News - Psilocybin would be legalized for medical use under NH bill

Medical providers would be allowed to give psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound found in some mushrooms, to patients for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and some types of depression, under a bill lawmakers will consider next year. N.H. Rep. Buzz Scherr, D-Portsmouth, said Tuesday there is a growing body of research, including work at Johns Hopkins University, showing the substance has therapeutic value. One study published in 2022 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology showed the substance can lead to significant improvements in patients suffering from depression. Under the bill, medical providers would grow the mushrooms for use by certain patients. Psilocybin is currently illegal in New Hampshire and in all other states except for Oregon, which allows it for medical use, and Colorado, which allows it for medical and recreational use. It is also illegal under federal law. “This would set up a small-scale effort,” Scherr said. “It’s not designed as a big program. We want to see how it works.” An advisory board would be created under the measure to work out details of the psilocybin program, which would be implemented a year later. The N.H. Department of Health and Human Services would be involved. He expects the measure to have bipartisan support. “I’ve talked to people in both parties, veterans and those who provide services to veterans, and to professionals at Johns Hopkins,” Scherr said. “Therapeutic doses of psilocybin have been found to be very helpful for some people.” Clinical trials are now being conducted in an effort to win U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for use of psilocybin in a medication for treatment of depression. The N.H. House passed a bill to decriminalize psilocybin by a voice vote on March 26, but the measure was tabled, or removed from consideration, in the state Senate on June 5.