Missouri officials are preparing to award $5 million in grant funding to explore whether psilocybin could be an effective treatment for opioid use disorders and help reduce overdose deaths.
Dried psilocybin mushrooms.
The state’s Department of Mental Health released a memo on Monday seeking expert assistance from contractors to help shape the competitive grant process for this research.
The memo explains, “This request for information (RFI) allows vendors to provide us with ideas, suggestions, and relevant information specifically related to opioid research and its potential to treat opioid addiction.”
This initiative is part of HB 2010, a spending bill that set aside $5 million from Missouri’s opioid settlement fund for opioid-related research. Originally, the funding was twice that amount—$10 million—and was earmarked to investigate ibogaine as a possible treatment. However, the focus shifted to psilocybin before all references to specific substances were removed from the final version of the legislation.
The language in the passed bill is broader, now simply stating that the funds are designated “for opioid research and its ability to treat opioid addiction.” Despite this, the Department of Mental Health has indicated that the grant will focus on studying psilocybin’s potential benefits.
“The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather feedback from vendors to help prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) for procuring Opioid Related Research of Psilocybin for the State of Missouri,” the department said in its announcement.
Key questions in the RFI include:
- How will psilocybin research be conducted, and will human subjects be involved?
- What is the projected timeline for the research, and will it be carried out in phases? Please provide details for each phase.
- How does the FDA’s recent decision regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD affect psilocybin research?
- How does psilocybin research align with approved uses outlined in the National Opioid Settlements?
- If psilocybin research is not approved under the settlement guidelines, will vendors be required to repay the grant?
Respondents are also encouraged to offer recommendations regarding the RFP for psilocybin research, explaining why their suggestions would benefit the state and how they align with efforts to prevent, treat, or address opioid use.
The deadline for vendors to submit their responses is the end of October.
