A bipartisan bill has been filed in the U.S. to allow terminally ill patients access to psychedelics.
This will include schedule I drugs that include MDMA, psilocybin as well as cannabis.
The bill has been brought forward by Earl Bluemenauer, a Democrat representing Oregon’s 3rd congressional district and Nancy Mace, a Republican representing South Carolina’s 1st congressional district.
HR1825 aims to “expand access to life-changing treatments by including the federal Right to Try Act Schedule I substances that have completed Phase 1 clinical studies,” Bluemenauer stated.
By giving patients access to treatment including psilocybin, MDMA, and other psychedelics they hope to reduce anxiety, pain, and depression for patients who are suffering from terminal illness.
Bluemenauer went on to say “The psychedelics laws in this country are broken, including our laws governing patients’ access to new and promising end-of-life care. Forty-one state legislatures have passed Right to Try laws to allow terminally ill patients access to treatments, including psilocybin, that are still in investigational stages. Both psilocybin and MDMA have demonstrated tremendous care potential in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials.”
“The Drug Enforcement Agency, however, has refused to accommodate Right to Try laws and denied terminally ill patients their freedom to elect their preferred treatments. These patients deserve to be able to discuss and pursue treatments with their doctors that researchers are finding provide immediate, substantial, and sustained relief from anxiety and depression for people battling terminal illness.”
Psychedelics would not be provided to the patients on their own, instead they would receive the dose of the drug with the support of an accompanying psychotherapist.
A study conducted in 2016 found that a single dose of psilocybin in cancer patients reduced anxiety, hopelessness, and depression.
A follow-up study found that in 80% of these participants the positive effects of psilocybin remained four and a half years later.
If the bill is successful, it could have a direct impact on the Drug Enforcement Agency of the U.S. which is currently being sued after refusing to allow patients access to psilocybin.
Despite the current political climate in the U.S. psychedelic assisted therapy generally retains bipartisan support.
This is largely due to the success that it has had in helping American veterans and their suffering. A point that was noted on HBO’s popular news show This Week Tonight With John Oliver.
