Psychedelinks – January 17, 2025
PsychedeLinks is a curated selection of top news stories impacting business, research, and culture in the psychedelics ecosystem, crafted by Emerge Law Group’s groundbreaking Psychedelics Group.
Emerge’s Hot Take
New York bill would legalize psychedelics like psilocybin, mescaline, and ibogaine
In advance of the 2025 New York legislative session, a new psychedelics bill was pre-filed proposing the legalization of entheogenic substances including psilocybin, DMT, mescaline, and ibogaine for adults 21 and older. Sponsored by Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal and eight cosponsors, the bill would allow the “possession, use, cultivation, production, creation, analysis, gifting, exchange, or sharing by or between natural persons of twenty-one years of age or older of a natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogen,” and would allow people to engage in psychedelic services “with or without remuneration.”
“Models such as the one proposed here are particularly exciting,” notes Emerge law clerk Leticia “Tish” Maskell, “in that they take these substances out of a strict service center framework. If the proposed bill passes with this element intact, it could be a great reference point for what broader state-regulated psychedelic access can look like.”
Other Noteworthy News
Colorado can now issue licenses to psychedelic mushroom therapy facilitators
COLORADO NEWSLINE – Colorado’s regulated psilocybin therapy program begins this year, with the state’s first psilocybin healing centers expected to open in early summer. The program allows licensed facilitators to oversee therapeutic sessions using psilocybin, primarily administered in healing centers. Like Oregon’s psilocybin program, participants must undergo a screening process and attend structured sessions involving preparation, administration, and integration phases. In addition to applications for facilitator licenses, application for cultivation, manufacturing, and healing center licenses have also begun, though the exact operational timelines still depend on regulatory approvals – in an effort to ensure accessibility, local governments may regulate when and where healing centers can operate but cannot ban them completely.
Nine Washington state senators introduce bill to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic use
THE MARIJUANA HERALD – Washington state lawmakers recently proposed legislation to legalize psilocybin therapy under a regulated framework. Led by Senator Jesse Salomon and modeled after Oregon’s program, the proposed legislation allows facilitators to administer psilocybin in controlled settings for the treatment of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The bill emphasizes cultural competence in service delivery and prohibits recreational use of psilocybin, focusing solely on therapeutic and medical applications. If passed, the program will be overseen by the Dept. of Health, with guidance from a newly formed Psychedelic Substances Board, and would begin a two-year development phase in September 2025, with the first licenses being issued in late 2027.
The promise and politics of psychedelics
MOFFLY MEDIA – This article explores the evolving role of psychedelics in mental health treatment, highlighting their potential in treatment of conditions including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and addiction due in large part to their ability to promote neuroplasticity to an extent not found with traditional pharmaceuticals.
Minnesota task force recommends decriminalization of magic mushrooms
CBS NEWS – The Minnesota Psychedelic Medicine Task Force recently submitted a nearly 200-page report recommending the decriminalization of psilocybin and detailing psilocybin’s potential mental health benefits in the treatment of conditions like depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The task force also explored synthetic drugs like MDMA and LSD, as well as a recreational market for psilocybin, but did not gain enough support to make recommendations. While psilocybin currently is illegal in Minnesota, advocates are optimistic that the report will be a long-term resource for lawmakers and will play a key role in advancing research and potential legislation to explore psilocybin therapy.
LISTEN: The C.E.O.s are tripping. Can psychedelics help the C-suite?
THE NEW YORK TIMES – “A growing cottage industry is dedicated to the theory that mind-altering drugs can improve business leadership.”
LISTEN: How psychedelics are aiding in end-of-life care in Oregon
OPB – In 2020, Oregon legalized psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic use, driven by research demonstrating their effectiveness in treating depression, PTSD, and substance use disorders. Now, psychedelics like psilocybin and ketamine are being explored for palliative care, providing support for patients facing end-of-life challenges. Health and science reporter Andrew Jacobs highlights this emerging use, as more individuals seek these therapies for emotional and psychological relief in palliative settings.
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