Powerful Democrats in the state Senate disappointed advocates of psychedelic-assisted therapy by killing a bipartisan bill that would have accelerated study of psilocybin mushrooms with veterans and former first responders at the University of California.
The bill, SB 751, was the priority of psychedelics advocates this year after Gov. Gavin Newsom and top Democrats rejected more ambitious plans — including attempts to decriminalize mind-altering substances or regulate their use — in prior years.
State lawmakers on the Democrat-controlled Senate appropriations committee placed the bill “under submission” on May 23, effectively dooming the proposal for the whole of the two-year legislative session, according to the bill’s sponsors, South Bay Democrat Josh Becker and Brian Jones of San Diego, the top Republican in the state Senate.
If passed, the bill would have “requested” the University of California to set up a pilot program researching the treatment of former first responders and veterans with psilocybin. Psilocybin is the main psychoactive compound in psychedelic mushrooms. Philanthropists would have paid for the project, said Charlie Lawlor, a spokesperson for Becker.
In statements, Becker and Jones said they’re disappointed that the bipartisan bill bit the dust but vowed to continue their advocacy for veterans and first responders who are turning to psychedelics — often illegally or in friendly locales like Mexico and Peru — to heal psychological wounds inflicted at war or on the job.
“California is falling behind when it comes to supporting our veterans and first responders,” Jones said. “I’m disappointed by the outcome of SB 751, but the fight to deliver innovative, life-saving treatment is far from over.”
Advocates of psychedelic-assisted therapy had sharper words for top Democrats.
“This is a sad state of affairs for our state, and the appropriations committee should be ashamed for killing such a modest bill,” said Angela Graham-Houweling, executive director of the Siren Project, which pays for active-duty first responders to take psychedelic mushrooms in Mexico.
However, the bill’s death will not derail psychedelics research in California. Scientists had hoped to use the pilot program to experiment with new ways of treating veterans and retired first responders in particular, and to help build a trained workforce with expertise in this emerging field, said Brian Anderson, a psilocybin researcher and assistant clinical professor at UCSF/Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
“Even if this bill doesn’t pass, research and probably more and more research like it will happen in other settings,” Anderson said.
It’s unclear why the committee killed the bill. Spokespersons for the bill’s sponsors said they didn’t know. Inquiries to spokespersons for committee chair Anna Caballero, a Merced Democrat, weren’t immediately returned Friday. Previous versions of the bill also died on the vine in the state Legislature in prior years.
Budget constraints have derailed more ambitious attempts to broaden access to psychedelics in California. Last year, San Francisco Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, introduced a bill to regulate the supervised use of psychedelics, along the lines of policies in Oregon and Colorado. But top Democrats killed it, reportedly unwilling to craft and administer costly regulations in a tight budget environment.
But Lawlor said his office was “baffled” and “upset” that Senate Democrats routed the bill to the appropriations committee, given that it had no substantial cost to California’s general fund. The bill would have established a special fund for philanthropists to pour money into and charged UC campuses with applying for grants, donations and federal funds to pay for studies.
The appropriations committee has power over bills that carry costs. Money is tight in Sacramento as California stares down a $12 billion budget shortfall. The latest analysis of SB 751, on May 9, found that it “could result in cost pressures to the general fund if revenues to the special fund are insufficient to cover the costs of the pilot program or if the pilot program is extended or expanded.”
Advocates had also hoped that bipartisan support for the bill would carry it across the finish line. In California and nationally, Democrats and some Republicans have embraced psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans and former first responders. States including Texas, Utah and Washington are funding research into psychedelics therapy, and top officials and nominees in Republican President Donald Trump’s administration are keen on psychedelics.
“California leads innovation in so many areas, but it’s getting left behind on one of the most important mental health breakthroughs of our time,” Graham Boyd, executive director of the nonprofit Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative, said in an email.
“Compared to the previous bills, this was incredibly modest and easy to digest,” he said.
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