What legalized psilocybin might look like in New Jersey

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(This story first appeared at reMind, a psychedelics business platform. The reMind Psychedelics Business Forum is Dec. 3 at MJBizCon. Full information about the forum is available here.)

New Jersey lawmakers are hoping to succeed with psychedelics policy reform in ways their counterparts in California and Connecticut have not – at least not so far.

While Colorado, Oregon and now Massachusetts asked voters to decide whether to legalize psychedelic medicines, the Garden State is pursuing legislative action.

The Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act, sponsored by New Jersey state Sens. Nick Scutari and Joe Vitale, would create a legal framework for psilocybin cultivation, manufacturing, testing and administration as part of a therapeutic-access model.

The bill was reintroduced in the Legislature in January and was significantly amended by a Senate committee in June.

The amendment cleared a both Senate and Assembly health committees and in June was referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriation Committee.

The New Jersey Department of Health would oversee the licensing of psilocybin manufacturers, service centers, service facilitators and testing labs.

Access to psychedelics

Under the bill, psilocybin consumption would be allowed only at licensed service centers, which would provide a preparation session, an administration session and an optional integration session to guide patients through the experience.

Facilitators working at the licensed service centers would be able to furnish psilocybin and perform sessions for patients who received a referral from an approved health care practitioner, as defined in the bill.

Approved health care practitioners could make psilocybin referrals only for patients who have a qualifying condition (as defined in the bill) that could potentially benefit from the use of psilocybin.

“In other words, psilocybin-manufactured products may not be consumed by a patient except after receiving a referral from a health care practitioner and while under the supervision of a service facilitator on the premises of a licensed psilocybin service center,” said Lisa Gora, a Newark-based partner at the Epstein Becker Green law firm.

Business opportunities and public opinion

To increase opportunities to enter the marketplace, the proposed bill also would create a social opportunity program that would provide financial and technical assistance to businesses seeking to apply for one of the available license types whose owners or employees live in a “distressed area” in New Jersey for a defined period of time and/or demonstrate economic need.

Similar recent proposals in California and Connecticut failed to gain legislative traction, thanks to the complex – and often conflicting – interplay between public health, voter sentiment and legislative processes.

New Jersey’s bill, however, might be helped by strong public opinion that’s favorable to psilocybin as a treatment for mental health issues.

According to a poll from Stockton University’s William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, 55% of respondents supported legalizing psilocybin for medical use under a doctor’s supervision.

Only 20% of respondents to the poll were opposed, while 24% said they weren’t sure.

Asked whether they themselves had ever felt the need to be treated for depression, anxiety or PTSD, about 30% of poll respondents said they had.

The survey also included separate findings on the efficacy and safety of psilocybin, saying it posed minimal risks for physical and psychological harm.

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“Clinical researchers have established safety guidelines to govern the use of psilocybin-assisted therapy,” the survey said, “which includes a set of criteria that should be used to determine who is a good candidate for this type of treatment, standards for the minimum number of supervisors, proper training and more.”

With the legislature back in session after the summer break, this bill will continue to move through committees.

Most recently, the bill received a fiscal estimate from the state Office of Legislative Services.

To view the schedule and buy tickets to the reMind Psychedelics Business Forum, visit mjbizconference.com.