Supporters urge Senate Health & Welfare to add trigger language so FDA‑approved psilocybin therapy can be available to patients
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Summary
Witnesses asked the Senate committee to add language to H.611 that would automatically align Vermont law with federal scheduling decisions so FDA‑approved psilocybin therapies can be prescribed and administered in medical settings without delay, citing veteran and mental‑health needs.
Supporters of a proposed amendment to H.611 told the Senate Health & Welfare Committee on April 1 that Vermont should adopt a “trigger” mechanism so FDA‑approved psilocybin therapies can be prescribed in state medical settings without avoidable delay.
Tess Betler, Associate Director of Government Affairs at Compass Pathways, asked the committee to include language that “will automatically align Vermont law with federal scheduling decisions, allowing FDA approved psilocybin therapies to be prescribed and administered in a medical setting in Vermont without delay once approved and rescheduled.” She said investigational COMP360 has shown promising clinical results and that aligning state statute with federal action would prevent gaps between federal approval and patient access.
The amendment supporters framed the change as narrowly targeted: it would not legalize or decriminalize psilocybin outside of an FDA‑approved, rescheduled product and regulated clinical settings. Betler said training and program details would follow federal approval and the FDA’s REMS (risk evaluation and mitigation strategy) mechanism, which would set training and delivery expectations at the time of approval.
Logan Davidson, legislative director of Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, told the committee the amendment matters for veterans who currently travel abroad to access psychedelic‑assisted therapies. “We lose no less than 17 and by some estimates as many as 44 U.S. veterans to suicide every day,” Davidson said, urging timely access to novel treatments for veterans with PTSD and treatment‑resistant depression.
Committee members asked procedural questions about whether the Legislature must act in advance of federal changes and whether state agencies would need to update rules; Betler said both the Legislature and the Department would have roles and that departmental rulemaking would be necessary to implement any FDA‑approved therapy locally.
The committee discussed training expectations and noted that the FDA/DEA process would determine many technical details; members said they expect to hear from the Department of Health and other stakeholders before formal markup. No committee vote on the amendment was recorded in the transcript; the chair said the committee will consider the testimony and where the language fits as they move into the markup process.
The amendment proponents emphasized the narrow, automatic nature of the change (triggering only for FDA‑approved and DEA‑rescheduled products) and asked the committee to include language now so Vermonters do not face unnecessary delays in accessing new therapies once federal authorities act.
