A Hawaii House committee has approved a Senate-passed bill that would create a psychedelics task force responsible for studying and making policy recommendations on providing access to breakthrough therapies such as psilocybin and MDMA.
The House Health Committee advanced the legislation from Sen. Chris Lee (D), with new amendments, in a 9-0 vote on Friday. The measure, which had cleared the Senate in a unanimous vote of 24-0 earlier this month, next heads to the House Finance Committee before potentially going to the floor.
The bill would create a Mental Health Emerging Therapies Task Force that would be tasked with spending two years reviewing the current scientific literature, supporting additional clinical research and “developing policy recommendations for safe, ethical, and culturally-informed implementation” of a psychedelics therapy program.
“The legislature finds that addressing the mental health crisis affecting the residents of the State, particularly among veterans, first responders, and trauma survivors, is urgent,” the bill, SB 3199, states. “Suicide continues to be a leading cause of preventable death, and the State must explore all safe and effective treatment options supported by scientific evidence.”
Noting that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already designated psilocybin and MDMA as breakthrough therapies
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