The Iowa House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to legalize psilocybin, a hallucinogenic chemical produced by psychedelic mushrooms, for psychiatric treatment in the state.
In an 84-6 vote, the Iowa House voted to create a Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board that would be housed in the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, similar to the Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board that oversees Iowa’s medical cannabis program.
The board would be made up of a panel of experts to create guidelines to use psilocybin as a treatment option for people with some mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Under the original bill, psilocybin could have been used to treat PTSD, but an amendment approved by the lower chamber of the state legislature expanded the ability of the board to approve other illnesses that could be treated with psilocybin, including depression.
The legislation received bipartisan support. State Rep. Jeff Shipley, a Republican who has previously advocated the legalization of psilocybin, said the proposal has shown “tremendous promise” in managing PTSD.
“The state of Iowa has a lot of responsibility in ensuring Iowans not only have access to mental health treatments, but they have access to treatments that are actually effective — treatments that will actually alleviate the symptoms that patients are suffering from,” Shipley said. “And so again, House File 978, will go a long way in ensuring that the state of Iowa is fully fulfilling their obligation.”
“Like many other veterans across the state and across the nation, I didn’t know where to turn,” state Rep. Larry McBurney, a Democrat, said. “I didn’t know what options were available to me, and it took me long enough to find what those options were for myself and what worked for me. I want to ensure that other veterans across the state have this option available to them.”
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The Food and Drug Administration has not approved psilocybin. A handful of states, however, have moved to decriminalize it or allow it in mental health treatment settings. Colorado and Oregon are the only states with a medical psilocybin program.
Republicans have majorities in both branches of the state legislature, but it is unclear if the state Senate will take up the proposal or how it will vote.