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Last week, a psilocybin research bill in Indiana was sent to the desk of Gov. Eric Holcomb. The bill was recently passed in the Senate in February (Senate Bill 139), followed by the House Public Health Committee shortly afterwards.

Following the end of the 2024 legislative session on March 8, bill sponsor Sen. Ed Charbonneau published a press release about his pride in working toward passing three different bills. The first would help make child care more affordable for Indianans, and the second included an expansion to health plans to include coverage for searching biomarkers for diagnosis or condition treatment. 

However, the third bill includes a mention of SB-139. “Another bill I worked on this session was Senate Bill 139, which would have established a fund to aid Indiana research institutions in studying the potential use of psilocybin in treating mental health and other medical conditions, especially in veterans and first responders,” Charbonneau wrote. “While SB 139 did not make it through the legislative process, the language was added to House Enrolled Act 1259, which would also expand the number of people eligible to provide health care services.”

Now the bill is being sent to the desk of Gov. Holcomb for final review. If SB-139 became law, it would create a therapeutic psilocybin research fund that would be managed by the Indiana Department of Health. The fund would provide financial assistance to research institutions to study psilocybin as a method of treating mental health or other conditions. The bill currently states conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, chronic pain, migraines, alcohol use disorder, and tobacco use disorder.

Additionally, it works to compare “the efficacy of psilocybin as a treatment for mental health and other medical conditions…with the efficacy of other current treatment options for mental health and other medical conditions.”

One requirement of institutions that apply to research psilocybin would include the use of veterans or first responders in their study as they “Evaluate and determine whether psilocybin is an effective treatment for mental health and other medical conditions.” After the study is concluded, the researchers would then submit a report of their findings to the Interim Study Committee on Public Health, the Indiana Behavioral Health Commission, and Human Services, as well as “state department and division of mental health and addiction.”

If passed, these processes to organize applications would begin starting on July 1, 2024.

Last year in November, the Interim Study Committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services held its last meeting and issued a report recommending that legislators consider developing a psilocybin pilot program in 2024 “that strikes a balance between access, research, and prudence.”

At the meeting, Charbonneau explained that he’s already spoken with educational institutions that are interested in studying psilocybin. “I have had discussions with both [Indiana University] Health and with Purdue University,” said Charbonneau. “I spoke to 150 pharmacy students at Purdue, and afterward had a chance to speak with the dean of the pharmacy program…and he texted Dr. Jerome Adams, who’s now at Purdue University.” Adams previously served as U.S. surgeon general under former President Donald Trump.

The report made a distinction between medical cannabis and psilocybin, and described psilocybin-assisted therapy as more beneficial. “Many people conflate increased access to psilocybin assisted therapy with the issue of increased access to medical and recreational cannabis,” the report said. “However, the committee hearing made it clear that the evidence for psilocybin assisted therapy is promising and significantly more robust and the two issues are unrelated.”

Indiana’s neighboring states of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio all have some form of cannabis legalization now. The only remaining state is Kentucky to the south, which currently has legalized medical cannabis but won’t officially launch until 2025.

However, Sen. J.D. Ford told WFYI Indianapolis in January that the lack of progress is due to legislators refusing to discuss legalization. “You’ve got the elected officials who are unwilling to have the conversation and you’ve got some of these other powerful lobbying groups that are continuing to block conversation, block bills from getting a committee hearing,” Ford said.

In a press event in January, Senate Pro Tempore Rodric Bray shut down inquiries from reporters regarding cannabis decriminalization or legalization. “Are we going to legalize cannabis this session? That’s not going to be the case,” Bray said. 

Previously in 2019, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has previously stated that he will not take action on any cannabis legalization bills until it has been legalized on the federal level. “If the law changed, we would look at all the positive or adverse impacts it would have,” Holcomb said. “I’m not convinced other states have made a wise decision.”

In 2023, he did admit that decriminalizing cannabis in small amounts makes sense. “I do not believe that simple possession at certain limits should derail someone’s life,” Holcomb said.

The Utah Senate and House unanimously approved a bill that would establish a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as alternative treatment, sending it to the governor.

A bill introduced by Senate Majority Whip Kirk Cullimore (R) and House Speaker Pro Tempore James Dunnigan (R), earlier this month, Senate Bill 266, would create a pilot program to explore psilocybin and MDMA as alternative treatments in hospitals in Utah.

The bill was sent to the desk of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) this week where it awaits his signature. Since hospitals and universities generally default to federal regulations, it’s unclear how the bill would pan out as psilocybin and MDMA remain schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

“The bill is proposing, really, an alternate pathway, ” Rep. Raymond Ward (R) said before the House vote this month. “That’s why I say it’s a philosophical question. Do you think that these medicines really only should always just go through this one pathway, the FDA first and then be allowed to be used? Or do you think there should be any other alternate pathway whereby a patient might be given these medications in a controlled setting from some of our best physicians, but where we really do not yet have all of the data that we normally would have before we gave them to patients?”

Per the bill, psilocybin and MDMA would be administered by a privately owned, non-profit health care system with at least 15 licensed hospitals, or as part of medical programs operated by higher level institutions of learning.

“A healthcare system may develop a behavioral health treatment program that includes a treatment” with psilocybin and MDMA that it “determines is supported by a broad collection of scientific and medical research,” the bill reads.

Utah SB 0266 passed almost unanimously, thanks to the tireless efforts of Utah Patients Coalition and Libertas.Soon there will be be pilot programs for clinical MDMA and psilocybin via IHC and U of U health. finally, some tangible mental health progress from the #utleg 1/3— Michael ???? (@mcmorrise) March 7, 2024

The bill would amend Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 303, and enact 58-37-3.5, Utah Code Annotated 1953. Utah voters approved medical cannabis in 2018, and the state is well on its way towards amending laws surrounding psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.

Any hospital that participates in the psychedelics therapy pilot program would need to submit a report to the Utah Legislature by July 1, 2026, detailing which drugs are being utilized, the outcomes of patients in treating their conditions, and any potential side effects.

If passed, the bill would take effect on May 1, 2024 and sunset after three years.

Two years ago, Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed into law a bill that created a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs and possible regulations for their lawful use.

Rep. Brady Brammer (R), who sponsored the previously enacted psychedelics task force legislation, House Bill 167, said psychedelics represent “one of the few areas of research where we see that there are curative possibilities for mental health, particularly related to PTSD and treatment-resistant depression.”

“This is another tool in our toolbox,” he said. “We’ve done the task force. They’ve come back with their reports. And now we have this clinical trial of sorts that allows for some of the patients to get it under significant observation with the appropriate guardrails.”

Mormons on Mushrooms? A Growing Interest in Psilocybin in Utah

Meanwhile, last November in Provo—a city with nearly 90% of residents who are Mormon, or Latter-Day Saints—a mushroom treatment center, called Singularism, opened its doors.

Singularism touted freedom of religion in order to use psilocybin mushrooms but immediately attracted the wrath of the City of Provo, whose officials appeared to state that the center wouldn’t last long.

A longshot bill that would legalize psilocybin mushrooms in Utah was introduced last February. Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, (D-Salt Lake City) unveiled Senate Bill 200 on Feb. 9, a bill that would legalize psilocybin mushrooms for medical use in Utah.

Deseret News reports that SB 200 would set up a program that mirrors the program behind Utah’s medical cannabis market. Utah’s compromise bill, the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, which was passed in 2018 allows patients with a healthcare provider’s verification, to purchase medical cannabis.

The bill would allow Utahns ages 21 and older to receive a psilocybin-assisted treatment directly from a psilocybin therapy provider. Qualifying conditions would include depression or anxiety if the patient has tried at least one other treatment route, PTSD, and people who are receiving hospice care.

Currently in Utah, possession of psilocybin can result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years or a $5,000 in fine. The state has come a long way in terms of cannabis and psychedelic reform, with a Mormon supermajority that has dominated its legislature for decades.

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a 34-year-old nonprofit research and educational organization “that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana,” announced in a press release on Monday that it “has partnered with the City and County of Denver to provide comprehensive training on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention to the city’s first responders.” 

The Psychedelic Crisis Assessment and Intervention training was “commissioned by the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel (DPMPRP), a first-of-its-kind panel that was formed after the passage of Ordinance 301 in May 2019, which effectively decriminalized the personal use and possession of psilocybin mushrooms in Denver,” MAPS said in a statement. 

Per the press release, the training will cover topics including: “The history, usage, psychological and physiological response, and potential adverse effects of psilocybin ingestion”; “The legal considerations and implications of decriminalization and the role of first responders”; “The standards and protocols for effective psilocybin or psychedelic-related crisis response planning, training, and deployment”; and “The best practices and techniques for assessing, de-escalating, and managing psychedelic crises.”

According to the local publication Westworld,  the training program “became even more important in 2022, when Colorado became the second state (after Oregon) to legalize medical psilocybin use and the first state to decriminalize specific psychedelics, including psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline.”

“Created as part of the 2019 voter initiative decriminalizing psilocybin, the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel took a brief hiatus in 2023 after Prop 122 passed,” Westworld reported this week. “But the panel is meeting again and is expected to take a leading position in Denver’s approach to its medical psilocybin rules.”

After Prop 122 passed in 2022, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed the measure into law last year. The law directs “the department of revenue [to create] the natural medicine division for the purpose of regulating and licensing the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, storage, distribution, transport, transfer, and dispensation of natural medicine or natural medicine product between natural medicine licensees.”

The measure requires the natural medicine division to: “Regulate natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including healing centers, cultivators, manufacturers, and testers, and issue licenses for such businesses; Promulgate rules necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses; and Perform duties necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including investigatory and disciplinary authority.”

Kevin Matthews, former President of the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, celebrated the launch of the training program.

“I’m proud of my hometown for stepping into a national leadership role with this training. It represents a giant leap forward for public health and safety with psilocybin and natural medicines in Denver and is a perfect example of what cities can do to better integrate emerging psychedelic policies into their existing infrastructures. I’m looking forward to the city continuing its collaboration with MAPS to monitor outcomes and educate Denver residents on this exciting new issue,” Matthews said in a statement.

Sara Gael, a former MAPS Harm Reduction Officer, said the group is “honored and excited to collaborate with the City and County of Denver to provide this groundbreaking training program on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention.”

“We believe that this program will equip first responders with the necessary knowledge and skills to handle psilocybin and psychedelic related crises in a safe and compassionate manner and ultimately improve the health and well-being of the community. This program is also a testament to the progressive and visionary leadership of Denver, which has taken a bold step to decriminalize psilocybin and create a model for other cities to follow,” Gael said.

MAPS said in the press release on Monday that its “training aims to enhance the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of first responders to quickly recognize and effectively respond to emotional and behavioral crisis incidents involving psilocybin and other psychedelics.” The group also said that the “Denver Harm Reduction training initiative has been well received by the City of Denver leadership, who recognize the importance and value of providing first responders with the necessary tools and skills to handle psychedelic-related crises in a safe and compassionate manner.”

“The program also seeks to enhance responder safety and reduce risk and liability in situations where individuals are experiencing a psychedelic-induced crisis,” the group explained. “After three years, a team of over 20 MAPS and subcontracted professionals with backgrounds in law, medicine, psychiatry, mental health, neuropsychopharmacology, law enforcement, crisis response, quality improvement, and education developed the curriculum. The final training is customized for law enforcement, mental health, and emergency medical service personnel and will be delivered through asynchronous videos and corresponding assessments.”

Vice President Kamala Harris is hosting a White House meeting to discuss drug policy reform that will feature guests including hip hop artist Fat Joe and others who have benefitted from the cannabis pardons granted by the Biden administration. The Friday meeting will also include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a leading proponent of cannabis legalization in his state, and other advocates for ending the criminal prohibition of marijuana. 

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In October 2022, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order pardoning thousands of people with federal convictions for marijuana possession, saying, “No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.” In December 2023, the president went further by expanding the pool of people eligible for a pardon for marijuana convictions under federal or Washington, D.C. law. 

“President Biden and I have been clear: We must continue to change our nation’s approach to marijuana and reform the criminal justice system,” the vice president said in a statement in December. As I have declared many times before, no one should be in prison simply for smoking weed. That is why we continue to call on Governors to join us in this long-overdue work.”

White House Meeting Features Pot Policy Reform Advocates

Friday’s meeting at the West Wing of the White House to discuss the Biden administration’s cannabis policy reforms will include guests such as Beshear and five-time Grammy award nominee Fat Joe, who is one of thousands of people to be pardoned by the president. 

“Friday’s engagement will build on the Vice President’s efforts to uplift the historic actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to ensure everyone has access to opportunity, including by making the criminal justice system more just. This will continue in the weeks and months to come,” a White House official said, according to a report from NBC News.

Another pardon recipient, cannabis activist Chris Goldstein, a regional coordinator with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), will also attend. In 2014, he was convicted of a federal marijuana possession charge for smoking marijuana during a protest in an outdoor area of Independence Hall National Historic Park in Philadelphia. 

“These Presidential pardons are a powerful and meaningful action,” Goldstein said in a statement from NORML. “They carry a tremendous power of goodwill — not just to those of us who received them, but for the entire country. These pardons are seen by people everywhere as tangible signs of the White House taking action on marijuana policy.”

Goldstein said that he plans to use the time with Harris at Friday’s meeting to bring further awareness to the presidential pardon process. He also hopes to stress the need for further federal action on cannabis reform, including the descheduling of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.

“Three of us will discuss the real-world impact of our federal marijuana convictions and the relief provided by these Presidential pardons,” said Goldstein. “Thousands of people are still eligible, and this event should help raise awareness for more people to apply.”

“We will help represent tens of millions of Americans who have been arrested for marijuana in nearly a century of prohibition,” he added.

Fat Joe / Shutterstock

Reform Advocates Call For More Than Words

The news of this week’s White House roundtable discussion on cannabis policy reform was welcomed by justice advocates and members of the cannabis industry. Sarah Gersten, executive director and general counsel at the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit working to secure the release of all cannabis prisoners, said that she hopes the meeting results in action from the president.

“Clearly, the administration understands that taking action to repair the harms of cannabis criminalization will help energize voters who overwhelmingly believe marijuana should be legal,” Gersten said in a statement on Wednesday. “But the general public also believes no one should be incarcerated for cannabis, and Biden has failed to keep that campaign promise. Biden could free the over 3,000 federal cannabis prisoners with the stroke of a pen. If he truly wants to tout his actions on cannabis reform, bolder action needs to be taken.”

Jeffrey M. Zucker, co-founder and president of Denver-based cannabis consultants firm Green Lion Partners, also called for the Biden administration to make meaningful progress on federal cannabis reform.

“From this meeting, I hope to see a shift toward comprehensive drug law reform that acknowledges the disproportionate impact of current policies on communities of color,” Zucker said in a statement to High Times. “Reforms prioritizing social justice, harm reduction and economic empowerment would reflect genuine progress.”