Three new bills for psychedelics reform were filed by a Republican Massachusetts legislator. They include proposals to legalize psilocybin, reschedule MDMA and set a price limit on therapeutic access.
These are the latest examples psychedelics reforms being pursued by lawmakers in this session, according to Rep. Nicholas Boldyga (R). Boldyga describes himself as the most conservative member of the legislature.
Boldyga stated Tuesday that people are suffering from mental health problems such as PTSD and traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, and PTSD. “These psychedelic substances and plant medicines offer hope and healing for those who were once hopeless.”
He said that plant medicines were used over thousands of years in different cultures all around the globe. They are truly revolutionizing mental health and well-being.
This is what the psychedelics bill would accomplish:
HB 3589
legislation would allow adults over 21 to possess, cultivate, and give up to two grams of mescaline, ibogaine or DMT.
Boldyga stated that the reform was “about ending unjust law and expanding legal access lifesaving plant medicines.” He also said that legalization should not be viewed as a revenue-generating tool.
HB 3605
The bill would legalize the use of psilocybin by adults over 18 years old through a regulated system similar to Oregon’s. The psychedelic could be obtained at licensed facilities “therapeutic, spirituel, and medicinal purposes.”
Independent schools would be allowed to license regulators to train facilitators in psilocybin administration.
Boldyga stated that H3605 was once again about legal and safe access to a substance which is already helping people heal from traumas and other debilitating mental illnesses around the globe.
HB 3574
This proposal would automatically reschedule MDMA and make it available for post-traumatic stress disorder treatment (PTSD) if approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
It would also set a limit of $5,000 per session for MDMA to stop price gouging.
The sponsor stated that he shared similar concerns with grassroots activists about accessibility, affordability, and over-corporatization psychedelic compounds.
He said, “I look forward working with advocates to deliver this lifesaving therapy for as many people suffering from PTSD as possible.”
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James Davis, from Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, who assisted in the creation of the legislation, stated that it was a “great win for affordability.”
Davis stated, “We must ensure that this care is affordable” and not exclusive.
Boldyga stated that it was “time to flip the script and end insanity.”
He said, “Locking people in jail for using plants medicines that have been used for thousands of years by other cultures is a travesty the failed medical-criminal justice system of this nation.” “I was not elected to serve the interests ‘Big Pharma,’ who have spent decades lobbying the government to make these plant medicines illegal. They also use propaganda to spread misinformation and create dangerous stigmas around them.
There are several pieces of psychedelics legislation in Massachusetts that were introduced by other legislators for the session, including separate measures which will legalize certain entheogenic substances to adults.
A bill that would allow the Department of Public Health and Health to study the therapeutic potential of synthetic psychedelics such as MDMA, is also available.
In recent years, Massachusetts has been a hub for psychedelics reform at both the local and state levels.
Many cities, including Somerville and Cambridge, Easthampton, Northampton, have taken steps to decriminalize entheogenic plants. An attempt to implement the reform in Amherst was thwarted last.
Rep. Mike Connolly (D), filed a bill 2021 which was heard by the Joint Judiciary Committee. It examined the implications of legalizing entheogenic substances such as psilocybin or ayahuasca .
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Photo elements courtesy carlosemmaskype, Apollo.
