establishing a medical psilocybin advisory board to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the use of psilocybin for therapeutic purposes.
What changed between versions
The bill's core purpose changed from authorizing medical psilocybin use through an operational program to establishing an advisory board that will only 'assess the advantages and disadvantages' and potentially 'design a program' in the future. The purpose statement was changed from 'to create' a supervised setting to 'to study the feasibility of the creation of' one.
The entire original Section 126-ZZ:2 (Medical Use of Psilocybin Program), which directed the department to approve providers, approve producers, compile public lists, establish data collection requirements, and promulgate rules, was removed.
A new Medical Psilocybin Advisory Board was created with 13 members: the DHHS medical director (or designee), a qualifying patient, a veterans' affairs representative, two House representatives (one appointed by the speaker, one nominated by the minority leader), and nine medical/other providers representing fields including psilocybin research, existing state programs, addiction services, palliative care, veterans' affairs, naturopathy, registered nursing, and mental health counseling.
The detailed provider/producer application process (Section 126-ZZ:3), which required listing owners, providing CVs of supervisors, identifying treatment and production locations, and disclosing authorizations in other states, was removed.
The board is required to convene at least 6 times per year to review medical evidence, identify clinical outcomes nationally, review potential protocols from other states, and receive updates from alternative treatment centers.
The 'Provider' definition was narrowed by removing the requirement that providers be approved to produce psilocybin. The old combined 'Provider/producer' definition was split into a separate 'Producer' definition. The 'Medical services' definition (covering preparation, administration, and integration sessions) was removed entirely.
The 'Qualifying condition' definition was changed from 'includes' to 'means any of the following,' making it more restrictive. Subsection (d) for other conditions was changed from requiring both advisory board recommendation AND department approval to only requiring advisory board recommendation to the department.
