Oklahoma House Passes Bill Promoting Psychedelics
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America’s nascent psychedelic industry scored a significant win after House legislators in Oklahoma voted in favor of a measure that would promote psilocybin research and protect patients from prosecution. Introduced by Representative Daniel Pae, the legislation passed through committee nearly a month ago before being cleared by the House of Representatives in a 66-to-32 vote. The legislation is now headed to the Senate floor.
If it is signed into law, the psilocybin bill will protect patients who undertake psilocybin-assisted therapy from legal repercussions while promoting research into the medical potential of psilocybin.
In mid-February, the Oklahoma House Alcohol, Tobacco and Controlled Substances Committee approved a revised version of the measure of the psilocybin bill in a 6-to-1 vote. The revised measure called for the formation of a pilot program to allow universities and research institutes partnered with institutions of higher education to research the potential benefits and risks of psilocyn and psilocybin.
These institutions would have to look into the application of psilocybin in the treatment of severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic pain, opioid use disorder, early-stage dementia, palliative care and end-of-life care. Additionally, universities and research institutions would have to research the science of cultivating, synthesizing, extracting and processing psilocybin, psilocyn, yeasts, fungi and other organisms that naturally produce psilocybin and psilocyn.
The psilocybin measure would provide legal protections for the researchers and patients who take part in the pilot program.
Universities and research institutes interested in participating in the pilot program would have to submit a written report to the speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives as well as the president pro tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate outlining the results of their research by Dec. 1, 2026.
The bill passed by the Oklahoma committee last month was a limited version of a bill previously introduced by Pae that had been stripped of provisions to decriminalize psilocybin. While the current version does not decriminalize psilocybin, it will allow people who are charged with psilocybin possession to defend the charges if they can provide “clear and convincing evidence” that they are currently suffering from a qualifying medical condition such as chronic pain or PTSD.
Still, the measure stresses that this provision should not be misunderstood as the total decriminalization of psilocyn and psilocybin in the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma now joins a growing number of states that are currently considering measures to either allow psychedelics for medical use or decriminalize them entirely.
As the legalization movement marches on, several startups such as Delic Holdings Corp. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) are advancing drug-development programs that could see many more psychedelics approved as medicines by the FDA.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Delic Holdings Corp. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/DELCF
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