Minnesota Psychedelics Task Force OKs Psilocybin Therapy Recommendation As Members Continue Weighing Broader Decrim Proposal

Members of a task force in Minnesota are making progress toward issuing a report on how the state might regulate psychedelics, including psilocybin, MDMA and LSD. The group earlier this month held preliminary votes on certain policy recommendations—including on eliminating penalties for personal possession and regulating clinical access to some entheogens—with more votes expected at its next meeting in October.

Two recommendations that are already approved by the body are the creation of a state-regulated clinical psilocybin program and the appropriation of research dollars to study the therapeutic use of psilocybin, MDMA and LSD. It will be up to lawmakers, however, to introduce and pass any psychedelics-related legislation to formally enact the suggestions.

Created through a measure signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz (D) in May of last year, the state’s Psychedelic Medicine Task Force is responsible for advising lawmakers on “the legal, medical, and policy issues associated with the legalization of psychedelic medicine in the state.” It is charged with returning a final report to the state with findings and recommendations by January 1, 2025.

At its most recent meeting on September 9, the body considered a handful of policy recommendations and held votes on some. However, one member of the task force was absent and did not submit votes ahead of the meeting, leaving several potential recommendations unresolved. For example, it’s still unclear whether the group will advise the elimination of criminal penalties for possession of personal-use amounts of psychedelics.

A representative for the Minnesota Department of Public Health, Scott Smith, declined to provide further details on the current status of the votes, saying in an email to Marijuana Moment that “we wouldn’t want to pre-empt the minutes approval and publication process.” He added that the meeting minutes “typically come out shortly before the next, in this case, October meeting.”

An unofficial recording of the meeting posted online, however, shows that members have finalized some recommendations, such as the creation of a state-regulated clinical psilocybin program and the appropriation of research dollars to study the therapeutic use of psilocybin, MDMA and LSD.

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The vote on recommending state-regulated, clinical access to psilocybin-containing mushrooms, for example, fell 16–3, with two members abstaining, which met the required supermajority threshold despite the missing member.

The chair of the task force, Jessica Nielson, who is also a University of Minnesota Medical School professor and the president of the Psychedelic Society of Minnesota, did not respond to an email from Marijuana Moment seeking further comment on the recommendations.

In a subsequent social media post by the Psychedelic Society, the group noted that some of the possible recommendations still waiting on a final votes include the removal of criminal penalties around psilocybin possession and the creation of a state-regulated program for synthetic psychedelics, including LSD, MDMA and synthesized psilocybin.

Kurtis Hanna, a drug reform advocate who lobbied on behalf of the bill that created the psychedelics task force last year, noted in an interview with Marijuana Moment that there seemed to be a noticeable disconnect between how members voted based on whether they were representatives of state agencies, with those officials typically seeming more skeptical of supporting reforms.

While some activists appeared frustrated by the divide, Hanna said he saw the dynamic as a useful indicator of various agencies’ positions on various matters.

“They didn’t necessarily stand in the way of all proposals,” he said, “and it sort of forced them to be on the record about what they’re not adamantly and vehemently opposed to.”

Hanna also pointed out that lawmakers on the panel, such as Rep. Andy Smith (DFL), who sponsored last year’s bill that created the task force, as well as two Republicans, appeared more on board with reforms than the representatives of state agencies, which is noteworthy given that state agencies are bound by laws crafted by the legislature.

While the task force’s report with recommendations for lawmakers is due by January 1, the group itself is set to remain in place until the middle of next year.

The body’s first meeting, last November, took place more than three months after it was initially scheduled. Most of that meeting consisted of housekeeping, such as selecting a chairperson and laying out the trajectory of the coming months.

Members of the roughly two-dozen-person panel consist of lawmakers and agency representatives as well as a host of others appointed by the governor with experience in health policy, mental health, substance use disorders, veterans health and psychedelic medicine.

Nielson, the body’s chair, said at the time that “I kind of straddle both worlds” in the psychedelics space, touting her “very strong understanding and deep rich experience in writing the scientific literature and interpreting it and trying to communicate that to others, while also having a lot of roots in the actual community itself.”

Rep. Nolan West (R), a task force member appointed by the House minority leader who also served on the bicameral conference committee that finalized Minnesota’s marijuana legalization law, said at the time that he was “interested in this area to try and help people through more natural means.”

A draft charter for the task force said members would be guided by three key principles: scientific rigor, collaboration and inclusivity and accountability and integrity.

Smith, the lawmaker whose bill created the task force, has indicated interest in introducing legislation based on the task force’s recommendation, though he has not pledged to follow the recommendations entirely.

“First and foremost, I am a representative of my constituents here in Minnesota,” he said in an interview with Marijuana Moment last year. “I have to stick to my conscience there. But the reason we went this route is because I want to be dedicated to listening to the experts on this particular issue and be as responsible as possible.”

As originally introduced as a standalone bill, Smith’s psychedelics legislation would have required the task force to look at mescaline, bufotenine, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, 2C-B, ibogaine, salvinorin A and ketamine. But it was amended in committee to focus only on psilocybin, MDMA and LSD.

In addition to creating the psychedelics task force, the omnibus bill that the governor signed to create the Psychedelic Medicine Task Force also included provisions to establish safe drug consumption sites.

A separate Minnesota law also took effect in August of last year that legalized drug paraphernalia possession, syringe services, controlled substances residue and testing.

Meanwhile, as the state prepares to license cannabis businesses that are expected to begin selling marijuana to adult consumers next year, state regulators recently awarded social equity status to hundreds of business license applicants—part of an effort by the state to redress past drug war harms.

DEA Calls For Increased Production Of Some Psychedelics For Research, As Marijuana Quotas Level Out Ahead Of Scheduling Decision

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Workman.