Legislators in Connecticut Approve MDMA, Psilocybi

Legislators in Connecticut Approve MDMA, Psilocybin Therapy Funding Legislation

Last week, the joint Public Health Committee in Connecticut passed a measure that would allow the state to offer eligible patients access to psychedelic-assisted treatment. The bill, HB 5396, was approved on a noncontroversial basis and will be advancing to the floor for consideration.

The legislation requires that the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services launch a pilot program for psychedelic-assisted therapy to provide eligible patients with funding to receive psilocybin- or MDMA-assisted therapy. The psychedelic-assisted therapy to be offered would be funded and provided specifically for healthcare workers, retired first responders, military veterans and other individuals from historically underserved communities who suffered from severe or life-threatening behavioral or mental disorders and had no access to effective behavioral or mental health medication.

The program would come to an end when the substances under the FDA’s expanded access program for new investigational drugs were approved for medical use by the DEA or any of its successor agency.

While it wouldn’t legalize psychedelic substances, the legislation would also establish a regulatory infrastructure to allow the state to play a major role in offering access to these alternative treatment options as federal agencies continue funding and facilitating clinical trials. In addition to this, the measure would establish a Psychedelic Treatment Advisory Board in the state within the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, whose members would be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders.

This board would be charged with making recommendations on the development and design of the infrastructure and regulations that were needed to safely allow medicinal access to psychedelic-assisted therapy once various psychedelic compounds, including psilocybin and MDMA, were legalized. Rep. Liz Linehan, one of the panel members, suggested that legislators consider including other therapies like ketamine.

A separate measure, which would require the state to conduct studies into the therapeutic potential of magic mushrooms, was signed last year by the state’s governor. A group created for this purpose has been looking into this since the measure’s approval.

In other news, the Social Equity Council in the state also approved a list of areas that were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. This list will be the basis of determining eligibility for social equity business licenses in Connecticut. Under the state’s new marijuana program, one-half of all licenses must be issued to equity applicants, who may also qualify for workforce training, technical assistance and lower licensing fees.

Many companies, including Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (NEO: MYCO) (OTC: MYCOF) (FSE: ONFA), are already developing therapeutic formulations from psychedelics such as psilocybin, so the path to legalizing psychedelics could be accelerated by progress on the pharmaceutical front.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (NEO: MYCO) (OTC: MYCOF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MYCOF

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