Missouri Bill would allow the therapeutic use of psychedelics

People with major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder would be allowed to use natural psychedelic drugs like psilocybin under a bill recently introduced in the Missouri state legislature. The measure, HB 2850, was introduced by Representative Tony Lovasco at the Missouri House last month.

Under HB 2850, people with treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, or a terminal illness could use psychedelics derived from plants or fungi. The measure would include the substances dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine, mescaline (excluding peyote), psilocybin and psilocyn, according to a summary of the legislation. The law allows patients to acquire natural psychedelic drugs and use them in a healthcare facility, their place of residence, or a primary caregiver’s home.

Elaine Brewer, founder of the Humble Warrior Wellness Center, says the bill would offer a new treatment option for people struggling with mental illness. As a military wife, she said she faced extreme depression and fear for the safety of her husband, who was serving in Afghanistan.

“I was constantly worried that my family would be next knocking on the door,” Brewer told the Riverfront Times.

After therapy, yoga, meditation, medication, and other treatment options failed to bring relief, Brewer took a wellness retreat in Mexico, where she first tried psilocybin and MDMA. The effects, she said, were immediate.

“It was like 10 years of therapy in two days,” Brewer said.

But lawmakers are skeptical about the legislation. At a legislative hearing, many determined that psilocybin is a federally controlled Schedule 1 substance.

“It’s just absurd to me,” Lovasco said. “When you look at things that are clearly proven safe, there’s no reason not to let people try it.”

Others said they felt more research was needed before the therapeutic use of psychedelics would be approved.

“As a psychiatrist, I have major concerns,” MP Lisa Thomas said. “There aren’t enough studies, and even many of the studies that have been conducted in their conclusions admit that there isn’t enough research and we don’t know how these interact with other drugs.”

Psychedelics research continues

However, research into psychedelics continues to grow. This week, a team of researchers from the University of California San Francisco and Imperial College London released a study that reveals a possible mechanism by which psychedelics like psilocybin may treat depression and other psychiatric disorders characterized by rigid thought patterns.

“The effect seen with psilocybin is consistent across two studies and relates to people’s improvement and has not been seen with a traditional antidepressant,” Robin Carhart-Harris, the study’s lead author, said in a statement from UCSF. “In previous studies we’d seen a similar effect in the brain when people were scanned while taking a psychedelic, but here we’re seeing it weeks after treatment for depression, suggesting a ‘carry over’ of the acute drug effect.”

David Nutt, director of the Imperial Center for Psychedelic Research, noted that psilocybin could offer a new treatment option for patients who have not made progress on other medications.

“For the first time, we’re finding that psilocybin works differently than traditional antidepressants — it makes the brain more flexible and fluid and less locked into the negative thought patterns associated with depression,” Nutt said. “This supports our initial predictions and confirms that psilocybin could be a real alternative approach to treating depression.”

Ginger Nicol, a practicing psychiatrist and researcher at Washington University, told the Missouri lawmaker that ongoing research could dramatically transform the treatment of serious mental illness.

“If the results of the smaller studies that have been done carry through into our larger studies, it will likely be a revolution in mental health and psychiatric pharmacology,” Nichols said.

As written, HB 2850 would only benefit people with treatment-resistant depression or PTSD and those with terminal illnesses, although patients could petition the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to add other conditions.

“The idea here is that you have to start somewhere,” Lovasco replied. “We’re just saying, ‘Look, when we’ve got it decriminalized in certain quantities, under certain conditions and under certain circumstances, not only does that open the door to moving this conversation forward, but hopefully getting some of the data that a lot of people are after search for.'”

The legislation was referred to the House Health and Mental Health Committee, which held two hearings on HB 2850. However, the bill is not currently on the House of Representatives calendar for further action.

“I don’t think it’s very likely to get signed into law this year because it’s a very new issue for Missouri,” Lovasco said. “We definitely need to start the conversation and work towards something that we can reach consensus on.”