Kentucky allocates $42 million to psychedelic research

Kentucky will allocate tens of millions of dollars to support psychedelic research as part of its fight against opioid addiction, the state announced Wednesday.

At a press conference hosted by the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, Attorney General Daniel Cameron outlined the commission’s plans to explore new treatment options for people suffering from an opioid use disorder. This commitment includes the allocation of more than $40 million to psychedelic research.

“We can’t keep losing over two thousand Kentuckians [to addictions] every year,” said Cameron, quoted by Psychedelic Alpha.

In the announcement, the commission said its proposal includes “investigating new treatments to reverse the chemical effects of opioid addiction, including opioid withdrawal.”

“Kentucky must overcome the opioid epidemic by any means necessary,” said Bryan Hubbard, chairman and executive director of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (KYOAAC). “As we begin the next phase of our fight against this crisis, we must explore every treatment option that shows breakthrough therapeutic potential. Our goal is to explore creating a new standard of opioid addiction treatment so that we can finally end this cycle of pain in the Commonwealth.”

At Wednesday’s press conference, Hubbard said: “In the coming months, the Commission will explore the possibility of allocating no less than $42 million over the next six years to create public-private partnerships that enhance, support and drive development Ibogaine throughout the FDA approval process,” says Psychedelic Alpha.

The money comes from a $26 billion settlement reached last year between several state and local governments and some of the country’s biggest drug companies over their role in creating the opioid epidemic.

The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission was formed last year and is tasked with distributing the more than $842 million awarded to the Commonwealth under last year’s settlements.

“The commission consists of nine voting and two non-voting members, and includes stakeholders from the prevention and treatment community, law enforcement and victims of the opioid crisis, among others,” reads the commission’s website.

The settlement settled “more than 4,000 claims from state and local governments across the country,” according to Cameron’s website, and was “the second-largest multi-state settlement in U.S. history, second-largest after the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.”

“Preliminary details of the settlement were first announced on July 21, 2021 and after careful consideration, Attorney General Cameron signed the settlement on behalf of the Commonwealth. He was joined by a broad coalition of states and subdistricts in both settlement agreements, one with opioid maker Johnson & Johnson and another with three pharmaceutical distributors: AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson,” the website said.

“The two settlement agreements require distributors and J&J to pay billions of dollars to stem the opioid epidemic, totaling $26 billion over 18 years, with approximately $22.7 billion available for opioid containment.”

Cameron appointed Hubbard to head the commission last year.

At Wednesday’s press conference, Hubbard expressed the urgency of stemming the tide of the epidemic.

“We must overcome the opioid epidemic by any humanitarian means necessary,” Hubbard said, quoted by Psychedelic Alpha. “Our history demands it.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Drug overdose deaths increased nearly 30% from 2019 to 2020 and have increased fivefold since 1999.”

“Nearly 75% of the 91,799 drug overdose deaths in 2020 were opioid-related. From 2019 to 2020, there were significant changes in opioid-related death rates, according to the CDC.