A Rhode Island House of Representatives committee has approved a bill that would legalize the possession and cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms, while taking steps to prepare for therapeutic access pending federal reform.
The House Judiciary Committee, which held an initial hearing on Democrat Congressman Brandon Potter’s bill in March, passed the bill with amendments in a 12-2 vote on Tuesday.
The next step for the bill will be the House of Representatives.
The relevant Senate committee last week heard the corresponding version of the bill from Democratic Senator Megan Kallman, but members decided to put it on hold for further study before scheduling a possible vote in the chamber. .
The legislation would remove criminal penalties for possessing and cultivating up to one ounce (28 grams) of psilocybin for personal use, and individuals would also be able to share this amount with other adults, except from July 1.
The law also provides that if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal food and drug agency, is re-evaluating the psychedelic, which the agency has already designated as a breakthrough therapy, the Rhode Island Department of Health “will establish rules and regulations relating to cultivation, distribution and medical prescription”.
In the event the FDA expands its access program, the State Department would also have to allow sites to administer psilocybin to “patients with a serious or life-threatening mental or behavioral disorder, who have not access to effective medications for mental or behavioral health”.
According The Intercept, the FDA could approve the therapeutic use of psilocybin, as well as MDMA, within the next year or two. Biden administration health officials are considering the creation of a task force on psychedelics in anticipation of possible federal policy reform.
