Lawmakers in the Virginia Senate Education and Health Committee last week advanced a bill to fund clinical trials investigating the benefits of federally recognized “breakthrough therapies” for veterans’ mental health-related issues, which include psychedelic substances like psilocybin and MDMA, Marijuana Moment reports.
Introduced by state Sen. Ghazala F. Hashmi (D), SB 1101, or the Breakthrough Therapies for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, does not name psychedelics specifically. Instead, the legislation carves out funding to study “breakthrough therapies” as designated by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has previously designated MDMA and psilocybin as breakthrough therapies for PTSD and depression, respectively. Those designations were assigned after studies found the Schedule I substances showed significant potential against otherwise treatment-resistant conditions, but federal law — which considers Schedule I substances to be void of medicinal benefits — hampered further research.
“What we are hoping to do with this legislation is to establish a dedicated fund for breakthrough therapies for veteran suicide prevention that would support clinical trials, patient access, as well as training for healthcare professionals.” — Hashmi, to members of the Senate Committee on Education and Health’s Subcommittee on Health, via Marijuana Moment
During the federal lame-duck legislation session last year, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced a bipartisan proposal seeking to reschedule psychedelic substances with a “breakthrough therapy” designation from the FDA.
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