The Indiana legislature has passed a bill that would establish a psilocybin fund to provide money to institutions researching the psychedelic drug as an alternative treatment to mental disorders and medical conditions, such as PTSD or migraines.
SB 139 was proposed by Sen. Ed Charbonneau, (R), this week. A hearing has already been scheduled for Wednesday before the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee.
The measure, if passed, would not amend Indiana’s criminal laws surrounding psilocybin, but instead would help fund clinical trials to determine the drug’s efficacy. This would be especially true for veterans and first responders.
The bill would establish a Therapeutic Psilocybin Research Fund “for the purpose to provide financial assistance to Indiana research institutions to study…the usage of psilocybin for mental health and other conditions.”
Researchers would have to apply for funding from the Department of Health of the state to study the substance to treat conditions. Six of these are listed in the bill: PTSD, “with an emphasis on treating the disorder among combat veterans and first-responders,” anxiety and depression, bipolar disorders, chronic pain, and migraines.
The studies will need to “compare psilocybin’s efficacy as a treatment option for mental health conditions and other medical conditions… with the efficacy other treatment options currently available.”
Veterans and first responders would be required to be included in any research funded under this bill. Participants would be required to undergo a psychological evaluation prior to participating in a funded research.
The Bill will become effective immediately after it is passed, since it was submitted as an emergency measure. By July 1, officials would have to create a system to administer the fund, and to process applications.
The proposal creates the fund but does not allocate money immediately. The fund will be made up of gifts, donations and state budget appropriations.
The state would require that institutions receiving funding submit a “summary of the study and recommendations for legislation”, including to the Department of Health and the Division of Mental Health and Addiction, as well as to an interim study panel assigned to study various health issues last year.
The study committee recently recommended that lawmakers authorise a psilocybin-pilot program for research on psychedelics-assisted therapies for mental health in this year’s session. They advised that “the Indiana General Assembly adopt an approach that strikes the right balance between access and research while maintaining prudence.”
The body stated that while psilocybin remains a Schedule I controlled drug at the federal level “the prevailing opinion is that psilocybin shouldn’t be a Schedule I drugs and has proven medical benefit.”
Charbonneau, the chair of the committee, stated late last year that people from Indiana University Health and Purdue University were already in contact with him about psychedelics research.
He said, “I’ve had discussions with both IU Health as well as Purdue University.” “I spoke with 150 pharmacy students at Purdue and then had the chance to speak to the dean. He texted Dr. Jerome Adams who is now at Purdue University.”
Adams, the former U.S. Surgeon General under President Donald Trump from October 2021, joined Purdue. He has said very little about psychedelic therapy but he did claim that ” medical marijuana does not exist.”
Indiana legislators have considered marijuana legalization, but have not taken concrete steps towards the reform. The GOP-controlled legislature has yet to make any recommendations. In November, another interim study group listened to testimony about the potential of decriminalizing simple possession of cannabis. However, the group made no specific recommendations.
Rep. Blake Johnson, (D), wrote in an op/ed published by Marijuana Moment that Indiana “falls far behind” as neighboring states legalize marijuana. “I urge my colleagues to pay attention to the statistics. He wrote that it was time for Indiana “to sow the seeds of cannabis and reap its economic benefits.”
One supportive lawmaker–Rep. Justin Moed, a Democrat from California, managed to force the House to vote on marijuana legalization last year. However Republicans rejected this proposal.
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Oregon, Colorado, and other states have passed legislation allowing the therapeutic use of psilocybin. California’s Democratic Senator has announced that he will be submitting a revised bill this year with an Assembly Republican. The bill will provide regulated therapeutic access to certain psychedelics . He claims the state is at an “inflection” point.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Shealy (D), recently submitted a bill for the creation of a psychedelics Working Group that would study and make recommendations regarding the potential therapeutic benefits to military veterans from substances such as psilocybin or MDMA. Recently, campaign organizers in Massachusetts said that they believed they had collected enough valid signatures for lawmakers to take into consideration a psychedelics-legalization initiative. This is the first option before activists push to place it on the 2024 ballot.
has introduced a bill in Wisconsin by bipartisan legislators to create a pilot program for psilocybin in the state.
The Washington State governor signed a law in May of last spring to create a pilot program to give military veterans and first-responders access to psychedelic to treat post-traumatic disorder (PTSD), mood disorders, and substance abuse disorders.
The bill, which was introduced in Washington’s new legislative sessions, would go even further and legalize limited psilocybin treatment for veterans and first responders.
A Rhode Island legislator also introduced a measure to end penalties for psilocybin possession, use, cultivation, and sharing. Further state-level reforms are tied to federal reform.
Late last year, at the federal level lawmakers held the First-ever Congress Hearing on Psychedelics. Testimony focused on how substances such as psilocybin or MDMA can help therapy for veterans facing mental health issues.
Speakers at a recent Harvard University panel, which included former Department of Veterans Affairs officials and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials , agreed that psychedelics like MDMA and psilocybin have the potential to treat PTSD and reduce suicide rates among servicemen. However, they warned against unsupervised, hasty use of psychedelics, given their possible side effects.
The National Institutes of Health announced that they are also looking for proposals to develop psychedelics as treatments for substance abuse disorder (SUD), with plans to award $2 million in grants to research projects during fiscal 2025.
The majority of military service members, veterans and their families support allowing VA doctors to recommend marijuana and psychedelics
The post Republican Indiana Bill Proposes State Fund to Support Psilocybin Researchers appeared initially on Marijuana Moment.
