Virginia Subcommittee Approves Psilocybin Retermining Bill

Virginia Sen. Ghazala Hashmi’s Senate Bill 932 was recently passed in the Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Jan. 25 on the importance of approving psilocybin for patients.

“Mr. Chairman, this is SB-932, which addresses the issue of helping our parishioners who need medication to address PTSD and depression issues, but the other medications aren’t really helping them and aren’t helping them take care of their critical needs,” Hashmi said at the meeting. “Last year I introduced legislation to decriminalize psilocybin, which has been shown to be very effective in treating PTSD and depression, particularly among our military veterans. There is growing compelling research from Johns Hopkins [University], from Stanford, to demonstrate how effective the product is in treating these particular problems. There are many states that have already moved to decriminalize psilocybin with good and effective results.”

The bill proposes the establishment of the Virginia Psilocybin Advisory Board, which will assume full responsibility for creating a “long-term strategic plan to create therapeutic access to psilocybin services and to monitor and investigate federal laws, regulations and policies related to psilocybin.” would. It would also hold the Advisory Council accountable by setting an annual deadline of December 1 of each year to report to the Governor and the General Assembly on “its activities and recommendations.” Finally, it would reclassify psilocybin from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III substance if accepted.

In addition, the bill would direct the governor to appoint 12 members to the board, including a mycologist, a clinical researcher and other public health and safety officials.

Currently, possession of a Schedule I substance, such as psilocybin, is a Class 5 felony, which can result in up to 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine. Under SB-932, psilocybin would be a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.

On Jan. 18, the Senate House of Justice subcommittee voted against passing House Bill 1513, another bill that also sought to create a regulatory framework for psilocybin to treat conditions such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. This was done by Virginia Del. Reintroduced Dawn Adams after a previous iteration failed in 2022.

The psilocybin legislation really picked up steam in 2022, and this momentum will continue into 2023.

California Senator Scott Wiener introduced Senate Bill 58 in late December to decriminalize psilocybin and other herbal psychedelics, which was not passed. In Connecticut, House Bill 5102 aims to allow psilocybin for therapeutic use. Rep. La Shawn Ford, introduced as House Bill 0001 on January 12, would regulate psilocybin in Illinois. Missouri Congressman Tony Lovasco introduced House Bill 869 last week, an updated version of his bill last year that would allow psilocybin therapy. New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari’s 2022 bill, Bill S2934, is being pushed back to 2023 to attempt to decriminalize psilocybin and introduce extinguishing measures. Other laws will also be introduced in Minnesota, Montana and New York. Even legislators in Oregon, where two ballot measures were approved by voters to legalize psilocybin in 2020, continue to submit new bills to refine and improve the state’s psilocybin law.

Most states will have legalized psychedelics between 2034 and 2037, according to a study published in December 2022 by the American Medical Association. “Further consideration should be given to important health care issues such as: B. establishing (1) standards for drugs procured outside of the healthcare facility, (2) eligibility criteria for prescribing physicians and therapists, (3) clinical infrastructure and billing infrastructure, (4) potential contraindications, (4) potential contraindications, and (5) use in special populations such as adolescents, older adults and pregnant women.”