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Committee hears bill to exempt FDA‑approved crystalline polymorph psilocybin from Kansas Schedule I
Summary
Witnesses and committee members discussed House Bill 2218, which would amend Kansas law to exclude FDA‑approved pharmaceutical crystalline polymorph psilocybin from the Schedule I controlled substances list and add such FDA‑approved products to Schedule IV once federal approvals and state certification occur.
The Committee on House Health and Human Services held a hearing on House Bill 2218, a bill that would amend the Kansas Uniform Controlled Substances Act to exclude an FDA‑approved pharmaceutical composition of crystalline polymorph psilocybin from the Schedule I definition and to add any such FDA‑approved product to Schedule IV after federal approvals and state certification.
Carly, committee staff, summarized the bill’s sections and the procedural trigger: the bill would take effect after an FDA approval of a pharmaceutical crystalline polymorph psilocybin product, followed by certification by the attorney general and publication by the secretary of state. Carly told the committee the text amends KSA 65-41-01 (definitions) and KSA 65-41-11 (schedules).
Tess Betler, senior manager of advocacy and state government policy at Compass Pathways, testified in support. “This bill does not decriminalize or legalize psilocybin or any other psychedelic substance, nor does this bill allow access to drugs that have not been FDA approved,” Betler said. She told members the change is intended to allow rapid state-level access to a prescription product if and when the Food and Drug Administration approves a crystalline polymorph psilocybin formulation and the Drug Enforcement Administration reschedules it.
Betler said the company’s product is a 25‑milligram capsule that would be administered in a doctor’s office under the anticipated FDA risk‑management plan. She emphasized the bill would have no effect unless the FDA actually approves a product. “If the FDA does not approve it, then nothing happens in Kansas,” Betler said.
Members asked about clinical trials, manufacturing and timing. Betler confirmed the formulation being discussed is synthesized rather than harvested from mushrooms and said clinical trials are ongoing; she told the committee the sponsor does not expect trials to finish until 2026. Representative Bryce and others asked about the mechanism of action; Betler described research suggesting psilocybin increases “neuroplasticity” and creates new connections in the brain, though she acknowledged the mechanism is not fully understood.
Representative Sanverise asked why the bill is being proposed before federal approvals; Betler said the intent is to have statutory language in place so that patients could access an FDA‑approved, DEA‑rescheduled product promptly. Committee members raised concerns about whether state action could affect people who cultivate or possess natural mushrooms; Betler said the bill was intended only to amend the Uniform Controlled Substances Act definitions and not to alter enforcement of natural‑product prohibitions.
No committee vote was recorded on House Bill 2218 during the hearing. The record includes written opposition from James Davis and neutral written testimony from Alexandra Blasey of the Kansas State Board of Pharmacy.
(Ending) The committee closed the hearing after testimony and questions; members did not take a formal vote on the bill during this session.
