The conversation around psychedelics reform has been gradually trickling up to Capitol Hill amid successes in the local and state decriminalization movement. But one congressman who supports therapeutic access to the substances tells Marijuana Moment that it’s “embarrassing” how slow other federal lawmakers have been to evolve on the issue.
In 2019, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) was one of just 91 House members who voted in favor of a modest amendment to lift psychedelics research barriers from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Nearly 150 of his Democratic colleagues joined all but a handful of Republicans in rejecting the measure.
Two years later, the amendment was reintroduced and defeated again, though it did garner more Democratic support that round.
The momentum has translated into some action so far this year—but not quite at the scale of reforms that are being pursued in localities and states across the country.
In July, the House voted in favor of two psychedelics-related amendments to a defense bill. One from Ocasio-Cortez would require a study to investigate psilocybin and MDMA as alternatives to opioids for military service members, while the other from Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) would authorize the defense secretary to provide grants for studies into
Read full article on Marijuana Moment
