Newly introduced legislation in Hawaii would create explicit legal protections around the therapeutic use of psilocybin, with eligible patients able to possess and consume the psychedelic under a trained facilitator’s care.
The measure is the result of a task force on breakthrough therapies that was formed last year to explore the issue, its sponsor, Sen. Chris Lee (D), told Marijuana Moment.
SB 3019 would not legalize psilocybin itself but would instead create an affirmative defense for qualified patients and their caregivers, effectively exempting them from state laws against psilocybin. A companion bill in the House, HB 2630, is sponsored by Rep. Della Au Belatti (D) and 13 others.
“There’s a lot of use cases where these kinds of things can really help improve quality of life, and significantly, at minimal cost compared to other kinds of alternative treatment,” Lee said of psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA, both of which have been designated by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as breakthrough therapies.
In Hawaii in particular, he noted, there are large numbers of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other behavioral health ailments, as well as older people seeking end-of-life care—groups that might benefit from facilitated psilocybin use.
Under the new legislation, mental health professionals would need to identify a person as having at least one of several listed eligible medical conditions, then write a recommendation for therapeutic psilocybin. Patients would be allowed no more than five grams of psilocybin per session and would need to complete a preparation session prior to the drug being administered.
Eligible conditions for treatment with psilocybin would include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); treatment-resistant depression or major depressive disorder; end-of-life anxiety, existential stress and demoralization; eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, substance use disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Additional qualifying conditions could be added by the state Department of Health in response to requests from patients or mental health professionals.
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