A Virginia Senate subcommittee has advanced a bill that would help fund clinical trials involving veterans and “breakthrough therapies” as designated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—including psychedelic substances such as psilocybin and MDMA.
Ghazala Hahmi’s (D) measure would establish a state advisory board of six members to review and provide further recommendations on the treatments, possibly in advance a larger compassionate use program. By December 1, 2026, a report will be submitted to the lawmakers and Governor.
The text of the bill, titled the Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act (BTVSPA), does not mention psychedelics explicitly. However, Hashmi stated at a Tuesday hearing that the FDA had granted MDMA the status of a breakthrough treatment for PTSD, and designated psilocybin a breakthrough drug for certain depression disorders.
She described the initiative as an effort “to address the mental health crisis as well as trauma that so may of our veterans struggle with.”
Hashmi said that the purpose of this bill was to set up a dedicated funding source for innovative therapies in veteran suicide prevention. The fund would be used to support clinical trials and patient access as well as healthcare professional training.
Hashmi said that the chairwoman of the subcommittee was Sen. Barbara Favola, a Democrat. She immediately stated after Hashmi’s remarks: “I don’t believe there are any objections to the bill.”
She said, “We like this bill and it has so many positive aspects.” I just believe this is an idea that’s really needed.
Subcommittee Members voted for the Bill to be reported favorably with four votes in favour, zero against, and one abstention.
SB 1101, a bill similar to SB 229 that passed last year in the Senate, but not the House, has been updated.
The new bill references the FDA breakthrough therapy designation and the federal Right to Try Act—intended to give patients with terminal conditions the opportunity to try investigational medications that have not been approved for general use—as well as a number of conditions that research shows psychedelics may help treat, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment-resistant depression, major depressive disorder and traumatic brain injury.
It notes that those conditions “disproportionately impact veterans and significantly increase the risk of suicide”—a point Hashmi also made in her comments Tuesday.
“V“Sadly, veteran suicide remains a major crisis, and the rates are higher than in our civilian population,” said she. According to estimates, 17-44 veterans are estimated to die every day by suicide or drug overdose. “That’s an unacceptable amount to us.”
She added that the research from Johns Hopkins, Texas, and Stanford, as well as other research centers, has shown that traditional medication for PTSD and depression is either slow acting or it doesn’t work. It does not provide the relief many people need.
Alison Messick, chief programs officer at the Navy SEAL Foundation, testified in favor of the bill and told lawmakers that the proposal “offers an opportunity…not only to mitigate suicide risk, as Sen. Hashmi has mentioned, but also to improve the overall quality of life for our veterans.”
Messick stated that Virginia could build an infrastructure to support the groundbreaking research by passing this bill. Virginia is known for consistently providing resources and assistance to its 700,000+ veterans. The legislation represents an opportunity to continue that legacy, and provide another significant advancement in the care of those who have made so many sacrifices.
Advocates at Reason for Hope—which Hashmi recognized for helping craft the proposal—and the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition said the bill would help Virginia lead the nation in addressing veteran suicides through “innovative, research-backed treatment options.”
The groups stated in a document about the bill that “by investing in Breakthrough Therapies Virginia sets a blueprint for other states, improving directly outcomes for those who served our nation.”
Hashmi, a long-time advocate for expanding access to drugs like psilocybin as a treatment for depression and PTSD, has been promoting this cause since the early 1990s. For example, in 2021 co-hosted a event with Decriminalize Nature Virginia, to raise awareness about psychedelic assisted therapy.
Hashmi explained that the research on plant-based medicine has shown that it can heal people, help them and provide assistance in ways which other drugs cannot.
In the following year, Hashmi, along with another Democrat from Delaware, Del. Dawn Adams proposed measures that would decriminalize possession of psychoactive substances by adults over 21. The penalty was reduced from a Class 5 crime to a civil fine of $100. The money collected was to be donated to the Drug Offender Assessment and Treatment Fund of California, which funds substance abuse treatment programs and drug court. The bill failed to pass out of the committee in that session.
Hashmi’s new proposal would not immediately change state law around psychedelics or other substances designated by FDA as breakthrough therapies. The funding would go to research and clinical trials to prepare the way for future reform.
The money in the “Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Fund” would be used to pay for both research and development of optimal treatment methods, as well as their safety and effectiveness.
This fund will also be used to establish a program for compassionate use, “including data analysis and collection,” as well as pilot patient-access programs. However, the actual text of the bill does not cover how the programs may eventually operate. The bill does note, however, that the state Board of Pharmacy will have control of substances if FDA treatments are deschedule or rescheduled by federal law.
Reason for Hope said the provision “would ensure swift availability once federal approval is granted of lifesaving therapies.” The Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition added the funding for research, training and education “will assure a skilled work force ready to deliver quality care.”
In a recent study, it was estimated that 6 in 10 Americans currently treated for depression would be qualified for psilocybin therapy. This is if FDA approves the treatment.
A separate Senate Committee this week, as Virginia’s 30 day legislative session is now in full swing, advanced a plan to legalize adult-use cannabis sales and regulate them within the state. Even if lawmakers pass the legislation allowing legal marijuana sales, Governor. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican from Washington state, has indicated that he will again veto this reform.
SB 970 is a measure that was introduced by Senator Aaron Rouse and Delegate Paul Krizek earlier in the month. Paul Krizek (D). Last year the two lawmakers presented competing versions of a legal sales framework, ultimately arriving at a compromise that passed the legislature but was vetoed by Youngkin.
Since the bill’s introduction, Youngkin in his recent State of the Commonwealth address emphasized that he has no interest in cooperating with lawmakers to legalize retail marijuana sales, claiming that doing so would hurt children, worsen mental health and increase violent crime.
Use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults are already legal in Virginia, the result of a Democrat-led proposal approved by lawmakers in 2021. After Republicans gained control over the House of Representatives and the Governor’s Office later in the year, they blocked the requirement to reenact a regulatory structure for retail sales. In response to consumer demand, illegal stores have been opened since then.
This week lawmakers also introduced legislation that reflects a number changes recommended by Virginia State Crime Commission. These include a plan for sealing all criminal records related to marijuana offenses if the crime is simple possession, and revising the process of record-sealing in the state around crimes involving cannabis paraphernalia.
Following the governor’s veto of the legislature-passed bill last session, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), which focuses on electing Democrats to state legislatures, slammed Youngkin for his marijuana reform opposition, saying that he “continues to hold Virginia back and block the progress made by Democrats in control of the legislature.”
In the past, the Governor also treated less controversial reforms to marijuana with coldness. Earlier in March, for example, he vetoed a separate proposal that would have prevented the state from using marijuana alone as evidence of child abuse or neglect despite the measure winning unanimous or near-unanimous approval in votes on the Senate floor.
Del. Rae Cousins (D), the bill’s sponsor, accused the governor of “turning his back on the needs of our children and neglecting their well-being by encouraging the courts to move forward with unnecessary family separations.”
Separately, last April, Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Shelton said her agency had received a sufficient number of reports of minors getting sick from cannabis products that the commonwealth would create a “special surveillance system” to track the issue.
Trump’s new DEA head blamed marijuana for school shootings and claimed that the rescheduling push was political motivated