Oklahoma: GOP Lawmakers File Bills To Decriminalize Psilocybin

Reps. Daniel Pae (R) and Logan Phillips (R) from Oklahoma, filed bills meant to promote research into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin. The proposals are designed to give the legislature different options with similar scientific study objectives, but a key difference is that Pae’s would also decriminalize possession of up to one-and-a-half ounces of psilocybin by making it punishable by a fine, reported Marijuana Moment.

Rep. Pae’s proposal would explicitly authorize research institutes to obtain psilocybin and use it for investigations into treatment efficacy for 10 different conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe depression and opioid use disorder. Eligible institutes would need to obtain a license for the state Department of Health.

Phillips’s bill aims to establish a “statewide investigational new drug applications for psilocybin clinical trials; authorizing physicians to serve as principal investigators for clinical trials under certain circumstances; providing for subinvestigators; directing investigators and sub investigators to adhere to certain rules and regulations.”

Under the new legislation, Oklahoma’s State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control would be authorized to “inspect certain samples; provide guidelines for conducting clinical trials; exempting persons acting in compliance from criminal or civil penalties.” At the same time, the bill would enable the State Commissioner of Health to require clinical trials to comply with certain standards.

“This is plant-based medicine. It grows everywhere,” Phillips told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview. “We don’t need to lock up people because they ate some mushrooms.”

If the studies are facilitated through Phillips or Pae’s bill and show therapeutic value for psilocybin, Phillips said that he could “absolutely” see an opportunity to expand on the reform by establishing a medical program for the psychedelic in Oklahoma.

Photo by Phoenix Han on Unsplash.