Psychedelics Update: Task Forces In Three States, Decrim No-Go, Arizona Psilocybin Centers, Utah And More

State-level psychedelics policy reform keeps moving forward throughout the U.S. Below is a recap of the moves that took place in the first two weeks of March (see the previous recap.)

Also Read: Indiana Governor Signs Health Bill Including State Funds For Psilocybin Research

• Maryland: On March 15, the Senate's Finance Committee unanimously approved SB 1009. The bill would create a psychedelics task force to study and make recommendations toward a potential regulatory framework that ensures "broad, equitable and affordable access" to psychedelic substances, starting with psilocybin, psilocin, DMT and mescaline (non-peyote derived) and potentially broadening the list. 

Committee legislators replaced the original language from Sen. Brian Feldman (D) with an amended companion House bill HB 548, which cleared the full House of Delegates, and then advanced it on a voice vote, Marijuana Moment reported.

The new "Task Force on Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances" would be supervised by the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA). Members would have to examine and make recommendations on issues like permitting requirements -including those regarding education and safety – access to treatment and regulated support and production of natural psychedelic substances.

The task force would also have to look into expunging prior convictions for psychedelics and releasing people incarcerated for such offenses, and make recommendations on potential civil penalties for "nonviolent infractions involving the planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, or possessing of or other engagement with natural psychedelic substances."

Counterpart bill HB 548 was approved, with amendments (details by Marijuana Moment), by the full House on third and final reading in a 136-1 vote on March 13 and sent to the Senate.

The crossover deadline in the legislature is Monday, March 18, so senators will need to move quickly if they want the chamber's measure to pass alongside the House measure.

• Alaska: The House State Affairs committee took testimony on HB 228, a proposal creating a Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force in advance to federal rescheduling of these substances on March 14, reported Marijuana Moment.

The task force would study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Jennie Armstrong (D) said the new body "will not consider or take a position on the medicalization, decriminalization or legalization of psychedelic medicines." 

Rather, it would "create a set of policy recommendations for the next legislature [the 34th] to consider in advance of the almost 99.9 percent certain medicalization of certain psychedelic medicines by the FDA so that we can be prepared when that happens." 

A report from the group with recommendations would be due by end-2024. It shall include necessary regulations or changes in the state "for Alaskans to safely benefit from these new treatments for mental health issues such as treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder and other mental health issues common in Alaska," Armstrong said, further noting that the state has "the highest share of veterans per capita and one of the highest suicide rates in the nation."

Senate counterpart also Democrat-led SB 166 was referred to the chamber's Rules committee on March 7. 

• Vermont: 2023-introduced S.114 faced a public hearing on the Senate's Health and Welfare committee on March 12 and, following amendments, passed committee on March 15.

The original measure called for the removal of criminal penalties for possessing, dispensing, or selling psilocybin (aka psilocybin decriminalization,) and the establishment of a state Psychedelic Therapy Advisory Working Group. In the Senate committee, the first part of the bill was removed.

• Arizona: On March 12, the House HHS committee advanced SB 1570, a Senate-passed bill legalizing psilocybin service centers. If enacted into law, the state's Human Services Dept. would be enabled to license psilocybin-assisted therapy facilities for the psychedelic's administration by trained facilitators starting January 1, 2026. 

The new Arizona Psilocybin Advisory Board, with members representing different governmental, scientific and societal sectors, would have to establish training criteria for the center’s staff, make recommendations for the law's implementation, and study the scientific and policy advances related to psychedelics. 

By July 31, 2025 and every year after, members would submit a report on the status of "medical, psychological and scientific" studies into psilocybin's safety and efficacy and a "long-term strategic plan" on ensuring that psychedelic-assisted therapy remains "safe, accessible and affordable" to people 21 and older.

Medical directors of these centers would need to complete at least 132 hours of training under an approved program, involving lessons on the historical and traditional use of psychedelics, safety and ethics, facilitation skills and preparation, administration and integration, reported Marijuana Moment.

The Human Services Dept. would need to promulgate rules for the program, but it would be barred from requiring specific eligible conditions for participation in psilocybin services. Regulators could also license psilocybin centers carrying out clinical trials that could lead to an  FDA-approved drug.

Separately, GOP-led HB 2274 providing firefighters and certified peace officers diagnosed with PTSD with workers’ compensation coverage including MDMA-assisted therapy also moved fast: first introduction in the House on Jan. 16, the measure faced three readings and finally passed the chamber on Feb. 22 when, sent to Senate, it was assigned to the Rules committee and read for a second time on March 4. It is now pending on the Senate Government Institutions Committee. 

Companion bill SB 1677 passed the Senate’s majority and minority caucuses on Feb. 27, and after a third reading and an amendment to the original text, it was sent to the state's House on March 14. The measure now will not become effective unless on or before December 31, 2025 the FDA approves the use of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of PTSD – a similar amendment to the one made to its House counterpart back in February.

• Utah: GOP-led SB 266 was approved by the state's Senate and House and sent to Governor Spencer Cox’s desk on March 12. The bill would allow for psilocybin and MDMA therapy to be administered at hospitals within an alternative treatments pilot program.

The proposal comes some two years after Gov. Cox signed into law a bill that created a task force to study and make recommendations on psychedelics' therapeutic potential and possible lawful use regulations, reported Marijuana Moment.

The new proposal calls for regulated access to two types of healthcare state systems: a privately owned, non-profit healthcare framework with at least 15 licensed hospitals, or within medical programs operated by higher education institutions.

This, provided the to-be-developed behavioral health treatment program "is supported by a broad collection of scientific and medical research," the bill reads.

Hospitals establishing a psychedelics therapy pilot program would need to submit a report to the legislature on which substances are being used, patients’ healthcare outcomes and any reported side effects by July 1, 2026.

If enacted into law, the legislation would take effect on May 1, 2024, and expire after three years.

Rep. Raymond Ward (R) said the bill raises "some pretty big philosophical questions," referring to the fact that drugs are only made available to patients following approval from the Food and Drug Administration, noted Marijuana Moment. 

Psilocybin and MDMA have not yet been approved by the FDA, but have been designated by the federal agency as "breakthrough therapies." MDMA is closer to potential federal approval, as the agency is weighing on MAPS' application.

The FDA approval process "can be pretty slow—and oftentimes it results in products that are just really, really expensive when they do come on the market. The bill is proposing, really, an alternate pathway," Ward said.

• Connecticut: Democrat-led HB 5297 decriminalizing possession of small amounts of psilocybin faced a lengthy public hearing at the Joint Judiciary committee on Wednesday, March 6, where it still stands as first referred on Feb. 26, 2024.

Under the bill, possession of fewer than 1.5 ounces of the natural psychedelic would not be a class A misdemeanor; rather, the first offense would imply a $150 fine and a subsequent one shall begin at $200 and run over $500. 

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Alexander_Volkov and canbedone on Shutterstock.