New Hampshire Lawmakers Approve Bipartisan Bill To Legalize Psilocybin For Medical Use, While Rejecting Separate Psychedelics Measure

New Hampshire lawmakers advanced a bipartisan bill to legalize the
regulated use of psilocybin for medical purposes, while rejecting a
separate measure on therapeutic access to the psychedelic.

Weeks after holding an initial hearing on both proposals, the House Health,
Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee voted 18-0 on Wednesday to
approve HB 1809 from Rep. Buzz Scherr (D) but 11-7 to reject HB 1796 from
Rep. Michael Moffett (R).

The votes took place on the same day that members of a separate committee
considered a proposal to let voters decide on legalizing marijuana on the
ballot.

The psilocybin legislation that advanced, meanwhile, would create a
regulatory pathway for patients with certain conditions to access the
psychedelic for therapeutic use through a program overseen by the state
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Moffett’s measure is more prescriptive about the proposed regulatory
framework compared Scherr’s bill.

At Wednesday’s committee meeting, Rep. Yury Polozov (R) called psilocybin
“an important medication, naturally occurring that can save lives.”

Rep. Lucy Weber (D) said she supported HB 1809 but not HB 1796 due to the
budgetary implications of the latter proposal, calling it “fiscally
imprudent.”

At the earlier committee hearing this month, Jenny O’Higgins of DHHS said
officials have some concerns around the lack of appropriated funds in
Moffett’s legislation, saying the department would “not be able to absorb”
the program under its current budget.

*Here are the key provisions of HB 1809, which advanced:*

- DHHS would be responsible for approving licensed medical professional
to serve as providers of psilocybin for qualifying patients.
- In order to qualify for the program, patients would need to be
diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder or another condition authorized by
an advisory board and DHHS.
- The legislation specifically stipulates that only natural psilocybin
could be administered, excluding synthetic versions of the psychedelic.
- Providers would also need to be approved by the department to grow and
harvest their own psilocybin products.
- The process for treating qualifying patients with the psychedelic
would need to involve a preparation session, administration session and
integration session.
- A Medical Psilocybin Advisory Board would be established, comprised of
a representative of DHHS, a qualifying patient, a veterans advocate and
eight medical professionals.
- Those medical experts would need to include a psychedelics
researcher, two regulators overseeing existing medical psilocybin programs
and specialists in the treatment of addiction, palliative care, veterans’
affairs, naturopathy, nursing and mental health counseling.
- The board would be tasked with analyzing data on patient outcomes from
DHHS, consider adding qualifying conditions for participation in the
program and determine whether the law should be expanded.
- The program would only be implemented if the advisory board, within
two years of the bill’s enactment, notifies lawmakers, regulators and the
governor that it can be effectively administered.

“The medical community has always recognized that patients exist with
serious conditions that are very resistant to effective treatment,” a
statement of purpose for the measure says. “Recently, research has begun to
show that certain of those patients have had positive results with the
closely supervised use of psilocybin for treatment.”

“Patients with significant post-traumatic stress disorder, with
treatment-resistant clinical depression, and with serious substance use
disorder have been shown to benefit from the controlled, therapeutic use of
psilocybin in a supervised setting,” it says. “The purpose of this act is
to create a carefully monitored and closely supervised setting in which an
approved medical provider can treat a carefully chosen patient with
appropriate doses of psilocybin which that same provider has produced for a
medical intervention.”

*Here are the main details of HB 1796, which was rejected:*

- The bill would permit the regulated use of psilocybin in a medically
supervised setting, with DHHS responsible for overseeing the program.
- To qualify for psilocybin treatment, a patient 21 or older would need
to be diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, substance misuse
disorder, a terminal illness requiring end-of-life care or any other
condition authorized by DHHS.
- A Psilocybin Licensing Board under the department would be tasked with
issuing licenses for independent medical psilocybin providers, therapy
providers, cultivators and testing laboratories.
- There would be specific guidelines for facilities where the
psychedelic could be administered, including security requirements and
other safety protocols such as ensuring there are rescue medications on
site if a patient experiences an adverse event.
- The legislation would also establish a Therapeutic Psilocybin
Treatment Fund, which would be funded by revenue from licensing taxes and
fees. The fund would go toward studies into the possibility of expanding
the program to include additional psychedelics in the program.
- The law if enacted would take effect beginning in January 1, 2027.

“The purpose of the Therapeutic Psilocybin Act is to allow the beneficial
use of psilocybin in a regulated system for alleviating qualified medical
conditions,” the bill’s statement of purpose says.

The prospects of either psilocybin bill advancing to enactment into law
this session remain unclear, but lawmakers have been increasingly active in
pursuing psychedelics reform in recent years.

Last June, the New Hampshire Senate voted to scrap compromise legislation
that would have lowered the state’s criminal penalty for first-time
psilocybin possession while also creating mandatory minimum sentences
around fentanyl.

As originally introduced, the legislation would have completely removed
penalties around obtaining, purchasing, transporting, possessing or using
psilocybin, effectively legalizing it on a noncommercial basis. However a House
committee amended the bill before unanimously advancing it last March.


*— 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 in New Hampshire, the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Committee on Wednesday took up legislation from Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D) that
would put the issue of marijuana legalization before voters at the ballot
this November.

The House earlier this month also approved a bill to legalize marijuana in
the state—though its chances of passage in the Senate remain dubious, and
the governor has expressed clear opposition to the reform.

In the Senate, meanwhile, the Judiciary Committee last week took up a bill
from Sen. Donovan Fenton (D) that would allow adults over the age of 21 to
legally possess up to four ounces of cannabis in plant form and 20 grams of
concentrated cannabis products, as well as other products containing no
more than 2,000 milligrams of THC.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) has already threatened to veto any legalization bill
that reaches her desk, though the constitutional amendment proposal would
not require gubernatorial action.

The governor said in August that her position on the reform would not
change even if the federal government moved forward with rescheduling the
plant. Since then, President Donald Trump has directed the attorney general
to finalize the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III
of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Meanwhile, the House also approved a bill this month from Rep. Wendy Thomas
(D) that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries (known as “alternative
treatment centers,” or ATCs, in the state) to convert their dispensary
licenses to become for-profit entities. HB 54, which passed on the consent
calendar with other legislation, previously advanced unanimously out of the
House Finance Committee.

Part of the motivation behind the legislation is the fact that medical
marijuana dispensaries don’t qualify for federal non-profit status. But in
the state, they’re considered non-profit organizations, which has resulted
in disproportionately increased operating costs.

*Image courtesy of CostaPPR.*

The post New Hampshire Lawmakers Approve Bipartisan Bill To Legalize
Psilocybin For Medical Use, While Rejecting Separate Psychedelics Measure
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