After a new bill was filed by the state legislature, Hawaii has the potential to legalize psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic purposes.
Psychedelics In Hawaii
In Hawaii, the Senate Judiciary Committee has declined to vote on a measure that was intended to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms in Hawaii. We will know when the hearing takes place, but as for now they have established it is of low priority. It doesn’t change the fact that Senator Stanley Chang put the bill forth though. In an interview with him, Chang had this to say about the bill, “This bill establishes treatment centers designated by the Department of Health for the monitored, therapeutic administration of psilocybin and psilocin to treat mental illness. This bill establishes a review panel that will track the effectiveness of the treatment and provide findings and recommendations to the Legislature until 2026.”
If this bill were to pass, Hawaii would follow in Oregon’s footsteps as the second US State to decriminalize some form of psychedelics, moving the specified drugs away from the Schedule 1 classification. While this Senate Bill 738 would remove them from that, Chang wanted to emphasize that they would not be legal for recreational purposes. He merely wants to find potential solutions for people with many different conditions, like PTSD, addiction, and depression.
A recent study by Johns Hopkins University found that, “Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial public health burden, but current treatments have limited effectiveness and adherence. Recent evidence suggests that one or two administrations of psilocybin with psychological support produces antidepressant effects in patients with cancer and in those with treatment-resistant depression.” After Chang expressed the impact of the review, the Department of Health in Hawaii went on to claim that, “Although psilocybin may have benefits for persons with certain mental health disorders based on several small studies, the circumstances for safe and effective administration are far from proven and routine therapeutic administration by DOH creates unnecessary hazards with unknown public health value.”
At least they gave a nod to the studies done, but it seems as though Hawaii’s DOH is not yet ready to allow this kind of research to take place. Chang wanted to express that though this drug might not become legal, “For now, it is important to remove (the drug) from Schedule 1 status and test its medicinal purposes. It does not have a high potential for abuse.”
Other States on Psilocybin
Along with Hawaii, Texas and Florida have also sent a bill to the senate that would allow the research of legalized psilocybin for therapeutic purposes. David Bronner was the person in charge of financially backing many successful attempts in Oregon to decriminalize all drugs. He is expected to help out other states and said that, “I expect both Washington state and Colorado voters will see decriminalization or psilocybin therapy on their 2022 ballots.”
In Washington, D.C., a vast majority of the public had approved a proposal to decriminalize the possession of psychedelics. The openness of supportive drug reform measures has increased over the years as people are becoming more aware of the effects of drugs. It really helps when people speak from experience, and share with friends and family who might otherwise oppose the use of certain drugs. People are becoming aware. Hopefully we will continue to stay on the right path and change drug laws for the better.
We can only hope that Hawaii will proceed with the much needed efforts of scientific research to further promote the de-stigmatization of psychedelics. The War on Drugs is a thing of the past. It was never a war on drugs anway. It was always against people.
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