California Senators Approve Bipartisan Bill To Create Psilocybin Pilot Program For Veterans And First Responders
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California senators have unanimously approved a bipartisan bill to create a psilocybin pilot program for military veterans and first responders.
On Wednesday, members of the Senate Health Committee advanced the legislation from Sens. Josh Becker (D) and Brian Jones (R), with amendments, in a 7-0 vote.
The proposal would establish a pilot program under the University of California (UC) system to study and develop “psilocybin services” for eligible patients in up to five counties across the state.
The universities would be responsible for “protocol design, institutional review board approvals, training of psilocybin facilitators, data collection, and reporting” of the pilot program.
“The bill would require each local pilot program to partner with local mental health clinics, hospice programs, veterans facilities, or other community-based providers that provide services and care to the target population,” the measure, as introduced in January, says. “This bill would require the agency to report specified information about the pilot program to the Legislature by January 15, 2030.”
Under the legislation, the state would establish a “Veterans and First Responders Research Pilot Special Fund,” with continuous appropriations to fund the work.
“SB 751 responds to crisis we cannot ignore. Every day, an average of 17.6 veterans die by suicide. First responders—those who run towards dangers to protect the rest of us—are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty,” Becker said. “These are individuals who’ve experienced repeated trauma and, too often, existing mental health treatments simply don’t work for them.”
Many are turning to underground or unregulated sources of psilocybin, or even traveling abroad, to seek relief that only places them at risk,” he said. “It signals a serious gap in our system of care. This bill is a step towards addressing that gap responsibly and safely.”
A findings section of the legislation—which is also cosponsored by eight other lawmakers, including longtime psychedelics reform advocate Sen. Scott Wiener (D)—states that research “suggests that psilocybin and psilocyn, when used in a controlled setting, may offer significant benefits in treating mental health disorders, particularly those related to trauma and stress.”
It also notes that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already “determined that preliminary clinical evidence indicates psilocybin may demonstrate substantial improvement over available therapies for treatment-resistant depression and has granted a breakthrough therapy designation for a treatment that uses psilocybin as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression.”
“Psilocybin should be available to veterans and former first responders in a manner that ensures safety, efficacy, and ethical standards, including use only under qualified supervision,” it says. “California can conduct federally regulated pilot trials of psilocybin services in partnership with community-based licensed health care settings to determine if and how psilocybin can be provided to veterans and first responders in a beneficial and effective manner.”
The new program would be carried out with a focus on “veterans and inactive first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder, end-of-life distress, or other specified conditions, as determined by program criteria and local needs.”
The bill as filed states that UC would need to “compile and submit the pilot program outcomes, data analysis, and recommendations from the university partners” into a report that would need to be submitted to the legislature by January 15, 2030.
The Senate Health Committee adopted a series of other amendments before favorably reporting the measure out, with most of the changes being technical in nature, such as clarifying definitions and eligibility criteria for participation in the program.
It was also revised to require “initial reports from the local pilots to be submitted to the UC, the Legislature, and the Secretary of CalHHS, and require the UC to compile a final report with pilot outcomes to the Legislature, the Secretary of CalHHS, and the Governor’s Office,” according to a committee analysis.
The bill is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.
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Moving psychedelics reform legislation through the California legislature has proved complex over recent years, with a mix of achievements and setbacks for advocates and stakeholders.
Last year, for example, a Senate committee effectively killed a bill to legalize psychedelic service centers where adults 21 and older could access psilocybin, MDMA, mescaline and DMT in a supervised environment with trained facilitators.
The “Regulated Therapeutic Access to Psychedelics Act” was drafted in a way that was meant to be responsive to concerns voiced by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in 2023 when he vetoed a broader proposal that included provisions to legalize low-level possession of substances such as psilocybin.
Meanwhile, Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R), the lead on the Assembly side, sponsored a separate psychedelics bill last session focused on promoting research and creating a framework for the possibility of regulated therapeutic access that has moved through the Assembly last year with unanimous support.
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