Tag: psychedelics

Iowa Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Bill To Create Psilocybin Program That Would Treat Up To 5,000 Patients With PTSD

An Iowa House committee has unanimously approved a Republican-led proposal to create a state-regulated therapeutic psilocybin program for adults with PTSD.

The bill, HF 620, from Rep. John Wills (R), passed the House Ways and Means Committee on a 23–0 vote at a hearing Thursday.

If enacted into law, it would allow up to 5,000 patients in the state to legally access psilocybin produced in-state by licensed entities. Administration sessions would need to be supervised by registered facilitators—mostly medical professionals—who would need to complete state-specified psilocybin education.

Psilocybin providers would need to be doctors, advanced nurse practitioners, advanced practice nurses, psychologists or social workers who complete psilocybin continuing education requirements, register with the state and pay a registration fee.

Administration sessions themselves would need to be at registered clinical locations and would need to be video recorded. Those records would need to be available for inspection by state officials upon request.

The psilocybin itself would be produced by state-licensed establishments. Local governments could not outright ban those facilities, nor could they deny them appropriate licenses based merely on the fact that psilocybin violates federal law.

Notably, a licensed psilocybin production facility could be co-located with one of the state’s few licensed medical cannabis producers—known in Iowa as medical cannabidiol producers—and the bill says regulators may grant psilocybin licensing preferences to those existing cannabis producers. Facilities couldn’t be located within 1,000 feet of a community location or 500 feet of a residential area.

Only people 21 and older and without “a misdemeanor for drug distribution or any felony” could work at psilocybin producers, and licensees themselves would face background checks.

Up to four independent testing labs could be licensed under the bill, and the state could also establish its own lab.

License applications would be accepted beginning July 1, 2026.

To oversee the system, the legislation would create a state Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board under the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Appointed by the director of that department, the board would include a member of the public with knowledge of psilocybin, a member with knowledge and experience in the pharmaceutical or nutraceutical manufacturing industry, a law enforcement member, a university chemist or researcher with experience in manufacturing, a member who has a background in fungus or mushroom cultivation and processing.

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Nevada Lawmakers Discuss Plan To Create Psychedelic Therapy Pilot Program

A Nevada bill that would create a psychedelic therapy pilot program for military veterans and first responders had its first committee hearing on Wednesday. Lawmakers heard testimony from reform advocates, veterans and their families and members of a state Psychedelic Medicines Working Group, which late last year called on lawmakers to establish a system for regulated access.

The legislation, AB 378, was filed March 10 by Assemblymember Max Carter (D) and 18 other cosponsors. Under the proposal, the state would establish an Alternative Therapy Pilot Program under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The program would allow the medically supervised use of psychedelics including psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline, specifically among military veterans and first responders with certain mental health conditions.

While the Assembly Committee on Health and Human Services didn’t act on the legislation at Wednesday’s hearing, they took testimony and asked questions of some speakers.

Carter, speaking to the panel, said that psychedelic therapy—involving ketamine, which is not part of the current bill—helped him overcome “profound, deep grief, treatment-resistant depression” and complex post-traumatic stress disorder after the traumatic death of his wife.

He explained that the pilot program would focus on first responders and military veterans because “those are demographics that everybody can identify with, but more importantly, they’re ones with accelerated—or exacerbated—suicide rates.”

“When we come back here in two years,” Carter told colleagues, “my belief is this will be mainstream therapy.”

Notably, no members of the public at Wednesday’s hearing spoke in opposition to the proposal, nor did any offer neutral comments.

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Florida House And Senate Panels Pass Bills To Criminalize Sales Of Psychedelic Mushroom Spores

Agricultural legislation in Florida containing a provision to outlaw psychedelic mushroom spores has proceeded past two more lawmaking panels in the House and Senate.

The proposed ban on spores of mushrooms that create psilocybin or psilocin is part of roughly 150-page companion bills that would make a variety of adjustments to Florida’s agricultural laws, including around agricultural lands, utilities and wildlife management.

With respect to psychedelic mushrooms, both would outlaw transporting, importing, selling or giving away “spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material which will contain a controlled substance, including psilocybin or psilocyn, during its lifecycle.”

Violating the proposed law would be a first-degree misdemeanor, carrying a maximum one year in jail and $1,000 fine.

On Wednesday, the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee passed HB 651, from sponsor Rep. Kaylee Tuck (R), on a 14–4 vote. Prior to the vote, the body adopted an amendment that simplifies the language of the psychedelic spore prohibition but doesn’t meaningfully change it.

Tuck explained to members at the hearing that the change “restructures” the language “to simplify the prohibition without changing the substance of the underlying bill.”

Later in the day, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government favorably reported SB 700, by Sen. Keith Truenow (R).

While senators didn’t discuss the bill’s spore provision at the hearing, one public commenter, identified as Daniel Freeman, opposed it.

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Using Psychedelics Is Tied To 25% Lower Likelihood Of ‘Frequent Bad Headaches,’ Study Shows

People who have used so-called “classic psychedelics” such as psilocybin or LSD are less likely to report having frequent bad headaches, a new study concludes.

The results, authors wrote this month in the Journal of Pharmacology, “add to the literature suggesting classic psychedelics as a possible future prophylactic treatment option for primary headache disorders.”

Researchers gathered data from 11,419 records collected from 1999 to 2000 as part of the British Child Development Study 1958, which follows a cohort of people born over the course of a single week in March 1958.

Specifically, they looked at responses to three questions: “Do you often have bad headaches?” “Have you ever tried LSD, also known as acid or trips?” and “Have you ever tried magic mushrooms?”

The team’s analysis showed that “lifetime use of classic psychedelics was associated with 25% lower odds of having frequent bad headaches.”

There are, of course, limitations as to what conclusions can be drawn from the observational nature of the study.

“Although we have proposed a direction of association, we cannot draw any causal inferences about the association between lifetime use of classic psychedelics and frequent bad headaches,” they wrote. “It is possible that the negative association found is a result of people suffering from frequent bad headaches abstaining from the use of classic psychedelics.”

Data from the same survey, for example, showed that low alcohol use was associated with higher likelihood of frequent bad headaches. In that case, authors interpreted the finding by saying it “may be explained by individuals experiencing frequent bad headaches choosing to abstain from alcohol,” noting that alcohol is understood to be a trigger for headaches.

Overall, 16 percent of people in the survey reported frequent bad headaches. Of those, 71 percent were female and 29 percent were male. Lifetime use of classic psychedelics, meanwhile, was reported by 6.5 percent of people with frequent bad headaches and 8.6 percent of those without.

Notably, when the research team divided reports by sex, they noticed a stronger association between psychedelics use and headaches among female respondents.

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Texas Senator Files Bill To Support Research On Psychedelic Therapy For PTSD And Depression

A Texas senator has introduced a bill to require studies on the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in the treatment of serious mental health conditions.

Sen. César Blanco (D) filed the legislation on Friday. It aims to facilitate the studies—which would be conducted by medical schools at two Texas universities—to better understand the possible benefits of psychedelics for those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

Researchers at Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin would be tasked with researching the existing scientific literature around psychedelics, actions made by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and potential strategies to provide access to the novel medicines.

The study would involve an evaluation of “patient access to current treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other co-occurring conditions and recommend legislative or other actions necessary to ensure patient access to psychedelic therapies following approval” by FDA, “including considerations of provider availability, affordability, accessibility, training and licensure, and other regulatory requirements.”

Substances within the scope of the review include psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine, according to the bill’s text.

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Nevada Senators Take Up Resolution Calling On Congress To Reschedule Psychedelics And Streamline Research

Nevada senators took up a joint resolution on Tuesday that calls on Congress to reschedule certain psychedelics, provide protections for individuals using the substances in compliance with state law and streamline research.

As the Nevada legislature pushes forward with psychedelics reform, the Senate Legislative Operations and Elections Committee discussed the resolution from Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D), hearing testimony from experts in the field.

“It is very much a grassroots, bipartisan issue. It is a Nevada issue,” Nguyen said in her opening remarks. “This is such an important issue. And this may seem like it’s an innocuous [resolution] where we’re sending a letter, but it is super important that we as a state send a message to the federal government—send a message to Washington, D.C.—that we need to start helping our community.”

“We have a mental health crisis. I don’t think you go into a committee room where you don’t hear about this,” she said. “This is just another solution to a problem that we have across our state.”

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Psychedelics Have ‘Promising Medical Applications,’ Congressional Watchdog Agency Says, But Research Challenges Remain

A federal agency has published a short report on the medical use of psychedelics, finding that their ability to “change a person’s perceptions and sense of self” can make for “promising medical applications.”

The paper, from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), says there’s a need for further research, but it also notes that because psychedelics such as LSD, MDMA and psilocybin remain Schedule I controlled substances, securing permission to carry out that research can be a challenge.

“To conduct research on these drugs, scientists need to follow several steps,” the report from GAO, which is often referred to as Congress’s “watchdog,” states in a section about ongoing challenges. “These include obtaining permission from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, finding clinical grade drugs to test, and identifying appropriate spaces in which to test and store these drugs.”

“Difficulties associated with conducting large, blind trials of psychedelics have limited researchers’ ability to determine the safety and effectiveness of these drugs,” GAO continues, “which is required for them to gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA approval is generally required before prescription drugs can be marketed for sale in the U.S.”

Despite the obstacles, the paper acknowledges that hundreds of clinical trials have investigated psychedelics as a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

“Between 2015 and early 2025, over 340 trials on psychedelics began or were completed,” it says. “For example, one study found that psilocybin reduced depression symptoms more than escitalopram, an SSRI.”

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U.S. Embassy Warns Americans Not To Use Traditional Psychedelics In Peru, Including Ayahuasca

The U.S. embassy in Lima, Peru, is warning Americans against a traditional psychedelic known as ayahuasca, cautioning that the mixture “is a psychoactive substance containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a strong hallucinogen that is illegal in the United States and many other countries.”

Officials argued that using ayahuasca or kambo—a psychoactive substance derived from some frogs—can cause negative health effects and increase risks of sexual assault, robbery and other hazards.

“These dangerous substances are often marketed to travelers in Peru as ‘ceremonial’ or ‘spiritual cleansers,’” embassy officials wrote in a late January health alert to U.S. citizens, adding: “Facilities or groups offering ayahuasca/kambo are not regulated by the Peruvian government and may not follow health and safety laws or practices.”

As for ayahuasca—a mixture of botanical ingredients that contains DMT—the alert says the substance “can cause several negative health effects, including nausea, vomiting, increased heart rate, and even death.  Some of the long-term effects include psychosis, difficulty sleeping, neurological diseases, and ongoing hallucinations.”

“In 2024, several U.S. citizens died or experienced severe illness, including mental health episodes, following consumption of ayahuasca,” it continues. “These incidents often occur in remote areas near or within the Peruvian Amazon, far away from modern medical facilities. The limited connectivity and limited access to emergency services and hospitals increases the risks.”

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Military Veterans Groups Push Congress To Expedite Psychedelics Research And Support Medical Marijuana Access

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should continue to explore psychedelics and medical marijuana therapy and expedite access to such alternative treatments if they’re proven to be efficacious, representatives of leading veterans service organizations (VSOs) told members of Congress this week.

One key group testified that the scheduling of substances like cannabis, psilocybin and MDMA as Schedule I drugs is a “major barrier” to therapeutic access.

At joint hearings before the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees on Tuesday and Wednesday, lawmakers took testimony from the VSOs—and one theme that emerged was the need to support research and access for marijuana and psychedelics, particularly as it concerns VA.

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), co-chair of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus, asked Disabled American Veterans (DAV) National Commander Daniel Contreras what role he felt VA should play in “advancing the promising field in that area of [psychedelic] medicine through research.”

Contreras said it’s DAV’s position that “we should look at alternatives.” He added that he’s personally familiar with the issue in part because psilocybin has been incorporated into his own wife’s therapy, which underscores for him that “there needs to be some alternative choices.”

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Missouri Lawmakers Consider Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy To Aid Military Veterans With PTSD

In hopes of helping veterans facing mental health issues, Missouri lawmakers are once again pushing legislation that would require the state to conduct a study on using psilocybin—also known as “magic mushrooms”—to treat depression, substance use or as part end-of-life care.

Similar legislation has been filed for the last three years, and in 2023 the House voted overwhelmingly in support of the idea. But it’s never made its way to the Senate.

On Monday, several members of the House Veterans Committee said they were staunchly against the proposal when they first heard about it. However, research the committee has explored over the years has changed their minds.

That includes studies done by psychiatry researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who were the first in Missouri to give a legal dose of psilocybin in 2019.

They have been using a brain-imaging technique to learn how psilocybin affects certain networks in the brain.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Richard West of Wentzville, said he was skeptical at first, as a former police officer.

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