Virginia Senate Reconsiders Psychedelics Legalization: A Green Light To Rescheduling Bill

Not all is bad news for psychedelics in Virginia. After House lawmakers stalled a bill for the medical use of psilocybin in severe mental health cases, an education and health subcommittee approved another bill calling for the state-level rescheduling of psilocybin and establishing an advisory board for its use.

The bill, which needs to go to the full committee, would simply move psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule III.

While SB932 would not allow for immediate access to psilocybin as therapy, it would establish an advisory board that will be in charge of planning the set up of legal access to psilocybin services, tracking and studying federal laws, regulations and policies regarding the psychedelic.

The 12-member board would report its findings to the governor and legislature by December 1 of each year.

On the other hand, if psilocybin were moved to Schedule III under state laws, possession would move on to be a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable with a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of up to $2,500 as compared to the current Schedule I classification that calls for a felony status with up to 10 years in prison.

Specialized cannabis and psychedelics lawyer Joshua Kappel told Benzinga that considering Virginia’s conservative nature, the “more tailored approach” of delimiting psilocybin use to patients suffering from difficult mental health conditions instead of creating a whole new system seems adequate. 

“Rescheduling to a schedule that requires a prescription and medical supervision is not uncommon for Schedule III substances. Ultimately though, many people use psychedelics for optimizing human wellness, and thus removing psychedelics from being scheduled is the smartest path forward to provide access to all adults who may benefit from these medicines,” Kappel said.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Good luck images and Cannabis_Pic on Shutterstock.