The Utah Senate and House unanimously approved a bill that would establish a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as alternative treatment, sending it to the governor.

A bill introduced by Senate Majority Whip Kirk Cullimore (R) and House Speaker Pro Tempore James Dunnigan (R), earlier this month, Senate Bill 266, would create a pilot program to explore psilocybin and MDMA as alternative treatments in hospitals in Utah.

The bill was sent to the desk of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) this week where it awaits his signature. Since hospitals and universities generally default to federal regulations, it’s unclear how the bill would pan out as psilocybin and MDMA remain schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

“The bill is proposing, really, an alternate pathway, ” Rep. Raymond Ward (R) said before the House vote this month. “That’s why I say it’s a philosophical question. Do you think that these medicines really only should always just go through this one pathway, the FDA first and then be allowed to be used? Or do you think there should be any other alternate pathway whereby a patient might be given these medications in a controlled setting from some of our best physicians, but where we really do not yet have all of the data that we normally would have before we gave them to patients?”

Per the bill, psilocybin and MDMA would be administered by a privately owned, non-profit health care system with at least 15 licensed hospitals, or as part of medical programs operated by higher level institutions of learning.

“A healthcare system may develop a behavioral health treatment program that includes a treatment” with psilocybin and MDMA that it “determines is supported by a broad collection of scientific and medical research,” the bill reads.

The bill would amend Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 303, and enact 58-37-3.5, Utah Code Annotated 1953. Utah voters approved medical cannabis in 2018, and the state is well on its way towards amending laws surrounding psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.

Any hospital that participates in the psychedelics therapy pilot program would need to submit a report to the Utah Legislature by July 1, 2026, detailing which drugs are being utilized, the outcomes of patients in treating their conditions, and any potential side effects.

If passed, the bill would take effect on May 1, 2024 and sunset after three years.

Two years ago, Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed into law a bill that created a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs and possible regulations for their lawful use.

Rep. Brady Brammer (R), who sponsored the previously enacted psychedelics task force legislation, House Bill 167, said psychedelics represent “one of the few areas of research where we see that there are curative possibilities for mental health, particularly related to PTSD and treatment-resistant depression.”

“This is another tool in our toolbox,” he said. “We’ve done the task force. They’ve come back with their reports. And now we have this clinical trial of sorts that allows for some of the patients to get it under significant observation with the appropriate guardrails.”

Mormons on Mushrooms? A Growing Interest in Psilocybin in Utah

Meanwhile, last November in Provo—a city with nearly 90% of residents who are Mormon, or Latter-Day Saints—a mushroom treatment center, called Singularism, opened its doors.

Singularism touted freedom of religion in order to use psilocybin mushrooms but immediately attracted the wrath of the City of Provo, whose officials appeared to state that the center wouldn’t last long.

A longshot bill that would legalize psilocybin mushrooms in Utah was introduced last February. Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, (D-Salt Lake City) unveiled Senate Bill 200 on Feb. 9, a bill that would legalize psilocybin mushrooms for medical use in Utah.

Deseret News reports that SB 200 would set up a program that mirrors the program behind Utah’s medical cannabis market. Utah’s compromise bill, the Utah Medical Cannabis Act, which was passed in 2018 allows patients with a healthcare provider’s verification, to purchase medical cannabis.

The bill would allow Utahns ages 21 and older to receive a psilocybin-assisted treatment directly from a psilocybin therapy provider. Qualifying conditions would include depression or anxiety if the patient has tried at least one other treatment route, PTSD, and people who are receiving hospice care.

Currently in Utah, possession of psilocybin can result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years or a $5,000 in fine. The state has come a long way in terms of cannabis and psychedelic reform, with a Mormon supermajority that has dominated its legislature for decades.

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A Utah lawmaker has introduced a bill to explore the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat serious mental health conditions including depression, anxiety and PTSD. The legislation, House Bill 167, was introduced on Tuesday by Utah state Representative Brady Brammer, who noted that the measure “doesn’t legalize anything.”

“It asks our Huntsman Mental Health Institute and other experts in the field to review the science that’s out there, the research that’s out there, and make any recommendations that they have if they feel psychedelics can be safely administered through a prescription basis and under what circumstances,” Brammer said in a television news interview.

If passed, HB 167 would direct the state’s Health and Human Services Department to create a Mental Illness Psychotherapy Drug Task Force. The group would “study and make recommendations on drugs that may assist in treating mental illness,” according to the text of the legislation. The legislation specifies the makeup of the task force, which would include mental health professionals, researchers and patients.

Although the bill does not specifically mention psychedelics or any particular drug, the task force would be authorized to “provide evidence-based recommendations on any psychotherapy drug that the task force determines may enhance psychotherapy when treating a mental illness.” The legislation would empower the task force to study the research into psychedelic drugs, which has shown the potential to treat serious mental health conditions.

“We need effective tools to treat mental illness,” Brammer said in a statement to local media. “If psychedelics can be helpful and safely administered, we need them in our toolbox.”

Cannabis Activists Support Utah Psychedelics Bill

Brammer’s bill is supported by groups that campaigned for Proposition 2, the 2018 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in Utah. Kylee Shumway, the medical director for the Utah Patients Coalition, said that psychedelics may be able to help residents of the state who are struggling with mental illness.

“We have higher rates of depression and anxiety than a lot of other states and even for people that are looking for help, there’s not enough psychiatrists; there’s not enough mental health professionals to help them,” said Shumway. “And a lot of the medications aren’t working.”

Research into psychedelics including psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine has shown that the drugs have potential therapeutic benefits, particularly for serious mental health conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety. Research published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry in 2020 found that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy was an effective and quick-acting treatment for a group of 24 participants with major depressive disorder. A separate study published in 2016 determined that psilocybin treatment produced substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer.

“It’s very promising,” Shumway exclaimed. “There are some huge studies that have just been finished recently on psilocybin that put it head to head against SSRIs which are antidepressants and psilocybin performed better across the board.”

“Utah has some of the finest researchers in the areas of psychiatry and neurosciences at Huntsman Mental Health Institute,” said Brammer. “This bill seeks to leverage that expertise, along with other experts grappling with mental illness, to review the research results, and if appropriate, make recommendations on how to safely administer these therapeutics under the care of qualified physicians.”

Steve Urquhart, a former Republican Utah state senator, also supports Brammer’s bill to explore the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs.

“Psychedelics changed my life,” he told local media. “It changed the way I see myself, the way I regard myself, and that allows me to see others and love others a lot more.”

Urquhart is the founder of The Divine Assembly, a Utah church that promotes religious and responsible use of psilocybin. 

“I’ve always been a bit of an activist at heart, and I decided I wanted to form a church where people can have these freedoms to worship with psychedelics,” Urquhart said. “I tell people, don’t get too lost on psychedelics; The Divine Assembly is about connection, and psychedelics can help with that.”

Urquhart believes that state lawmakers are likely to appreciate the cautious approach HB 167 takes to explore the benefits of psychedelics and may eventually support the legislation.

“Remember, this is Utah. Of course, we’re likely to take a slower approach to something like this,” he noted. “But on things like this, when the process runs, when it works, Utah can kind of come up with some magic. I’m optimistic about this.”

Brammer introduced HB 167 in the Utah House of Representatives on January 18. The bill has been referred to the House Rules Committee for consideration.

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