PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Washington state is creeping toward legalizing psilocybin services, perhaps following in Oregon’s footsteps. The House passed a bill Tuesday that would allow the state to establish a framework for use of the drug.
Senate Bill 5263 would allow the state to establish an advisory board and task force to provide advice and recommendations on developing a regulatory framework for access to psilocybin. If ever legalized, only Washington residents who are 21 and older would be able to access the drug.
Sen. Jesse Salomon, a Democrat from Shoreline, is a chief sponsor of the bill. He issued a press release celebrating this next step toward the bill’s passage.
“Although this topic is new to many legislators, this bill will facilitate well-informed conversations to create a safe and regulated process for psilocybin access in a near future. Access to psilocybin can unlock the door to a brighter future for those struggling with mental health disorders,” he said.
The bill previously passed the Senate in a vote of 41-7 and passed the House Tuesday with a vote of 87-10. It received bipartisan support.
The House amended the bill by adding a pilot program where the University of Washington would use psilocybin to serve veterans and first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and substance use disorder.
Because the bill was amended, it now heads back to the Senate for a second vote.
Ahead of the House vote, Rep. Nicole Macri, a Democrat from Seattle, addressed her fellow lawmakers and said this bill helps make progress toward addressing the trauma some people are grappling with.
“This bill will allow us to learn more about how we can apply psilocybin services to addressing not only the trauma impacts that our military veterans and first responders have experienced, but other behavioral health conditions and help all of us work through how we move towards a regulated approach to psilocybin in our state,” she said.
Republican Rep. Travis Couture, from Allyn, agreed and said he’s hopeful psilocybin treatment can provide relief to veterans and first responders who are suffering from PTSD. Couture is a Navy veteran and said the issue hits close to home for him.
“This bill is a symbolic move toward doing something, anything for veterans and first responders who have to go through the worst of the worst every single day,” he said.
While Couture was a strong supporter of the bill, other Republicans opposed it.
Rep. Joe Schmick, from Colfax, was one of the 10 House representatives who voted against it. He’s afraid the passage of this bill and moving forward with psilocybin legalization could allow the drug to enter the hands of people who aren’t allowed to use it.
“While there is good for doing this, and many people have benefitted, there’s fears on [the Republican] side that we’re opening up a door for yet another drug that will be a detriment to our society in the wrong hands. So, for those reasons, [Republican votes will] be mixed,” he said.
If passed, the task force that’s formed as a result of the bill would also be responsible for determining how the state will prevent psilocybin products from being distributed to people who are not allowed to have them and how it will prevent psilocybin products from being taken to other states.
Like in Oregon, the Washington psilocybin advisory board would be established within the state health department.
The bill would require the advisory board to meet at least five times a year until July 1, 2024, and after that date, the board would be required to meet at least once a quarter.
The bill would also allow for an interagency psilocybin work group to be formed with members from the department of health, the liquor and cannabis board and the department of agriculture. This group would be required to review indigenous practices with psilocybin and review medical research and clinical trials involving psilocybin.
In Oregon, voters approved a ballot measure in 2020 to allow the legal, regulated use of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound found in some magic mushrooms. Oregon was the first state to legalize the use of psychedelic mushrooms.
Research has shown that psilocybin can relieve major depressive disorder symptoms in adults.
The state finalized its rules by the end of 2022 and in 2023, Oregon began accepting applications for manufacturing, laboratory, service centers and facilitators.
The use, sale and possession of psilocybin is illegal in the United States under federal law.