Hawaii House Panel Advances Bill To Create Psychedelics Task Force That Has Already Passed Senate

A Hawaii House committee has approved a Senate-passed bill that would create
a psychedelics task force responsible for studying and making policy
recommendations on providing access to breakthrough therapies such as
psilocybin and MDMA.

The House Health Committee advanced the legislation from Sen. Chris Lee
(D), with new amendments, in a 9-0 vote on Friday. The measure, which had
cleared the Senate in a unanimous vote of 24-0 earlier this month, next
heads to the House Finance Committee before potentially going to the floor.

The bill would create a Mental Health Emerging Therapies Task Force that
would be tasked with spending two years reviewing the current scientific
literature, supporting additional clinical research and “developing policy
recommendations for safe, ethical, and culturally-informed implementation”
of a psychedelics therapy program.

“The legislature finds that addressing the mental health crisis affecting
the residents of the State, particularly among veterans, first responders,
and trauma survivors, is urgent,” the bill, SB 3199, states. “Suicide
continues to be a leading cause of preventable death, and the State must
explore all safe and effective treatment options supported by scientific
evidence.”

Noting that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already
designated psilocybin and MDMA as breakthrough therapies in the treatment
of serious mental health conditions, which could lend to future
rescheduling under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Hawaii
legislation says the state “must proactively prepare public health,
clinical, and research systems for safe and equitable implementation.”

The state Department of Health said in testimony to the House committee
that it supports the bill, noting that in light of FDA’s action on
psychedelics, “it is prudent for Hawaii to evaluate research readiness,
regulatory implications, workforce development, and culturally informed
implementation pathways” in advance of any federal rescheduling of the
substances.

The governor’s Office of Wellness and Resilience said the bill “resents an
important opportunity to begin to prepare a planful pathway for individuals
in need of access to potentially life-saving treatments for trauma and
other longstanding mental health challenges.”

“A growing body of research demonstrates that breakthrough therapies (such
as MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapies) show significant efficacy and
positive clinical outcomes in treating post-traumatic stress disorder,
substance use disorders, end-of-life anxiety in terminally ill patients,
eating disorders, treatment-resistant depression, and additional
conditions,” it said.

Members of the task force would have to include representatives of the
state Department of Health (DOH), the attorney general’s office, the Office
of Wellness and Resilience (OWR), the University of Hawaii’s medical school
and more.

As drafted, DOH would have overseen the task force, but the latest
committee amendment makes the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at
the University of Hawaii the responsible entity, and designates JABSOM’s
appointee as chair of the panel.

The House committee additionally adopted amendments suggested by Department
of Law Enforcement, to state that its Narcotics Enforcement Division—and
not the Board of Pharmacy—would be responsible for changing state
scheduling of psychedelics following any federal reclassification, and
changing deadline for such action from 90 days to 30 days.

Members also moved to note in the bill report that the State Health
Planning & Development Agency has expressed concerns that psychedelics are
illegal under federal law and that task force should proceed cautiously.

Finally, the panel made technical amendments for clarity, consistency and
style.

If enacted, it appears the bill would build upon prior work conducted by a
separate psychedelics task force that convened for the first time in 2023,
with a similar goal of exploring pathways for therapeutic access into
FDA-approved breakthrough drugs like psilocybin.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
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Meanwhile, although Hawaii senators recently approved a bill to legalize
low-dose and low-potency marijuana, the legislation didn’t advance through
required steps before a key deadline, and so is dead for the year.

A separate marijuana legalization bill that contained provisions making the
reform contingent on changes to federal law or the state Constitution, SB
2421, was deferred for action. Both Senate and House panels additionally
deferred action on a measure to allow for the sale of certain hemp-derived
cannabinoid products.

Those actions comes after key House lawmakers signaled that cannabis
legalization proposals would not be advancing in the 2026 session, citing a
lack of sufficient support in their chamber.

Earlier this month, a Hawaii Senate committee separately passed legislation
to allow patients to immediately access medical cannabis once their
registrations are submitted, instead of having to wait until their cards
are delivered as is the case under current law.

*Image courtesy of CostaPPR.*

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That Has Already Passed Senate appeared first on Marijuana Moment.