Minnesota lawmakers have approved a bill that would legalize the regulated therapeutic use of psilocybin for adults 21 and older, while rescheduling the psychedelic under state statute.
Members of the House Health Finance and Policy Committee on Monday passed the legislation from Rep. Andy Smith (DFL) in a voice vote. The proposal next heads to the Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.
Smith also sponsored a similar measure last year that did not ultimately advance to enactment.
Under the current bill, which was revised with a substitute amendment at the committee hearing, qualified patients 21 and older could receive psilocybin-assisted therapy in an “approved private residence or at a licensed treatment facility,” according to a summary from the Minnesota House Research Department.
“No one in this committee, I know, questions the fact that mental illness is one of the defining issues in our society today,” Smith, who described the legislation as responsive to recommendations from a state psychedelics task force that was formed under a separate law, said. “Today in this committee, we are talking about a new tool: A therapeutic psilocybin program here in Minnesota that has great potential.”
“It will help Minnesotans who are struggling with a wide variety of mental illnesses from substance use disorder, depression, PTSD, anxiety, chronic pain and more,” he said, before describing the key provisions of the proposed legislation.
A registered facilitator would need to administer the psychedelic. To start, the program would need to involve licensing 20 to 50 facilitators, with at least three approved testing facilities for psilocybin. No more than 1,000 patients could participate in the psychedelic therapy for the first three years of the law’s implementation.
The Department of Health (DOH) and Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) would be responsible for overseeing the program and establishing rules, with the heath commissioner also tasked with collaborating with a newly established Psychedelic Medicine Advisory Committee on the initiative.
Psilocybin sessions would involve “preparation” with a patient-facilitator consultation, “administration” where patients would receive the psychedelic and “integration” where patients would work with professionals to process the therapeutic experience.
Further, HF 2906 as amended incorporates protections for health professionals that help facilitate the program. And it would impose penalties for violations of the law such as the unsanctioned administration or cultivation of psilocybin outside of the parameters of the program.
“I think a lot of the when somebody hears about this initially and thinks, ‘Hey, medicinal cannabis program’—a lot of criticism that is ‘Oh, it’s the nose under the camel’s tent for legalization’ or whatnot,” Rep. Nolan West (R), who is cosponsoring the legislation, said. “This is a pilot program.”
The lawmaker also pointed out that interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics extends not just across party lines but all the way up to the White House, where U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and other administration officials have discussed expanding access to the novel therapies.
In addition to creating the psilocybin therapy program, the Minnesota bill calls for the psychedelic to be moved from Schedule I to Schedule IV of the state’s controlled substances list, reflecting a low abuse potential and low risk of dependency.
One of the open questions for the reform is how to ensure it will receive adequate funding, and so while the sponsor said he isn’t expecting significant political resistance to the underlying purpose of the legislation, it’s possible spending concerns could prove problematic.
“If it doesn’t happen this year, I feel very confident in the next budget year that we’ll be able to get this done,” Smith told The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Kurtis Hanna, board president for the Psychedelic Access Project, told Marijuana Moment that the advancement of the bill through committee with a bipartisan vote is “encouraging” when “the Minnesota legislature is as divided as ever.”
“Veterans, mental health practitioners, doctors and patients came out in full force today to support providing another tool in the toolbox to Minnesotans suffering from mental health issues,” he said. “I’m excited to see this issue gain more traction as it moves through the next few committee stops on its way to a full vote in the House and Senate.”
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Meanwhile in Minnesota, the state’s first government-run marijuana retailer recently opened its doors, marking another milestone in the state’s adult-use cannabis program.
Last September, Minnesota officials granted the state’s first-ever marijuana event organizer license, allowing adults to buy and consume cannabis products on-site at a festival. The first non-tribal marijuana shops opened for sales to adults 21 and older earlier that month.
Also last year, the Minnesota city of Eden Prairie sought suggestions from residents on what to name a new, government-branded cannabis gummy product to be sold at municipal liquor stores.
Minnesota’s House of Representatives circulated a poll at last year’s State Fair that asked attendees about the idea of allowing localities to enact bans on marijuana businesses within their borders. Most respondents who have an opinion on the issue agree with the policy, despite it not currently being a part of the state’s cannabis laws.
Ahead of the enactment of legalization in Minnesota, lawmakers’ separate State Fair polls found majority support for the reform.
The governor has also selected a top cannabis regulator for the state who will oversee the adult-use market rollout. Last June, June, OCM issued the state’s first recreational marijuana license for a cultivation microbusiness.
OCM said at the time that it’s taking further steps to build up in the industry and create opportunities to entrepreneurs, including opening a new licensing window for cannabis testing facilities, accepting the first applications for marijuana event licenses and verifying more social equity status requests.
Separately, after Minnesota lawmakers passed a bill to end the criminalization of bong water containing trace amount of drugs, the governor signed the measure into law last May.
The change addresses an existing policy that had allowed law enforcement to treat quantities of bong water greater than four ounces as equivalent to the pure, uncut version of whatever drug the device was used to consume.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said in December that the state is “exploring” how to respond to an impending federal ban on hemp THC products, which would be “very disruptive” to a “thriving industry.”
Image courtesy of CostaPPR.
