New Mexico Senate Panel Unanimously Approves Bill To Legalize Psilocybin Therapy

A bipartisan proposal to establish a therapeutic psilocybin program in New Mexico had an initial hearing before a Senate committee on Tuesday, with lawmakers voting unanimously to advance the bill.

Members of the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee voted 10–0 in favor of SB 219, known as the Medical Psilocybin Act. If enacted, patients with certain qualifying conditions would be able access the psychedelic and use it under the guidance of a licensed healthcare provider.

Therapy would consist of a preparation session, an administration session and a follow-up integration session.

“Psilocybin in mushrooms is a natural substance that has been found…to be medically efficacious for a variety of treatments,” the measure’s lead sponsor Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D), told committee members at the hearing. “This bill seeks to create a very thoughtful, very specific, limited medical program that would be operated by the Department of Health.”

He added that the proposal “was developed every step along the way with consultation and participation from the Department of Health.”

Text of the measure says its purpose “is to allow the beneficial use of psilocybin in a regulated system for alleviating qualified medical conditions,” including major treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, substance use disorders and end-of-life care. The state Department of Health would be able to approve additional conditions.

The state would also license producers to grow mushrooms and process psilocybin. Synthetic psilocybin and synthetic analogs of the substance would not be allowed under the proposal.

The state health department would be responsible for establishing guidelines around training for clinicians and producers, including dosage, approved settings for administration, production and storage protocols and other best practices.

A nine-member advisory board would recommend additional qualifying conditions as well as rules around preparation and dosage. The board would also review outside petitions for additional qualifying conditions.

“It would be a multi-year process, a two-and-a-half-year process, where the department would create a medical psilocybin advisory committee of experts,” Steinborn explained. Rulemaking would determine optimal dosage, setting requirements, licensed providers, production guidelines as well as best practices around training and administration.

SB 219 would also create two new state funds. A medical psilocybin treatment equity fund would help offset costs of treatment for qualified patients who meet income requirements that would be set by the health department. And a medical psilocybin research fund would issue grants to support research into “any facet of the medical use of psilocybin.”

In terms of costs, the bill would appropriate $2 million from the state general fund to the Department of Health in order to administer the program, while an additional $1 million each would go to the new research and equity funds.

“I want to point out from the very beginning,” Steinborn told members of the panel, “it’s very different from cannabis. People would not have cards. It’s not a recreational program. they would not even use it under this program…unless it was a hospice situation, on their own. It would be under medical supervision.”

The 18-page bill has five listed sponsors, including four Democrats and one Republican.

Sen. Martin Hickey (D), a physician and co-sponsor who also spoke at Tuesday’s hearing, addressed psilocybin’s promise in treating mental health and substance use disorders, calling its discovery “almost the equivalent of penicillin and antibiotics.”

While some patients have gone to foreign countries to obtain psilocybin-assisted therapy, Hickey said that “we have got to find effective ways—not just with people who can maybe go to Jamaica or Peru or whatever—to have these experiences and these models. We’ve got to find a way so everyone has access.”

Regarding substance use disorder, he called New Mexico “an addicted state,” noting that alcohol use per capita is the highest in the country, while alcohol-related mortality is double the national average.

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Denali Wilson, a staff attorney at ACLU of New Mexico, also testified in favor of the bill.

“Research from leading institutions has shown that psilocybin assisted treatment can provide long-term relief for individuals who have not responded to conventional treatments, offering hope to many who struggle with severe, treatment-resistant conditions,” Wilson said. “By creating a structured, regulated program for psilocybin treatment, this bill ensures that patients in New Mexico can safely and legally access these miraculous benefits under medical supervision.”

Before Tuesday’s vote, the panel also adopted a technical amendment to the bill that Steinborn said was intended to correct a provision that unintentionally created a conflict around the legality of psilocybin.

The measure next heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

When announcing the legislation late last month, Steinborn said that the proposal “creates a carefully designed framework for the Department of Health to establish a medical program for psilocybin use.”

“Ensuring New Mexicans have access to every available treatment for serious behavioral health challenges is critical, and this proven therapy offers new hope for those in need,” he said.

Republican sponsor Sen. Craig Brandt, meanwhile, said he’s “excited to be able to offer this breakthrough medical treatment to New Mexicans.”

“Medical psilocybin is proving to be effective in treating traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and other mental health conditions,” he said. “As a veteran I’m hopeful that this new medical option will provide help to my fellow veterans.”

Hickey, meanwhile, called SB 219 “groundbreaking medical legislation for mental health and addiction” when the bill was introduced.

“It is akin to the breakthrough of the development of antibiotics,” he said in a statement.

On the House side, Rep. Liz Thomas (D) said that by “establishing a highly-regulated, state-run program, we can provide alternative options to those not responding to traditional treatment, in a safe, controlled environment.”

“When we’re facing epidemic levels of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other debilitating mental health conditions, we owe it to those suffering to explore promising new treatments like psilocybin,” the lawmaker added.

Rep. Stefani Lord (R) echoed that sentiment, saying lawmakers “owe it to New Mexicans to explore the therapeutic potential of psilocybin.”

“Research shows that psilocybin used in coordination with a licensed therapist has positive effects on people with depression and PTSD by reducing fear and anxiety, disrupting negative thought loops, and leading to long-term symptom relief in short periods,” Lord said.

Added Rep Andrea Romero (D): “Psilocybin research is revolutionizing mental health care, offering hope to patients battling depression, PTSD, and anxiety. With this legislation, New Mexico is leading the charge in treatment innovation, setting a powerful precedent for compassionate and science-backed care.”

Last year, New Mexico lawmakers passed, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) endorsed, a resolution requesting that state officials research the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and explore the creation of a regulatory framework to provide access to the psychedelic.

The prior year, the House Health and Human Services Committee passed a bill that called for the creation of a state body to study the possibility of launching a psilocybin therapy program for certain patients. That measure did not advance further in the 2023 session, however.

This year, a number of other state legislatures are set to consider psilocybin reforms, including New York, Washington State, Missouri, Rhode Island and Nevada.

Meanwhile in New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is urging a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit from licensed marijuana businesses that claim the agencies have been unconstitutionally seizing state-regulated marijuana products and detaining industry workers at interior checkpoints.

Separately, late least year commissioners of New Mexico’s most populous county approved policy details of a plan to stop testing and punishing most government employees for off-hours marijuana use. Bernalillo County, where Albuquerque is located, appears to be the first public body in the state to implement such a reform following the state’s legalization of cannabis in 2021.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Workman.