In early 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) declared a public health emergency (PHE) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. DHHS extended the PHE numerous times over the last few years, most recently on July 15, 2022 for a period of 90 days. The PHE will expire on October 13, 2022
In March of this year, the Washington State Legislature passed Senate Bill 5693. Section 211, subpart 99 of this bill directs the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) to create a psilocybin work group to assess the feasibility of bills like Senate Bill 5660 (see our initial take on that one here). In particular, the
On September 6, 2022, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to pass a resolution aimed at decriminalizing psychedelics. This is yet another victory in the battle against prohibition. But it's important to remember that decriminalization is very different from legalization-- just see my older summary of a host of decriminalization efforts. Decriminalization does
In 2023, Oregon will have a regulated psilocybin market. Colorado voters will have a chance to vote on something similar this fall (although Initiative 58 would not take effect until 2024). Other than that, not a single other state has any form of psychedelic regulation in the works. Last week, an attempt to simply decriminalize
In 2021, California State Senator Scott Wiener introduced SB-519, a statewide psychedelics decriminalization bill. Senator Wiener didn't have the support to push the bill all the way forward in 2021, so he gathered momentum for a 2022 vote. After a gutting by the California Assembly, the state won't decriminalize psychedelics in 2022. I've regularly blogged on
A recently published letter ("Letter") indicates that the Biden administration is preparing for the approval of psychedelic drugs and MDMA to treat mental illness and PTSD. This type of federal agency correspondence would have been unimaginable five or six years ago. Things are changing fast! There are well-known potential health benefits of MDMA and psychedelics
A statewide psychedelics decriminalization bill that's been on pause for almost a year was recently set for a legislative hearing next month. This is huge news for California psychedelics advocates, even if we don't have a ton of information on what is likely to happen just yet. In 2021, California State Senator Scott Wiener introduced
Since January 1, 2021, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has engaged in a two-year development phase, creating regulations based on Ballot Measure 109. There are five subcommittees covering different aspects of the emerging psilocybin industry including research, health equity, manufacturing, training, and licensing. In this post, we will cover the most recent Research Subcommittee meeting
Earlier this year, Utah passed a law that will directly impact ketamine clinics. The new law is entitled “Anesthesia and sedation requirements – Unprofessional conduct – Whistleblower protection.” Ut. St. § 58-1-510. The new law is effective as of May 4, 2022, but the implementing regulations have been passed or implemented yet. We believe that
The Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board (OPAB) was established by Measure 109 and is responsible for making recommendations to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) for psilocybin services in Oregon. OPAB has met monthly since March of 2021, and the last monthly meeting was set for June 22, 2022. After that, OPAB will meet every two months. In a
