New York lawmakers say there’s a “real chance” that legislation to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy will advance through committee this session, emphasizing that delaying action would “neglect” many “people who need help” with certain mental health conditions.
At a briefing on Wednesday, Assemblymember Pat Burke (D) and Sens. Nathalia Fernandez (D) and Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D) detailed a pair of bills that aim to provide access to the psychedelic in a supervised setting and expressed optimism about the momentum they say could move them through the legislature.
“We’re in a mental health crisis, and so we need every tool that’s available to us,” Burke, who is sponsoring a bill to create a psilocybin therapy pilot program for 10,000 people, said. He added that “we’re here to turn the page” on the broader drug war.
Another measure the lawmaker introduced last year would more broadly allow people to receive psilocybin treatment from a certified facilitator in a clinical setting, or at their home if they’re unable to travel.
“We don’t get much bipartisan effort these days,” he said. “This is one of the rare ones that both sides, I think, are starting to agree.”
To that end, the lawmakers said in response to a question
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