New Jersey Senate Panel Approves Psilocybin Therapy Legalization Bill

A New Jersey Senate committee has approved a bill that would legalize a therapeutic psilocybin program in the state, with even hesitant lawmakers saying that they’re coming around on the psychedelics proposal.

Members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted almost unanimously Monday—with one member, Sen. Douglas J. Steinhardt (R), abstaining—to adopt a handful of amendments to the bill, S.2283, and advance it out of committee.

A separate Senate committee previously passed the bill, sponsored by Senate President Nick Scutari (D), back in July. Later that month, an Assembly committee gave approval to a companion version of the psilocybin legislation in that chamber sponsored by Assemblymembers Herb Conaway (D), Clinton Calabrese (D) and Anthony Verrelli (D).

The intent of the proposal is to “deal with and address the very real deficiencies that we are finding in terms of treatment for those who are in distress and not yet not able to obtain therapeutic benefit by alternate means,” Conaway said at the time. “We’ll see as we move forward how this bill shapes up.”

If the amended Senate bill becomes law, it would legalize and create a state psilocybin program focused on therapeutic use. It was introduced as a broader measure—with provisions allowing adult use, possession and sharing of the substances—but amendments in the prior panel rolled back the proposal to focus exclusively on regulated access for authorized medical patients.

The shift away from broader adult-use legalization appears to have curried favor with lawmakers, some of whom said Monday that they felt more comfortable voting to advance the proposal in its latest form.

The amendments incorporated into the latest version of the Senate bill make a number of adjustments. They replaced a provision on healthcare professionals referring patients to psilocybin services, for example, with language saying they would instead simply certify that the patient has a qualifying medical condition. Another change removed a provision that would have allowed psychologists, clinical social workers and professional counselors to certify patients.

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