Alaska Measure To Create A Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Task Force Becomes Law Without Governor’s Signature

An Alaska bill to create a state task force to study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy formally became law this week without the signature of Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R).

The measure from Rep. Jennie Armstrong (D), HB 228, will not change the legal status of any drugs in Alaska. Rather, it will form a legislative task force that will spend the rest of the year studying how to license and regulate psychedelic therapy in the event of federal approval of substances such as MDMA, psilocybin and others.

A report from the group with recommendations is due to lawmakers on or before January 31, 2025.

Alaska lawmakers gave final approval to the bill in May. More than three months later, on August 27, the measure was formally transmitted to Dunleavy’s desk. It became law without his signature on September 19, officially taking effect the next day.

“Establishing this task force is an important next step in improving mental health access for Alaskans,” Armstrong said in a statement issued Friday. “This law is the culmination of more than a year of work with stakeholders across our behavioral health spectrum, and it means we can work proactively to ensure the state is prepared for when these medicines become available.”

In an email to Marijuana Moment on Tuesday, Armstrong said the next step is “to convene the task force and set our meeting dates.”

The bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Forrest Dunbar (D), added that he’s eager for the task force’s work to begin.

“We know that a lot of people are really excited to learn more about how we can help our neighbors, friends and families here,” he said. “There are many other states that have also begun this work, and we are in good company to figure out how we can reduce barriers to treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.”

In the lead up to the bill’s passage earlier this year, Armstrong said it was important for the state to be proactive in thinking about how to regulate substances that could ultimately win federal approval.

“Whether you are excited about the idea of psychedelics getting approved, you’re neutral or you’re flat-out against it,” she said at the time, “I think we can all agree that if it is coming. We should be prepared and be thoughtful in how we approach it.”

As Armstrong noted, Alaska has “the highest number of veterans per capita and, unfortunately, some of the highest rates of violence in our country.” Supporters of psychedelic-assisted therapy say those populations could stand to benefit most from the reform.

The bill’s few opponents, however, attacked the proposal as premature and irresponsible.

Rep. Dan Saddler, the Republican majority leader in the House, said during debate on the bill earlier this year that he worried the legislation “reflects an uncritical acceptance of the idea that use of psychedelic drugs are beneficial.”

“I rise against this bill because I don’t believe we should be going off in a direction in what I believe to be a premature fashion,” he said, claiming that the task force also “to some degree encroaches on the purview of the legislature.”

The most dire warnings came from Rep. David Eastman (R), who said that “what you can use for good can also be used for ill.”

“I look at the history of medicine in this country, and it was not that long ago that we were told—and our entire government, you know, echoed—that lobotomies were a good thing, and they were carried out in our country,” Eastman said. “I hope that we will not look back some number of years now and see that hallucinogens were also a mistake.”

Most lawmakers, however, said during the legislative session that they were open to the task force as a meaningful step toward addressing the state’s mental health crisis.

“I’m in support of this bill because I’ve been affected by it directly,” said Rep. Laddie Shaw (R). “As the former director for state Veterans Affairs, I’ve had veterans come to me regarding this bill, and they have said, ‘We’ve done nothing for the past 50 years. Let’s do something.’”

“This task force gives us an opportunity to move forward with some productivity on behalf of our veterans,” Shaw added. “We haven’t done anything for the last 50 years. Let’s move forward with something.”

The House State Affairs Committee approved the legislation in early April after adopting an amendment that changed the proposed name of the task force and clarified its objective. Initially it would have been called the Alaska Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force. Now the official name of the body will be the Alaska Task Force for the Regulation of Psychedelic Medicines Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“At the end of the day, our goal is to safely maximize the benefit of these medicines for Alaska,” Armstrong said at a State Affairs Committee hearing this past April. “This is not something where we are here to defend or promote or take a position on psychedelics. Rather, this is something that is coming. The clinical trials on this began 20 years ago. And so I think, perhaps, even if you are a little nervous or you are unsure, that is the reason why we want to have a task force.”

Sponsors filed the legislation in both chambers in January.

Alaskans generally support reforms to policies around psychedelics, especially with regard to mental health. Just under half (49.4 percent) of those surveyed earlier this year said they favor broadly removing criminal penalties around substances such as psilocybin mushrooms. When respondents were told that Alaska has particularly high rates of mental illnesses that could potentially be treated with psychedelics, support for the reform rose to 65 percent.

“It’s inspiring to see such a positive shift in how people view the use of these plant medicines,” the Alaska Entheogenic Awareness Council (AKEAC), the advocacy group that published the new poll, said at the time. “More people are recognizing the value of these substances in addressing certain mental health conditions.”

Similar psychedelics task forces have been created in Maryland and Minnesota in recent months as other states weigh whether and how to reform laws around psychedelics for therapeutic and personal use.

Vermont lawmakers also signed off this session on a similar bill that would that would create a state working group to make recommendations on whether and how the state should regulate legal access to substances like psilocybin and MDMA.

Indiana’s governor signed a bill that includes provisions to fund clinical research trials into psilocybin.

Utah’s governor, meanwhile, allowed a bill to authorize a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as an alternative treatment option to become law without his signature.

Maine lawmakers sent the governor legislation to establish a commission tasked with studying and making recommendations on regulating access to psychedelic services.

An Arizona House panel also approved a Senate-passed bill to legalize psilocybin service centers where people could receive the psychedelic in a medically supervised setting.

The governor of New Mexico endorsed an enacted resolution requesting that state officials research the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and explore the creation of a regulatory framework to provide access to the psychedelic.

A Nevada joint legislative committee held a hearing with expert and public testimony on the therapeutic potential of substances like psilocybin in January. Law enforcement representatives also shared their concerns around legalization—but there was notable acknowledgement that some reforms should be enacted, including possible rescheduling.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Mushroom Observer.