Nevada lawmakers approved a revised version of a bill that would have created a working group for the study of psychedelics, and to develop a plan allowing regulated access to therapeutic purposes.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee adopted an amendment to the bill that significantly reduces its original intent. It would have legalized MDMA and encouraged research into psychedelics, and also promoted the use of psilocybin.
The measure of Sen. Rochelle (D) Nguyen was approved by voice vote Thursday. It now focuses on forming a Psychedelics Medicines Working group to examine the use entheogens in “medicinal, therapeutic and improved wellbeing.”
During a hearing held in the same panel last month the sponsor acknowledged that the bill would likely be substantially amended . She stated that she was open to changes, and that her primary goal was to start a discussion in the legislature on psychedelics.
Nguyen, speaking before the vote on Friday, said: “It’s amazing how many lives this bill has touched. People who haven’t participated in the political processes. People whose lives are credited to these medicines and therapies.” “I am looking forward to the outcome of this bill, the results of the research, and the direction we can take with this working group in the interim.”
The revised version would establish a 15 member working group under the Department of Health and Human Services of the state, tasked to study the science of psychedelics, “including but without limitation” psilocybin and psilocin, in the treatment of mental conditions like PTSD, substance abuse disorder and major depression disorder, and at the end of life.
The group will also need to examine federal, state, and local laws that govern the therapeutic use entheogens, and then develop a “actionable plan” on how to provide access to therapeutic compounds and entheogens…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 a background of substance abuse treatment, and a researcher registered with the federal government to study psychedelics.
Scot Rutledge is a partner at Argentum Partners who helped craft the amended bill. He told Marijuana Moment that the feedback from lawmakers, law enforcement and other stakeholders shaped the new language. The proponents believe that the changes will help the Psychedelic Medicines Working Group come up with a more actionable plan in 2025 for establishing a psychedelic-assisted therapy program in Nevada.
The bill is now headed to the full Senate.
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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.
Both chambers of the Washington State legislature have passed legislation creating a pilot program for to research the medical efficacy psilocybin. Before it can be sent to the Governor, legislators must reconcile differences in their versions.
The Hawaii Senate passed a bill Tuesday that created an advisory council for the purpose of examining possible regulations to allow access to federal “breakthrough therapy” such as psilocybin or MDMA.
Minnesota lawmakers have attached , a bill that creates a task force to prepare the state for a possible legalization of psychedelics to a large-scale health legislation that may reach the House floor in the near future.
A Republican Massachusetts legislator filed three new reform bills for psychedelics, including proposals to legalize substances such as psilocybin or reschedule MDMA while waiting for federal approval and setting a price limit on therapeutic access.
These are only a few of the reforms being considered by legislators in the United States this session.
Based on statistical modelling of policy trends, an analysis published last year in the American Medical Association journal concluded that most states will legalize psychedelics before 2037.
A national survey published last month revealed that a majority of U.S. citizens support the legalization of psychedelic therapy, and are in favor decriminalizing substances such as psilocybin or MDMA.
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Photo by Dick Culbert.
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