Welcome to Reason Foundation’s newsletter on psychedelics policy. This edition covers:
- A real-world study on mental health outcomes from Oregon’s legal market
- A series of educational documents on ibogaine legalization was provided to state lawmakers
- Department of Health and Human Services leadership attends Make America Healthy Again Summit
- State round-up
Oregon study: Real-world benefits
Preliminary evidence from a groundbreaking new study is the first to confirm positive public health benefits from Oregon’s regulated market of psilocybin services.
Participants showed significant reductions in anxiety and depression, alongside improvements in general well-being, in pre- and post-experience surveys using established questionnaires. The study could have important policy implications as the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) evaluates whether psilocybin should remain a Schedule I drug.
Ibogaine policy educational tools
State lawmakers throughout America are considering joining a multi-state effort to advance clinical trials of ibogaine, a psychedelic that could treat opioid addiction (among other disorders).
Reason Foundation participated in a gathering in Aspen, Colo., and developed a series of educational materials that lawmakers can use to craft bills that would allow them to join the research consortium established earlier this year by Texas.
MAHA summit discusses psychedelics
Federal Health and Human Services (HHS) leaders joined a summit in Washington, D.C., organized by Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Action.
HHS Deputy General Counsel Matthew Zorn, who specializes in psychedelics law, sat on stage with investor Christian Angermayer, who is active in multiple pharmaceutical companies actively taking compounds through FDA-supervised clinical trials. The event was closed to press, though some attendees tweeted general reactions to the discussions.
Investor Steve Jurvetson quoted Angermayer, who reportedly said, “they [psychedelics] have anti-addictive properties. We have the powerful psychedelic ibogaine in early studies, and we are seeing a cure for opiate addiction 80-90% of the time, from one single session.”
The event is more evidence that HHS leadership is willing to elevate the importance of psychedelics, which may translate into policies that improve access.
State round-up
Recent state-level psychedelic policy reforms are advancing across the U.S., with California enacting Assembly Bill 1103 to expedite state research reviews on Schedule I and II substances through January 2028.
In Massachusetts, legislative interest remains high as a joint committee reviewed two bills, H.2203 and H.4200, proposing different approaches to regulated therapeutic access programs.
A Maryland task force issued an extensive report strongly recommending a variety of rules to expand access, including commercial sales. Read more in the state round-up here.
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