Legislation that would legalize the therapeutic use of certain psychedelics has been prefiled in the New Hampshire Legislature.
Psilocybin (“magic”) mushrooms.
Prefiled by State Representative Kevin Verville (R) for the upcoming legislative session that begins in January, House Bill 1693 has been referred to the Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee. The full text of the measure can be found by clicking here.
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to create and administer a new program regulating the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes. The bill models the proposed statute after the state’s law that established the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
According to an official legislative summary, the bill:
• Legalizes the therapeutic use of psychedelics by removing criminal penalties for certain uses;
• Limits the types of psychedelics that are legalized for therapeutic use to psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and mescaline;
• Allows patients diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition and certified by a medical provider to use psychedelics for therapeutic purposes;
• Establishes the types of licensed providers, medical and otherwise, who can certify patients for the therapeutic use of psychedelics;
• Establishes various legal limitations and restrictions on the possession and use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.
• Establishes processes for applying for and issuing registry ID cards to patients and their caregivers.
• Establishes a confidential registry of patients, and their caregivers and providers, to be maintained by the Department.
• Establishes processes for applying for and issuing registrations to be an alternative treatment center (ATC) for the cultivation, production, and dispensing of psychedelics to patients.
• Requires the Department to issue an annual data report on the therapeutic use of psychedelics.
As with the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes program, the new program is designed to be revenue neutral, with a fee structure for patients and alternative treatment centers that shall “generate revenues sufficient to offset all department expenses of implementing and administering this chapter.”
