(Des Moines) The Iowa House passed legislation Monday to legalize the use of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in “magic mushrooms,” for psychiatric treatment through a state program.
House File 978, passed 84-6, would establish a Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board within the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, operating in a similar fashion to the existing Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board that oversees Iowa’s medical cannabis program. The board would grant licenses for the production and administration of products with psilocybin to people with certain mental health needs in the state.
The bill also sets new requirements for who can access the substance, including an age 21 restriction and limit of 5,000 patients who can be recommended psilocybin treatment.
Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, the floor manager for the bill, said he would not have guessed that he would be involved in a bill on psilocybin before this year because “it’s just not something that I’m into.” But he said after learning more about the effectiveness of psilocybin treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, he believed the program will help people suffering in Iowa, like military veterans, law enforcement officers and other groups that face high rates of PTSD.
He said the bill requires people to receive psilocybin in a clinical environment with psychiatric support. In this environment, he said, the drug has been shown to allow people to “relive” their trauma in a controlled, safe space, and be able to resolve or lessen the impacts of PTSD. Wills said he believes this method could help address the high suicide rates of veterans and others suffering from the disorder, and offers a better alternative to other forms of PTSD treatment currently available.
“I will tell you, right now the only option these veterans have, the only option these people with PTSD have, is to be on mind-altering, life-altering drugs for the rest of their life,” Wills said.
While several states have decriminalized the use of psilocybin, Oregon and Colorado are currently the only states with medical psilocybin programs.
Rep. Larry McBurney, D-Urbandale, said he supported the bill as a way to help veterans access needed mental health support after returning from their service. McBurney said he was diagnosed with PTSD after serving as an Iowa Air National Guard veteran, having been deployed three times.
“Like many other veterans across the state and across the nation, I didn’t know where to turn,” McBurney said. “I didn’t know what options were available to me, and it took me long enough to find what those options were for myself and what worked for me. I want to ensure that other veterans across the state have this option available to them.”
The original bill specifically called for psilocybin to be used to treat PTSD, but an amendment approved by the House Monday expands the ability of the board to approve other illnesses that could be treated with psilocybin, and would allow for more psilocybin compounds to be added as legally available.
Wills said the amendment was added as a way to ensure the board can make this psychiatric treatment available for other mental illnesses or disorders when research can prove if it is effective. Wills said there have been “promising” early studies showing psilocybin may be an effective treatment for people recovering from substance use disorders related to alcohol and opiates.
“By taking PTSD out of the equation, what we’re doing is we’re allowing that board, that medical board, to be able to make decisions,” Wills said. “So initially, of course, PTSD is the treatment that we know works, because there’s peer-reviewed studies or peer-reviewed data. But as these other ailments, these other things (are studied) and have proof, then the board can add them.”
Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, has advocated for similar measures related to the legal use of psilocybin in previous sessions.
“(It) looks like mushroom season has officially arrived in Iowa,” he joked as the bill passed the House. “Our love and prayers are with everyone pursuing the elusive morel mushrooms, but perhaps more urgently, our love and prayers are with those suffering from intractable psychiatric conditions.”
He praised the measure as opening up a new method for mental health care in Iowa that has shown “tremendous promise” in the management of psychiatric conditions like PTSD.
“The state of Iowa has a lot of responsibility in ensuring Iowans not only have access to mental health treatments, but they have access to treatments that are actually effective — treatments that will actually alleviate the symptoms that patients are suffering from,” Shipley said. “And so again, House File 978, will go a long way in ensuring that the state of Iowa is fully fulfilling their obligation.”
The measure moves to the Iowa Senate for further consideration.
