The Nevada Assembly Committee has approved the Senate-passed bill to create a working group that will study psychedelics, and develop a plan for regulated access to therapeutic purposes.
In less than a fortnight after the Senate passed the bill, the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee approved the legislation by Sen. Rochelle (D). The bill now moves to the Assembly floor where it could be discussed as soon as this weekend. It may even end up on the governor’s desk.
Nguyen informed committee members that constituents first raised the topic with her.
She said, “The people who come to you don’t look like they came out of Woodstock…they are first responders.” “They are firefighters and police officers. They are veterans. These are not the people you think of when talking about psychedelics or mushrooms.”
The Nevada Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association and representatives of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department testified before the Assembly panel in support of this legislation.
We need to support this. We should not be in the middle or at the back of the pack. It’s something that will happen, and we need to support it. “I worry about being behind if this bill does not pass.”
The measure was introduced with the intention of legalizing psilocybin, promoting research on the psychedelic and encouraging studies of MDMA — , but it has been significantly reduced by a Senate Committee.
The revised bill now focuses on forming a Psychedelics Medicines Working group to examine the use entheogens in “medicinal, therapeutic and improved wellbeing.”
During an initial hearing of the committee in March the sponsor acknowledged that legislation was likely to be amended . She stated that she was open to changes, and that her primary goal in initiating a discussion in the legislature on psychedelics is to be receptive to change.
The bill, as it is currently drafted would establish a 15 member working group under the Department of Health and Human Services of the state. This group will be tasked to study the science of psychedelics, “including but without limitation” psilocybin and psilocin, in the treatment of mental disorders such as PTSD and substance use disorder and for end-of-life care.
The group will also need to examine federal, state, and local laws that govern the therapeutic use of psychoactive compounds and develop an “actionable” plan to allow access to therapeutic entheogens, compounds, and substances…that are affordable, safe, and accessible.
The report would have to be submitted to the legislator by December 31, 2024.
The members of the working group will include the Attorney General, Director of HHS, Director of Veterans Services, and President of the Nevada Board of Pharmacology or their designees. The majority and minority leader of each chamber would appoint four additional members. The governor will appoint seven more members that meet certain criteria.
The Governor would have to choose a veteran who has personal experience using psychedelics for treating post-traumatic disorder, as well as a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist with experience in substance abuse treatment. He also needs to pick a researcher registered with the federal government and a representative from a Nevada tribe.
Scot Rutledge of Argentum Partners told Marijuana Moment: “We are grateful for the committee’s positive vote this afternoon, and we look forward to the Assembly voting in favor over the weekend.” We are happy to see that this important working group continues to receive bipartisan support, given the dynamics of the session.
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Nevada has joined a growing number of states that are reforming psychedelics this session, as the interest in entheogenic drugs’ therapeutic potential grows.
The governor of Minnesota , for example, recently signed a bill with provisions that create a task force to study psychedelics and prepare the state to legalize them.
The Senate passed a bill last week that would legalize possession of certain psychedelics as well as facilitate the use of these substances.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed a law last week to create a regulatory structure for legal psychedelics in accordance with a voter initiative.
A North Carolina House Committee approved a bill last month to create a grant program of $5 million to support research on the potential therapeutic benefits of psilocybin, and to create a Breakthrough Therapies Research Advisory Board.
The governor of Washington State signed a bill to encourage research into psilocybin, and to create a pilot program to provide therapeutic access for mental health treatments to the psychedelic.
The Nevada legislature has also passed a resolution calling on Congress to legalize marijuana at the federal level.
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