Politics
New Jersey Legislature Passes Bill To Create Psilocybin Therapy Pilot Program, Sending It To Governor
New Jersey lawmakers have passed a bill to create a psilocybin therapy pilot program and allocate $6 million in funding to support the effort.
Following its advancement through several House and Senate committees, both full chambers of the legislature approved the psychedelic measure on Monday, sending it to Gov. Phil Murphy (D).
“Studies conducted by nationally and internationally recognized medical institutions indicate that psilocybin has shown efficacy, tolerability, and safety in the treatment of a variety of behavioral health conditions,” the bill’s findings sections says, “including, but not limited to, substance use disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, and end-of-life psychological distress.”
The legislation, sponsored by Senate President Nick Scutari (D) and Sen. Joseph Vitale (D), along with Assemblymembers Clinton Calabrese (D) and Anthony S. Verrelli (D), would create an 11-member Psychedelic Therapy and Research Advisory Board to oversee the new Psilocybin Behavioral Health Services Pilot Program.
“I think it’s a real opportunity for New Jersey to lead an area of medicine that is groundbreaking,” Scutari said, according to NorthJersey.com.
Within 180 days of enactment, the Department of Health would be required to issue a request for proposals from hospitals that want to participate. One hospital from each of three geographic regions of the state would then be selected to receive $2 million to support psilocybin trials.
“Under no circumstance shall the department establish, implement, or enforce a requirement, specification, or guideline under the pilot program that conflicts with protocols and guidelines from the United States Food and Drug Administration related to clinical trials for psychedelic substances,” the bill, whose passage was noted earlier by Heady NJ, says.
After the two-year pilot program is completed, officials would submit reports to the governor and legislature including “recommendations concerning the continuation or expansion of the pilot program” as well as “recommendations as to the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan for State and local regulation of psilocybin to provide access in New Jersey for individuals who could benefit and that considers efficacy, safety, and affordability.”
While the legislation as introduced would have more broadly legalized psilocybin for adult use, making it legal for adults to “possess, store, use, ingest, inhale, process, transport, deliver without consideration, or distribute without consideration, four grams or less of” the psychedelic, but it was scaled back during its advancement through the process.
The amended measure would nevertheless significantly expand on legislation introduced in late 2020 to reduce penalties for possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin. That reform was signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2021.
Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D), who chairs the Assembly Appropriations Committee, described the current amended bill last month as a “first step.”
“I mean, you’ve heard the testimony here,” she said, referring to witnesses who argued that broader reform is needed. “This bill creates an advisory board that will be able to make determinations—for instance, whether it should be natural mushrooms or synthetic mushrooms. So that option is still on the table. It’s a pilot program and we want to get started to make sure that, as you heard, people who really need to be treated” can get access.
A survey of New Jersey residents in 2024 indicated that a majority of state residents agree with making psilocybin available for therapeutic use.
The poll, from Stockton University’s William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, found that 55 percent of respondents supported legalizing psilocybin for medical use under a doctor’s supervision. Just 20 percent of respondents were opposed, while 24 percent said they weren’t sure. One percent of respondents refused to answer the question.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
In other New Jersey drug policy news, voters in November elected U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) to serve as the state’s next governor, and there’s now a decidedly clearer path to advancing a marijuana reform long awaited by consumers and advocates in the Garden State: A home grow option.
Meanwhile, as New Jersey’s first marijuana consumption lounges opened up over the summer, regulators shared information about where to find the sites and offering tips about how to responsibly use cannabis at the licensed businesses—including classic stoner cultural customs like “puff, puff, pass.”
New Jersey officials have also completed the curriculum of a no-cost marijuana training academy that’s meant to support entrepreneurs interested in entering the cannabis industry.
Separately, last May Scutari filed a bill that would re-criminalize purchasing marijuana from unlicensed sources—one of the latest attempts to crack down on the illicit market and steer adults toward licensed retailers.
Seemingly contradicting that claim, dozens of New Jersey small marijuana businesses and advocacy groups recently called on the legislature to allow adults to cultivate their own cannabis.
