STAND. COM. REP. NO. 208-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 2630

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs and Health & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 2630 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize, and establish a regulatory framework for, the administration of psilocybin for therapeutic use.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Wellness and Resilience; Clarity Project; Honolulu Psychotherapy; Mana Warrior Collective; Aloha Integrative Mental Health; Beyond Mental Health; Drug Policy Forum of Hawaiʻi; and numerous individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Law Enforcement and Hawaii Medical Association. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaiʻi Psychological Association.

Your Committees find that psilocybin, colloquial known as magic mushrooms, is currently listed under federal and state law as a schedule I controlled substance — a schedule that is reserved for drugs that have a high potential for abuse and no recognized medicinal uses. Despite its scheduling, research has shown that psilocybin can be effective in treating certain mental health conditions such as addition, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression, including treatment-resistant depression. This measure will ensure that people who struggle with debilitating mental health conditions have access to psilocybin and are not penalized by the State for its therapeutic use.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying the definition of "licensed mental health professional";

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committees respectfully request your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider provisions related to the registration of providers and inventory of psilocybin.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs and Health & Homelessness that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2630, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2630, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs and Health & Homelessness,

____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair

____________________________ DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair