Bipartisan bill to study ‘magic mushrooms’ advances in House
Bipartisan support is mounting for legislation that would add an unusual new tool to combat the state’s mental health crisis by seeking to legalize research of psychedelic substances.
The bill, authored by Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, would allow for the state’s universities and research institutions to begin studying psilocybin and psilocin, the chemicals in “magic mushrooms” that produce a psychedelic state.
It is an attempt to build on and become involved in ongoing research that has shown positive results in psychedelics helping with mental health issues ranging from addiction to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The immediate goal of the bill is to help speed up that research in hopes to lower suicide rates, especially among veterans, and provide health care professionals an additional treatment for a spectrum of problems, sponsors say.
“I thought about, as we move beyond this pandemic, how we can address the mental health crisis our state faces. With so many folks who are struggling right now, I think we need to think outside the box, we need to think creatively,” Pae said.
If passed, the bill would allow clinical trials on psychedelics in relation to depression, anxiety, opioid use disorder and dementia, among others.
“These trials are going to be very much in controlled environments with folks who are overseeing it. We are going to be micro-dosing,” Pae said.
While psychedelics are still a Schedule 1 drug and federally illegal, the federal government has allowed states to conduct research on psychedelics, largely staying out of the way.
During a House Public Health committee meeting, questions came up on the intent of the bill and why the state
needs to jump in when research is already happening elsewhere.
Rep. Logan Phillips, R-Mounds, who worked closely with Pae on the bill and made the presentation to the committee, responded that time is of the essence in trying to prevent suicide.
In the most recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics, Oklahoma had 816 suicide deaths in 2019. Meaning for every 100,000 people there were just over 20 suicide deaths, eighth most in the nation.
“By jumping into the field we can immediately start helping our people, and our veterans. And get these changes into our community at a much higher rate of speed,” said Phillips, an Army veteran.
“Most of the people I served with killed themselves after they came back,” he said. “This treatment could have helped my soldiers, my friends, my colleagues. So it’s a passion to me to make sure that we get this to where we are moving the needle quickly to actually help these people.”
At the same time House Bill 3414 gives room for researchers to work, it also lessens the penalty for those caught with psychedelics under 1.5 grams to a $400 fine. But Pae and Phillips said the bill is not meant to promote or allow growth and consumption outside of medical purposes.
“Early research is already showing that this is a light switch, this is automatic treatment for PTSD (and) lowers suicidal thoughts,” Phillips said.
Much of the research being cited comes from the Johns Hopkins Center on Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, one of the only institutions of its kind in the world.
Over various studies conducted by the Johns Hopkins center, psychedelics have been shown to alleviate depression and reduce the urge to smoke tobacco. One study found 80% of participants lessened their smoking frequency after the psychedelic trials.
A second study reported that 80% of participants had fewer suicidal and depressive thoughts, and some reported overcoming a fear of death.
In 2020, Dr. Roland Griffiths, the Center’s founding director and professor at John Hopkins, told Scientific American that psychedelics have helped researchers, “peer into the basic neuroscience of how these drugs affect brain activity and worldview in a way that is ultimately very healthy.”
In Oklahoma’s Legislature, the idea of improving brain activity through psychedelics has robust support with 14 co-sponsors standing with Pae’s bill, including Democrats, Republicans and leadership in both chambers.
Additionally, the Oklahoma Legislative Mental Health Caucus is interested in the bill that would provide help to mental health institutions outside of typical infrastructure and program spending.
“We have to be creative in the ways that we approach this issue, and the ways that we approach care, and I’m willing, whether it’s Johns Hopkins or any other research university, to support those endeavors, even though, you know, we might have a certain reaction,” said Rep. Merleyn Bell, D-Norman, co-chair of the Caucus.
That reaction, stemming from a 1960s’ counterculture understanding of psychedelic drugs, may leave some asking questions.
But Bell thinks the idea of working with psychedelics is not uncommon compared to recent decisions made by Oklahomans.
“It reminds me very much of the conversation that we had around medical marijuana not too many years ago, and we’ve seen the benefits of that not just economically but for the health of our citizens,” she said.
For Pae, the intention is not to create an entirely new industry or allow mushroom farms to sprout up across the Sooner State.
“Honestly, I haven’t really thought that far because I want to get this out of the session. I want to see where the research takes us in the bill,” he said.
Pae expects the legislation will be heard on the floor as early as this week or next week and, if passed, Senate Assistant Majority Floor Leader Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, is slated to take up the bill as principal author in the upper chamber.
If the bill is passed, research conducted under its purview would result in a report to the Legislature by 2025.
“With the results, we want to see how it can be done in a medically safe way for folks who really have these types of mental health challenges,” Pae said.