The Alaska House panel first considered a proposal on Tuesday that would create a task force in the state to investigate how to legalize, regulate and promote the therapeutic use psychedelics. Supporters say the change is meant to prepare the state for a federal rescheduling substance such as MDMA or psilocybin.
The committee did not take any formal action on HB 228. However, some members expressed their skepticism regarding the necessity of the task force and the issue at hand: psychedelic assisted therapy.
Sponsor Rep. Jennie Armstrong told the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee members that the bill’s topic may sound “quite provocative,” but it is actually quite a staid one.
She said, “We’re asking for a taskforce to be convened to make policy suggestions to the next legislative session in advance of FDA medicalizing some psychedelic drugs.” “We don’t take a stance on decriminalization, or ask the state, or the taskforce to do this. It’s more about licensing and regulation.”
Armstrong says that if psychedelics are approved by the federal government, it is prudent to prepare for the implementation of psychedelic therapy.
Armstrong explained that the state was going to have to make these decisions anyway, but because they have such a large impact on the state and I believe it would be cheaper to have a group of experts come together in advance to do this, we feel a taskforce is needed.
Last month, lawmakers who support the bill filed it in the House and Senate . A Senate committee first heard the Senate’s version last week.
At the hearing, Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a member on the Senate panel said, “Crucially this bill doesn’t legalize anything.” It creates a task force to solve problems in anticipation of federally legalizing certain substances in controlled medical environments.
The Alaska Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force would be established under the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. The group would include government representatives, experts in mental healthcare and psychiatry.
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.
Armstrong introduced a few amendments that were made to a substitute committee report, which was adopted by the members. The changes were a few minor tweaks to the statement of purpose of the bill and the composition of the taskforce. The bill also eliminates travel expenses for task force members, and sets the expiration date to January 2025 instead of January 2027 as per the original legislation and the current Senate Bill.
Armstrong told the panelists it was “highly probable” that the FDA would begin approving the first psychedelics in August. He pointed out that other states such as Oregon and Colorado have already legalized therapeutic use of psychedelics at the state-level and started licensing.
Armstrong stressed that “what we’re proposing is the most conservative thing,” noting that the “policy recommendations” that the task force would make would only be implemented if the FDA approved these prescription medicines.
She added, “This medicine could have a huge impact on our state because we have some the highest rates of mental illness, addiction, and violence, as well as the largest number of veterans.” We are a state that is poised to have a high number of citizens who could potentially be candidates for this kind of therapy.
Rep. Andrew Gray, who asked a few questions about the bill and had several concerns, asked why it was necessary to create a taskforce around psychedelics since many other pharmaceuticals were approved by the federal government on a regular schedule.
Armstrong responded that unlike other medications, psychedelic assisted therapy is not something patients can simply take and then let the beneficial effects occur in the background. She said that therapists and other professionals who are trained in the field are essential to the process. In one application, patients take MDMA three separate times in three eight-hour sessions with a primary monitor and a therapist.
She said, “You do not take this medicine and then go home.” You’re in an extremely prescribed setting.
Gray also asked whether the state can issue licenses or regulations to the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he claimed the “vast” majority of veterans in the State receive care.
Armstrong stated that she believes “about six or Seven Different Insurance Groups in Our State” Cover Veterans, including VA Medicaid, Medicare, and other Programs.
She said that the task force would be examining all of these different insurance groups to see what they are able to achieve and what levers or options they have for each. “You may be right, but I am not familiar with the way the VA operates. We would want to ensure that if the person was married to someone else who had a different type of insurance, and wanted to seek care outside the VA, they could still afford the best care.
Rep. Dan Saddler, (R), was less supportive of the idea that the state would examine psychedelic therapies in any way before FDA approval.
“I’m not sure if this committee should be arguing the benefits of psychotropic or psychedelic drug. He told Armstrong that it was “a little beyond our mission” and added that he knew she didn’t have a formal stance on legalization but he could still hear her voice filled with excitement.
Saddler said, “The word premature springs to mind.”
Rep. Ben Carpenter (a Republican member of the special committee) also seemed to dismiss the therapy at one point, calling it a “psychedelic eight-hour vacation for the clinically depression.”
He said, “In a nutshell I think what you’re hearing is a good business idea.”
Carpenter asked also about the addictive nature of psychedelics. He said, “Rx drug abuse is a major problem in the United States right now.” Is it possible that we are trading one addiction for another?
Armstrong replied that among the drugs with the lowest addictive risk, psychedelics are at the bottom of the list. He added that the bill envisions the use under supervision by a trained therapist and not the possession or general use.
Carpenter said: “It worries me that something popular in society — with such a strong impact that someone would need to be physically cared for eight hours — could be abused by public.”
Armstrong replied, “You are helping me to make an argument for the Task Force.”
A few public speakers have commented on the bill. One of them is a cancer survivor and military veteran who says that psilocybin has changed her life.
Michael DeMolina spoke about the “remarkable results” of clinical trials examining MDMA-assisted therapies to treat PTSD.
Carpenter said he wanted to “understand at a high level” what psychedelics do, and expressed concern that they might “rewire” the brain’s neural pathways.
DeMolina responded that forms of exposure therapy are designed to rewire the brain’s neural pathways, even without psychedelics.
He explained that psychedelic therapy reduces a two-year, or even a year-long process, in which there is some success, to just three months and achieves a greater level of success – a 10 percent higher level – by activating the neural pathways in the mind.
Kathleen Wedemeyer of the Seattle Citizens Commission on Human Rights was the lone speaker who spoke against the bill. She also opposed the bill at the Senate committee hearing last week. Wedemeyer made similar comments to those she had previously made, but her response at the most recent meeting was very different.
Gray seemed to undermine the speaker’s testimony at the end of this meeting by asking two abrupt questions regarding her organization, even though he was sceptical about the task force proposal.
He asked, “Can you explain the relationship between Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) and the Church of Scientology?”
Wedemeyer responded, “We are sponsored” by the Church of Scientology, explaining that they were not “an arm, a part, or a branch of them.” We do have a sponsoring relationship.
Gray replied, “Thank you.” “My second concern is about the Citizens Commission on Human Rights position on traditional antidepressants such as SSRIs like Prozac and Zoloft?”
Wedemeyer: “We are not fans of chemical use.”
On its website, the group describes psychiatry as “an Industry of Death.”
Other states, such as New Mexico, Indiana and HTML2_ California HTML2_ have also advanced bills relating to psychedelic research during their current legislative sessions.
—
Marijuana Moment tracks more than 1,000 cannabis and drug policy bills that have been introduced in state legislatures, and Congress. Patreon supporters who pledge at least $25/month gain access to our interactive charts, maps and hearing calendar.
Discover more about our marijuana bills tracker. Become a Patreon supporter to gain access.
—
At the federal level, FDA is actively considering a drug application for MDMA to treat people with posttraumatic stress 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, however, filed a bill last month that created a state-wide workgroup tasked to explore a regulatory framework for providing therapeutic access to psychedelics such as psilocybin or ibogaine, and eventually allow medical professionals to administer certain psychoactives to combat veteran military personnel.
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.
Nevada psychedelics activist said that late last year they had a “productive” meeting with the Republican Governor’s Office about , the need to quickly form a taskforce under a law passed last year to inform future reforms–including possible legalizations of plant-based medicine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), earlier this year , confirmed that the spores from psychedelic mushroom are federally legal before germination as they do not contain psilocybin and psilocin.
Federal Appeals Court Challenges DEA’s Rejection of Psilocybin Treatment for Cancer Patients
The first time Marijuana Moment published the post Alaska Plan for Psychedelic Treatment Task Force Draws Sceptical From Lawmakers at First House Panel Hearing.
