ST. LOUIS – One bill making rounds in the Missouri Senate would legalize a psychedelic drug for veterans and adults who are at least 21 years old.
Missouri State Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder (R-Cape Girardeau) introduced SB 768 earlier this year in an effort to legalize psilocybin, a drug known to some as magic mushrooms.
The bill would lift penalties for various subsets of people who use, produce, possess, transfer, or administer psilocybin. More specifically, it would become legal for Missouri veterans, most adults, and people who suffer from various medical conditions.
Thompson Rehder tells the Riverfront Times that the legislation aims to help veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. A 2022 John Hopkins study found that psilocybin-assisted treatment could help in dealing with symptoms of major depressive disorder, which the National Institute of Health reports can often occur concurrently with PTSD.
According to the bill’s language, if approved, the Missouri Department of Mental Health would provide around $3 million in grants “for research on the use and efficacy of psilocybin for the treatment of conditions listed in the act, with such appropriation being made from the Opioid Addiction Treatment and Recovery Fund.”
The bill would also require the department to coordinate with a Missouri university or hospital to conduct a study on psilocybin and its effects on post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder and substance use disorders.
This legislation comes on top of a similar bill circulating in the Missouri House. State Rep. Aaron McMullen (R-Independence), also a veteran, introduced HB 1830 this session and has been pushing for legislation to study psilocybin for several years.
McMullen’s bill doesn’t specifically use the term veterans, but pushes to legalize the drug for anyone suffering from “posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, or a substance use disorder or requires end-of-life care.”
The Riverfront Times further reports that another lawmaker, Missouri State Rep. Tony Lovasco (R-O’Fallon), sponsored a bill to legalize psilocybin in a therapeutic setting last year, though various lawmakers blocked it and weren’t supportive of the concept of magic mushrooms.
Thompson Rehder’s bill cleared a Senate committee in late February, while McMullen’s bill cleared a House committee earlier in March.
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