Connecticut Governor Signs Bill to Give Patients Access to MDMA and Psilocybin Therapy

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed a budget bill on Monday, May 9th, that included provisions to give patients access to psychedelic-assisted treatments.

Among the bill’s myriad of policy areas, from childcare to environmental protection, the legislation vowed to establish “a psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program to provide qualified patients with the funding necessary to receive MDMA-assisted or psilocybin-assisted therapy as part of an expanded access program approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration”.

A fund will also be created to issue grants to qualified patients so they can afford the psychedelic-assisted therapy.

As a requirement for treatment, the qualified patients must reside in the state and be either a veteran, a retired first responder or a direct healthcare worker.

The bill also legislates that a new Connecticut Psychedelic Treatment Advisory Board be established by July to oversee the new treatments and patient processing.

The bill’s passing follows the formation of a psychedelic task force last year, which was established to study the feasibility of psychedelic-assisted therapy and make recommendations on whether it should be permitted in the state. It handed in its findings and recommendations this January.