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Advocates look toward future for psychedelic-assisted therapy in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — If California is going to get legalized psychedelic-assisted therapy, it’s going to be through the ballot box.

That’s how Diane Goldstein sees it, after watching lawmakers’ most recent attempt at making the therapy available — Senate Bill 803 — get stuck in the legislative process.

“It’ll be a ballot initiative,” said Goldstein, executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership. She added moments later: “I don’t know what else people can do to get this forward.”

Goldstein’s group supported Senate Bill 803, written by Democratic Senator Josh Becker of Menlo Park. One of a handful of recent bills dealing with psychedelics, the legislation would have made a narrow pathway for military veterans and first responders to use psychedelics like psilocybin or psilocyn for therapy while in an appropriate setting.

That therapy is needed, Goldstein said. She pointed to a report that stated post-traumatic stress disorder is five times more prevalent among police officers than others. One doctor estimated that about one of every 15 police officers has depression or will experience it at some point.

“We are sending cops out into the community who are traumatized,” Goldstein said.

Khurshid Khoja, director of public policy with Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, Inc., is hopeful the state Legislature will take up future legislation on the issue of psychedelic-assisted therapy. His organization was a sponsor of Senate Bill 803 and another related bill this session.

Khoja said his organization doesn’t advocate for decriminalization. Instead, it wants to help veterans through a regulated system.

“We feel that it’s really important to have guardrails,” he added.

Khoja also worried that votes on the bills in committee could have been sidelined because it’s an election year and the state faced a significant budget deficit.

“We’re hoping we’ll stand a much better chance next session,” Khoja said.

Senate Bill 803 was the latest in a series of bills about psychedelics that got stuck in the Legislature.

Senate Bill 1012 — written by state Senator Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat — focused on the therapeutic use of psychedelics under supervised care. It would have established the Regulated Psychedelic Facilitators Act and Regulated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Act. Three new agencies would have administered the acts, with each having various oversight duties.

The bill died two months ago in the Senate Appropriations Committee, where it was held under submission.

“We’re in a terrible budget year, where all bills with significant costs are at risk,” Wiener said in a statement at the time. “Nevertheless, it’s disappointing for this bill not to move forward. Psychedelics have massive promise in helping people heal and get their lives back on track.”

The bill would have required agencies to regulate licensed psychedelic facilitators, who would have needed licenses and paid fees for them. The state would have regulated all aspects of the psychedelics, like production, distribution, processing, testing and sale. Additionally, use of the psychedelics would have been restricted to approved locations.

Senate Bill 1012 was, in itself, a response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto last year of another of Wiener’s bills, Senate Bill 58. That bill would have decriminalized some psychedelics for personal use by people 21 and over.

Newsom in a statement pointed to a lack of a regulatory framework with therapeutic guidelines in the bill as his reason for vetoing it.

Senate Bill 58 wasn’t the only psychedelic therapy-related legislation moving through the Capitol last session.

Assembly Bill 941 — written by Assemblymember Marie Waldron, a Valley Center Republican — initially would have permitted licensed clinical counselors to administer specific substances to combat veterans as part of their psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Waldron’s bill was amended during the legislative process. Instead of opening the door to psychedelic therapy for veterans, it proposed the creation of a workgroup to study the issue and make recommendations about the creation of a regulatory framework for such therapy. A report with those recommendations would have been delivered to lawmakers by Jan. 1, 2026.

However, Waldron pulled the bill from consideration as it was set to appear July 1 before the Senate Health Committee. It missed an essential deadline by failing to pass a key policy committee by July 3, and died.

Khoja said he wants to see legislation like Waldron’s that removes bottlenecks that hamper human trials from starting. In California, both federal and state approval is needed before a trial can begin. Delays can take weeks or months.

Waldron couldn’t be reached for comment.

Assembly Bill 941 was followed by Senate Bill 803, co-written by Becker and Senator Brian Jones, a San Diego Republican. Waldron was the principal co-author.

The bill had sat inactive since September, but was revived and amended in June to become the Heal Our Heroes Act. Becker in a bill analysis said research shows that psychedelics can help people struggling with mental health and addiction, when used properly. He added that people are gravitating toward unregulated access to psychedelic therapy as interest in it grows.

A June hearing in the Assembly Health Committee was canceled at the author’s request.

“While The Heal Our Heroes Act will not advance in the Assembly Health Committee, it has raised awareness of the work-related trauma and troubling mental health issues our veterans and first responders face after honorably serving our state and country,” Becker said in a statement to Courthouse News. “Our heroes deserve the best care possible. A Stanford study from January of this year found that psychedelics led to improvements in depression and anxiety among veterans with traumatic brain injury when ‘no other drug has ever been able to alleviate the functional and neuropsychiatric symptoms of traumatic brain injury.’ That was the goal of SB 803, and that is what I will continue to fight for despite this setback.”

It’s unknown whether Becker will introduce a similar bill next session.


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