Nevada Assembly Passes Resolution Urging Congress To Reschedule Psychedelics And Protect ‘Supervised Adult Use’ Of The Substances

The Nevada Assembly has amended and advanced a Senate-passed joint resolution calling on Congress to reschedule certain psychedelics, streamline research and provide protections for people using the substances in compliance with state law.

On the chamber floor on Thursday, lawmakers voted 36-6 to advance the measure—SJR 10, from Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D)—which now returns to the Senate to consider changes made in the Assembly.

The resolution cites research demonstrating the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in the treatment of serious mental health conditions and calls on the federal government to “reschedule psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline and MDMA to a schedule that better reflects the therapeutic value, low potential for abuse and safety for use under medical supervision of those compounds.”

It also points out that there have been federal developments on the issue, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation of certain psychedelics as “breakthrough therapies” and research that’s being funded to explore the substances at the Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The measure urges Congress to increase funding for further research, establish a “streamlined process for approving and conducting research with psychedelic compounds,” and reschedule psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline and MDMA under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Further, it calls for the establishment of “legal protection against federal prosecution for individuals and entities complying with state law concerning the supervised adult use of psychedelic compounds and require states to enter research partnerships with the Attorney General under the Controlled Substances Act to study the public health outcomes of such state programs.”

Days ahead of the floor passage, Assembly members adopted approved a brief committee amendment that clarified that the resolution seeks protection for those using psychedelics specifically under supervision of a facilitator.

Under the change, submitted by Nguyen, the proposal now urges congress to protect “individuals and entities complying with state and local law concerning the supervised adult use of psychedelic compounds.”

That language was in the measure as introduced, but an earlier amendment had previously removed the word “supervised” from the text, which the latest amendment adds back in.

The new amendment was adopted by members of the Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, which advanced the measure on a voice vote during a work session earlier this month.

On the Senate floor last month, Nguyen said the proposal “sets forth the argument that certain research and therapeutic trials have demonstrated promising results for the use of these substances in the treatment of disorders such as traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, certain depressive disorders and other mental health conditions.”

“The measure notes the low abuse potential for classic psychedelics and highlights their safety in therapeutic session settings,” she said, adding that “SJR 10 expresses Nevada’s continued support for expanded research opportunities…and urges Congress and the appropriate federal agencies to increase related funding” for psychedelic medicines.

Prior to the Senate floor vote, a committee adopted amendments proposed by the sponsor, Nguyen, to clarify certain statistics that were referenced and also to build upon language on federal protections to include local protections as well.

Last month, meanwhile, a separate Nevada Assembly committee passed a psychedelic pilot program bill that would allow some patients with certain medical conditions to legally access substances such as psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline.

If enacted, the program would allow the medically supervised use of psychedelics among military veterans and first responders with certain mental health conditions.

The Assembly Health and Human Services Committee took public testimony on the bill in March, hearing from reform advocates, veterans and their families and members of a state Psychedelic Medicines Working Group, which late last year called on lawmakers to establish a system for regulated access.

Assemblymember Max Carter (D), the measure’s sponsor, was among several Nevada legislators who participated in a recent psychedelic policy summit and expressed optimism that the state could make progress toward legalizing therapeutic use of the substances in the coming year.

Carter appeared with Nguyen on the panel, hosted by the Nevada Coalition for Psychedelic Medicines. Both lawmakers were members of the state Psychedelic Medicines Working Group that in December issued a report calling on the legislature to create a program for regulated access to psychedelic-assisted therapy.

In 2023, Nguyen sponsored legislation that would have legalized psilocybin and promoted further research into the drug, as well as encouraged studies of MDMA—but the was significantly scaled back in a Senate committee to examine the use of entheogens “in medicinal, therapeutic, and improved wellness” and develop a future plan for regulated access. It ultimately became the vehicle that created the state psychedelics working group.

Separately in the state legislature, lawmakers are also weighing a measure that would allow people with past marijuana possession convictions to become foster parents provided the amount of cannabis they were convicted for is now legal under state law.

Currently, any conviction for possession, distribution or use of a controlled substance is disqualifying for would-be foster parents.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Workman.