Iowa House passes bill to establish state psilocybin program

The bill also sets new requirements for who can access the substance, including an age 21 restriction and limit of 5,000 patients who can be recommended psilocybin treatment.

The Iowa House passed legislation Monday to legalize the use of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in “magic mushrooms,” for psychiatric treatment through a state program.

House File 978, passed 84-6, would establish a Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board within the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, operating in a similar fashion to the existing Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board that oversees Iowa’s medical cannabis program. The board would grant licenses for the production and administration of products with psilocybin to people with certain mental health needs in the state.

The bill also sets new requirements for who can access the substance, including an age 21 restriction and limit of 5,000 patients who can be recommended psilocybin treatment.

Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, the floor manager for the bill, said he would not have guessed that he would be involved in a bill on psilocybin before this year because “it’s just not something that I’m into.” But he said after learning more about the effectiveness of psilocybin treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, he believed the program will help people suffering in Iowa, like military veterans, law enforcement officers and other groups that face high rates of PTSD.