Marijuana Moment: Arizona Governor Signs Bill To Allow Workers’ Compensation For MDMA Treatment, Despite Vetoing Psilocybin Proposal

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The governor of Arizona has signed a bill into law that would allow firefighters and peace officers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to get workers’ compensation coverage for MDMA therapy if it is federally legalized.

While Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed a separate proposal to legalize psilocybin service centers this week, she gave final approval on Tuesday to legislation that would authorize the Industrial Commission of Arizona to provide public safety officials who have PTSD with compensation for a one-course treatment of MDMA if the drug is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The measure is being enacted weeks after an FDA advisory committee recommended against approving a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy, drawing criticism from advocates and certain lawmakers, including a GOP congressman who personally benefitted from psychedelic treatment.

The Arizona bill from Sen. David Gowan (R) is fairly limited in its scope, especially compared to the psychedelics services legislation the governor vetoed this week. Not only would it require FDA approval of MDMA, but it also doesn’t create a framework for therapeutic administration. It simply allows officials to approve workers compensation for a course of MDMA-assisted treatment sessions.

“If an independent medical examination reveals a treatment protocol of midomafetamine is deemed a reasonable and necessary treatment and follows the treatment guidelines established by the Industrial Commission of Arizona, workers’ compensation coverage may include on complete course of a treatment protocol of midomafetamine as prescribed by a psychiatrist,” the bill text says.

The commission would also be required to submit a report about the costs of the MDMA treatment to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee each year starting on or before January 1, 2026.

The bill signed by the Arizona governor is reminiscent of other recent psychedelics therapy proposals, including one in California that was recently revised. That legislation would allow select local governments to establish pilot programs where military veterans and former first responders could receive psilocybin treatment with a licensed facilitator.

In December, a New York lawmaker also introduced a bill that would create a pilot program to provide psilocybin therapy to 10,000 people, focusing on military veterans and first responders, while the legislature also considers broader psychedelics reform.

In Arizona, advocates remain disappointed that the governor rejected legislation that passed with sizable bipartisan support that would have authorized the state Department of Health to license psilocybin-assisted therapy centers in the state, where trained facilitators could have administered the psychedelic.

The measure would have significantly expanded on Arizona’s existing research-focused psychedelics law that provides $5 million in annual funding to support studies into psilocybin therapy.

Sen. T. J. Shope (R), the bill’s sponsor, said the veto was a “disappointing result after months of hard work and the overwhelming bipartisan support this received in both houses of the Legislature this year.” He added that if lawmakers were still in session, he’d be pushing for a vote to override the veto, but he’ll have to “settle for trying again next year.”

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In any case, there are multiple states where lawmakers have been working to promote research into psychedelics amid growing public interest in expanding therapeutic access and ending criminalization.

California lawmakers have separately revised a psilocybin pilot program bill to narrow eligibility criteria for participants and facilitators who could administer the psychedelic under the proposal.

A New Jersey Assembly committee also recently adopted an amendment to a psilocybin bill that aligns its provisions with a Senate companion version, removing language to more broadly legalize the psychedelic and instead focusing on therapeutic use.

Last week the Massachusetts Senate approved a bill focused focused on military veterans that includes provisions to create a psychedelics working group to study and make recommendations about the potential therapeutic benefits of substances like psilocybin and MDMA.

Last month, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed a bill into law to create a psychedelic-assisted therapy working group that will make recommendations on whether and how the state should regulate legal access to substances such as psilocybin and MDMA.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed legislation last month to create a psychedelics task force responsible for studying possible regulatory frameworks for therapeutic access to substances such as psilocybin, mescaline and DMT. It would be charged specifically with ensuring “broad, equitable and affordable access to psychedelic substances” in the state.

Last month in Alaska lawmakers sent the governor a bill to create a state task force to study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy in the event of federal approval of substances such as MDMA and psilocybin.

Indiana’s governor recently signed a bill that includes provisions to fund clinical research trials into psilocybin.

Utah’s governor, meanwhile, allowed a bill to authorize a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as an alternative treatment option to become law without his signature.

Maine lawmakers sent the governor legislation to establish a commission tasked with studying and making recommendations on regulating access to psychedelic services.

A Connecticut joint legislative panel approved a bill to decriminalize possession of psilocybin.

The governor of New Mexico has endorsed a newly enacted resolution requesting that state officials research the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and explore the creation of a regulatory framework to provide access to the psychedelic.

An Illinois committee also recently held a hearing to discuss a bill to legalize psilocybin and allow regulated access at service centers in the state where adults could use the psychedelic in a supervised setting—with plans to expand the program to include mescaline, ibogaine and DMT.

Lawmakers in Hawaii also considered a bill that would provide some legal protections to patients engaging in psilocybin-assisted therapy with a medical professional’s approval.

New York lawmakers said that a bill to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy in that state has a “real chance” of passing this year.

A Nevada joint legislative committee held a hearing with expert and public testimony on the therapeutic potential of substances like psilocybin in January. Law enforcement representatives also shared their concerns around legalization—but there was notable acknowledgement that some reforms should be enacted, including possible rescheduling.

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Photo courtesy of Pretty Drugthings on Unsplash.

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