Alaska legislators have introduced two bills that would create a task force to study and make recommendations on psychedelic policies, including frameworks and licensing for therapeutic practitioners.
On Monday, Sen. Forrest Dunbar and Rep. Jennie Armston (both Democrats) presented identical versions of the bill.
The bills would create an Alaska Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force within the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. The group would consist of experts in psychiatry, mental health and other fields.
If any psychedelics are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, members would be required to assess the potential therapeutic use of psychedelics in mental health treatments, the barriers to access and the “licensing and coverage requirements” for practitioners.
The state would also have to consider “legal and regulatory pathways for the legalization and public health effects of psychedelic drugs in the State.”
The task force would be composed of the state commissioners for health, veterans affairs, and commerce or their deputies. The bills stipulate that the task force must also include a mental-health expert, a representative of Alaska Native communities, psychiatrists, health-focused professors at the University of Alaska, and legislators appointed by House and Senate leaders.
bills state that members must meet four times at least before submitting findings and recommendations by December 31st 2024 to the legislature.
As interest in psychedelic drugs has grown, and as researchers continue to push for FDA approval for drugs like MDMA and Psilocybin, a number of states are moving to create similar bodies.
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FDA is actively evaluating a new drug request for MDMA to treat post-traumatic disorder (PTSD). As the agency weighs the application, new standards from the American Medical Association (AMA) have officially taken effect that assign psychedelics-specific codes to collect data on the novel therapies.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently released a call for applications to to conduct in-depth studies on the use of psychedelics as a treatment for PTSD and depression.
A Republican California lawmaker has filed legislation to create a workgroup in the state to explore a regulatory framework that will allow therapeutic access to psychedelics such as psilocybin or ibogaine, and ultimately allow health professionals administer certain psychedelics.
Massachusetts officials separately certified that activists had submitted enough valid signatures to force legislative consideration of an psychedelics-legalization initiative, before the measure could potentially head to the state’s ballot in 2024.
Last month, Nevada psychedelics advocates said they had “productive” meeting with the Republican Governor’s Office about forming a taskforce under a law passed last year to inform future reforms–including possible legalization plant-based medicine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), this month , confirmed that the spores from psychedelic mushroom are federally legal before germination as they do not contain psilocybin and psylocin.
Fifth Michigan City approves local psychedelics decriminalization resolution
Image courtesy of Workman.
The first time Marijuana moment published the post Alaska Lawmakers File Psychedelics Bills to Create Psychedelics task Force To Explore Legalization Frameworks and Therapeutic Uses.
