Oklahoma house committee approves psilocybin research bill
An Oklahoma house committee recently approved a bill 6-1 that would promote psychedelic research and provide legal protections to participants.
Psilocybin research is getting a second chance in Oklahoma. Earlier this month, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Controlled Substances Committee approved a bill 6-1 that would create the "Oklahoma Psilocybin Research Pilot Program.” HB 2107, introduced by Rep. Daniel Pae, would allow higher learning institutions to contract with research facilities to study the therapeutic benefit of psilocybin for 10 qualifying conditions.
Last legislative session, Rep. Pae co-authored HB 3414, which included the same research provisions as HB 2107, but would have also decriminalized possession of psilocybin. While HB 3414 passed the house, its decriminalization provision struck out in the senate and the bill ultimately failed.
HB 2107 doesn’t include the same broad decriminalization provisions as HB 3414 initially did, but it does protect participants of research trials and provides for affirmative defense if a person can “demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence” that he or she has one or more of the qualifying medical conditions listed in the bill. The authors of HB 2107 have carefully crafted the language to specifically state, this is “not be understood to be the decriminalization of psilocybin or psilocyn.”
Under HB 2107, universities and higher learning institutions could conduct scientific research on psilocybin and psilocyn for the treatment of people over eighteen years of age who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder; treatment-resistant/refractory depression; treatment-resistant/refractory anxiety; treatment-resistant/refractory obsessive compulsive disorder; traumatic brain injury; early stage dementia; palliative care; end-of-life care; opioid use disorder; or moderate to severe chronic pain.
Researchers would study the efficacy of psilocybin for the treatment of the listed qualifying conditions, review existing literature on safety, efficacy and access as well as examine the science of cultivating and processing psilocybin.
Universities and other higher learning institutions would be allowed to contract with no more than one research facility to conduct psilocybin research. Eligible entities would be required to register with the State Department of Health and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry as well as the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in order to research and dispense psilocybin. Registration fees would total $600 between the Department of Health and Agriculture and will be valid for one year.
Qualifying participants in the Oklahoma Psilocybin Research Pilot Program will be issued written certificates from a program physician. Certified patients and scientific researchers or physicians participating in the program would not be subject to arrest or prosecution for possession of psilocybin as long as their conduct was in accordance with the law.
“In any prosecution with possession of psilocybin,” HB 2107 also affords affirmative defense to those who can demonstrate convincingly that they have one or more of the listed qualifying conditions or life circumstances. While the provision does not outright decriminalize possession of psilocybin, it could compassionately keep people who may medically benefit from psilocybin from facing criminal liability regardless if they are participating in the Psilocybin Research Pilot Program.
National Institutes of Health reports that psilocybin has the most favorable safety profile and vast evidence-based data suggests that it may be the most efficacious psychedelic drug for treating mood and anxiety disorders. So far research into psilocybin’s therapeutic potentials has been incredibly encouraging, with some reporting benefits experienced by participants for over a year from just one or two doses. HB 2107 would bring us an even greater understanding of how psilocybin interacts with the mind, why its therapeutic use is effective and in turn help to relieve suffering and the experienced side-effects of existing pharmaceutical treatment options.
Indigenous cultures have cultivated healing relationships with psychedelics for many millennia, but their integration into traditional western medicine systems represents a paradigm shift in our collective approach to mental health treatments. HB 2107 does not make mention of native cultural practices or ethics being folded into psychedelic studies, a rightful concern of activists, but there is existing science on the matter researchers could be moved to review.
For now, another challenge remains psilocybin and psilocyn are categorized as schedule 1 substances in the Controlled Substances Act. It is important to keep in mind, even as the law evolves and becomes more accepting of psilocybin, possession, cultivation and distribution can still come with severe legal consequences.
