STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2497

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3160

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 3160 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PSILOCYBIN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish the therapeutic psilocybin working group to examine the medicinal and therapeutic effects of psilocybin and develop a long-term strategic plan to ensure the availability of therapeutic psilocybin or psilocybin-based products that are safe, accessible, and affordable for adults twenty-one years of age or older.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Oahu Economic Development Board; Banan, LLC; Kauhale Healing LLC; and twenty individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Medical Association, Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association, and Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health, Beyond Mental Health, and American Psychiatric Association.

Your Committee finds that mental health conditions are treated in various ways, depending on the condition, and can include medication, therapy, and psychosocial services. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in certain species of mushrooms that can activate serotonin receptors in the brain. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration designated a treatment that uses psilocybin in a therapeutic manner for treatment—resistant depression as a "breakthrough therapy". This measure establishes the therapeutic psilocybin working group to examine the medicinal and therapeutic effects of psilocybin and develop a long-term strategic plan to determine its availability in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that a member's participation in the working group alone does not subject them to the requirements of chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3160, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3160, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

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JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair