Marijuana Moment: New York Lawmakers Hold Hearing Psilocybin’s Medical Benefits Amid Broader Debate Over Psychedelics Reform

[Tokeativity]

Lawmakers in New York are revisiting the possibility of reforming the state’s laws related to psychedelics, convening a hearing to take testimony about the potential health benefits psilocybin.

On Tuesday, the Assembly Health Committee spent hours discussing the the medical value of the main ingredient in so-called “magic mushrooms,” with numerous experts and advocates speaking about the issue as legislators weighed the science and possible regulations of the novel therapy.

The chairwoman of the panel, Assemblymember Amy Paulin (D), introduced a bill to legalize psilocybin for adults last year, provided they obtain a permit after undergoing a health screening and educational course.

“The committee is very interested in hearing the testimony to see what we can do about perhaps making [psychedelics] legal and appropriate for medical providers to dispense a product that they, frankly, have been acknowledging is effective for their patients, but have been unable in New York to legally prescribe it,” she said.

The GOP ranking member of the committee, Assemblymember Josh Jensen (R), said in opening remarks that “certainly with the fast pace of the session in Albany, any chance we have to gather subject matter experts and talk about some of the more nuanced aspects of policy we may take up in coming legislative sessions, is critically important for the development of better public policy.”

Joseph McKay, a retired New York City firefighter who was at the World Trade Center on 9/11, told lawmakers at the hearing that psilocybin “gave me my life back” after enduring “excruciating” pain from cluster headaches.

“The truth is that so many people in New York are already buying and using psilocybin, but they’re doing so with no regulations on what they’re purchasing and no education on how to safely use the medication,” McKay said, as reported by Gothamist. “New York needs a system where people can purchase safe and regulated psilocybin with law-abiding people, including first responders and health care professionals.”

Paulin, the committee chair, said in a press release that the expert testimony from the hearing “makes it clear that psilocybin shows great promise for treating debilitating conditions like cluster headaches, depression, PTSD and chronic pain, which have been resistant to traditional therapies.”

“As we consider legislation to expand access in New York, our priority must be establishing framework that maximizes safety and ensures proper oversight for patients and providers,” she said.

The lawmaker added that “too many New Yorkers are suffering from mental health conditions and chronic pain without adequate relief.”

“It’s time for us to explore how we can safely expand access to this therapy while protecting public health,” Paulin said. “We have an obligation to pursue every avenue that could bring relief to those who are struggling with debilitating conditions.”

New York legislators have taken special interest in psychedelics reform in recent sessions.

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For example, in January, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D) filed legislation calling for the legalization of certain entheogenic substances such as psilocybin and ibogaine for adults 21 and older.

The bill would amend state statute to make legal the “possession, use, cultivation, production, creation, analysis, gifting, exchange, or sharing by or between natural persons of twenty-one years of age or older of a natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogen.”

DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin and psilocyn would fall under the definition of “natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogens” that would be legalized by the bill.

Rosenthal’s measure was introduced just days after another New York lawmaker, Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (D), prefiled a measure that would legalize psilocybin therapy for patients with qualifying conditions.

Under that proposal, people could receive psilocybin treatment from a certified facilitator in a clinical setting, or at their home if they’re unable to travel. Patients and facilitators would receive protections against state-level prosecution.

Fernandez also filed an earlier version of the bill last session, but it did not move out of committee either. Only minor technical changes have been made in the latest iteration.

Bicameral New York lawmakers said at a briefing last year that there was a “real chance” that legislation to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy would advance through committee, emphasizing that delaying action would “neglect” many “people who need help” with certain mental health conditions. That did not ultimately materialize, however.

“We’re in a mental health crisis, and so we need every tool that’s available to us,” Assemblymember Pat Burke (D), who sponsored another bill to create a psilocybin therapy pilot program for 10,000 people, said. He added that “we’re here to turn the page” on the broader drug war.

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