A bill seeking to open up access to psychedelic-assisted therapy for Virginia veterans appears doomed after its passage through a House committee was unanimously opposed on Monday by its members, voting to table it for further discussion until next session.
House Committee on Rules has taken an 18-0 vote and decided against further consideration on SB 1101, proposed by Senator Ghazala Hashmi of Delaware (D).
Under its most recent iteration, this bill would have established a six-member state advisory council charged with studying and making recommendations regarding treatments using U.S. Food and Drug Administration-designated breakthrough therapies such as psilocybin or MDMA.
Virginia’s full Senate passed this proposal unanimously earlier this month with no votes cast against it (on a 40-0 vote), yet when it arrived in the House Rules panel for discussion or consideration they immediately shelved it without discussion or debate.
Hashmi first proposed his bill last month as creating a fund that would assist veterans undergoing clinical trials of breakthrough therapy treatments; however, an amended Senate committee substitute eliminated references to that fund altogether and left only references related to setting up the advisory council as being present in it.
“That specific substitute really reduces the bill to establish, within the Department of Health, a Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Advisory Council,” Hashmi explained before February 3 Senate floor voting.
Hashmi and supporters of her bill said it would help address what they considered an emergency regarding veteran’s mental health in Virginia, with its large veteran population.
Hashmi expressed to Senators on the Senate floor, “it remains an alarming crisis of veteran suicide, with rates significantly higher among veterans than among civilians. Given our high veteran community here in Virginia, this legislation is especially necessary,” according to Hashmi’s remarks on the floor of the chamber. Hashmi noted research from Johns Hopkins showing psilocybin treatment effective for many issues veterans are dealing with.
Last year’s proposal (SB 229) also passed the Senate but never made its way out of the House chambers.
Last week, lawmakers unanimously passed legislation that would legalize retail recreational marijuana sales within Virginia’s borders and submit it for signature to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). But according to reports out of Virginia this month, Youngkin has already announced his intent to veto these bills just like last year when similar proposals passed from lawmakers were sent for his signature.
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Should the proposal become law, adults 21 or over could purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana from licensed, state-regulated retailers.
Virginia lawmakers passed a Democratic-sponsored legislation legalizing use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults back in 2021; however, following Republican gains on both Houses in later that year they blocked required regulations that were supposed to regulate retail sales; since then unauthorized stores have sprouted to fill consumer demand; some estimates estimate their illegal market to be valued at nearly $3 billion!
Virginia lawmakers recently advanced bills that would seal records related to marijuana, including moving its implementation date forward by two years (to July 1, 2026, in order to allow Virginia State Police time to implement any changes.). Staff indicated this move could help facilitate legislation.
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Photo Courtesy Wikimedia/Mushroom Observer.
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