Pennycuick bill backs use of ‘magic mushrooms’ to treat PTSD
HARRISBURG » State Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, R-147th Dist., has introduced a bill supporting clinical trials for the use of psilocybin as a treatment for depression among veterans and first responders battling posttraumatic stress disorder.
“A growing body of research provides a reason for hope that administered in a controlled, clinical setting, psilocybin, a compound derived from mushrooms, will be the most effective tool at our disposal to combat the suicide, opioid and overall mental health crisis burdening the Commonwealth,” Pennycuick said on her weekly newsletter.
“Studies conducted by world-renowned medical institutions indicate that psilocybin has shown efficacy, tolerability and safety in the treatment of conditions including but not limited to addiction, depression, anxiety disorders, and end-of-life psychological distress. The United States Food and Drug Administration, based on the success of these studies, has granted a “breakthrough therapy” designation for use of psilocybin to treat depression, meaning it demonstrates substantial improvement over available treatments,” Pennycuick said.
“To enable research to be done here in Pennsylvania, I have introduced House Bill 2421 that would provide for clinical trials in the Commonwealth,” she said.
“Afghanistan and Iraq, for the last 20 years, has had 2.2 million Americans cycle through as soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines,” Pennycuick said during remarks at a press conference announcing the bill. “Twenty years of prolonged war; multiple deployments; IED blasts, traumatic brain injury. Those veterans are now underemployed, unemployed, homeless and committing suicide at a rate of 20 veterans per day,” she said.
“Our traditional treatments from the VA are not working,” she said, noting drug prescriptions for PTSD have not changed in 20 years. “Veterans with PTSD are looking for options that work.”
“When I first heard of psilocybin, I did nothing but research. I have battled PTSD since my diagnosis in 2012 and even today, I continue to battle PTSD from an IED blast,” Pennycuick said.
“We in Pennsylvania are the mushroom capital of the world. I have no doubt we will eventually be the magic mushroom capital of the world,” she said. “We need more, and we need it now.”
“This is a non-partisan issue,” Pennycuick said. “Call your legislator, I don’t care where you live, ask for more clinical trials. Ask for more funding.”