it—that…the DSHS Commissioner will immediately reclassify that drug as soon as is humanly possible.”
Oliverson, a Texas anesthesiologist said that the aim is “to avoid an unnecessary and lengthy delay” in accessing psychedelic treatments in Texas, in the case the federal government approves their use.
As a physician, he stated, “I want to make sure that people have the best possible access to effective drugs.” “I want to ensure they have it as soon as I can,” he added.
Lynnette Averill of Baylor College of Medicine and the director of Menninger Clinic’s research testified on behalf of this measure.
Averill explained that this proposal builds on a Texas law passed in 2020 to investigate psychedelics for treatment of veterans with PTSD. This measure, she added, made Texas a “pioneer in this field.”
She said that a bill of this nature would continue to build upon the historic move Texas made during the legislative session in 2021.
We know there is often significant regulatory delay [and] Averill said that the delays were causing “deaths in this instance.” “We are aware of this reality. This is a new mental health crisis. It’s unlike anything else we’ve seen. So we must accept it and make sure that we do our best to implement these lifesaving interventions at scale as soon as possible.
Rep. Mike Olcott said (R) during discussion about the bill, that he wondered whether there were any ways to change the bill in a way that would “not cede our sovereignty” by simply following federal lead. He suggested that the bill might require an immediate state review after federal action to reschedule, such as within 30 days.
Olcott replied, “Because it sounds like that’s what is holding us up.” It’s just a question of timing, convenience and logistics. But if the requirement was for the people that actually were to take it off here in Texas to meet within a month—or whatever time you think would be short enough—to where it didn’t automatically cede…the same response, necessarily, to the feds.”
In Texas, an appeals court last week sided with state’s lawsuit against the implementation by the city of San Marcos of the local decriminalization of marijuana law that was approved by the voters.
The Fifteenth Court of Appeals of Texas overturned a ruling by a lower state court that refused a temporary injunction preventing the law’s enforcement. In effect, the measure to reform cannabis approved in 2022 by 81 percent of votes is invalidated. The ruling is a blow to activists, who have led efforts to pass local changes in marijuana laws through the ballot. Many of these were challenged by Texas Attorney general Ken Paxton.
Despite ongoing litigation related to past decriminalization ordinances, however, 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.
The Texas Senate also approved, late last year, a measure that advocates for cannabis and industry stakeholders said was intended to eliminate the state’s industrial hemp, by banning any products made from the plant which contain THC.
That, as well as another measure from Rep. Joe Moody (D) to decriminalize cannabis statewide, is one of the latest of nearly two dozen cannabis-related proposals filed so far in Texas for the current legislative session. Other measures include legalizing adult-use cannabis, removing criminal penalties for possession of cannabis, and adjusting the existing state medical marijuana laws.
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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