A North Carolina House committee has approved a bill to create a $5 million grant program to support research into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and MDMA and to create a Breakthrough Therapies Research Advisory Board to oversee the effort.
The House Health Committee passed the legislation, filed by Rep. Edward Goodwin (R) and other bipartisan lawmakers last month, in a vote vote on Tuesday.
The measure wouldn’t legalize the psychedelics, but it would provide funding for two competitive grants through the state Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for eligible research initiatives focused on “breakthrough therapies.”
Psilocybin and MDMA are cited as examples of such therapies that have received the special designation from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“This bill is not a decriminalization. It is not for recreational purposes,” Goodwin said at Tuesday’s hearing. “It is simply a research study to get information that we will need when these drugs are available for proper implementation.”
Starting in August 2024, the department would be required to accept grant applications from in-state research entities and academic institutions that can show they’re capable of carrying out the studies, including clinical trials involving adults 21 and older.
The bill, which has now
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