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Pennsylvania State Senate
10/18/2024 06:07 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?SPick=20230&chamber=S&cosponId=43030
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: August 6, 2024 01:18 PM
From: Senator Tracy Pennycuick
To: All Senate members
Subject: Veteran Right-to-Try Breakthrough Therapies Act
 
In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation to help veterans treat service-connected Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorders with low-dose psilocybin and MDMA - assisted therapies.
 
A national crisis continues to unfold, affecting the men and women who bravely served our country. The Veterans Administration (VA) reports that nearly 6,400 veterans committed suicide in 2021, including 246 in Pennsylvania, a rate staggeringly higher than that of the general population.

This is an unacceptable reality.

While the VA, our state, and our country have made strides in addressing this issue, Pennsylvania must offer every tool available to veterans struggling with PTSD and major depressive disorders.

New research, backed by clinical trials, has demonstrated that low-dose psilocybin and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine) - assisted treatments, when conducted in a controlled clinical setting with a licensed and trained physician, have shown remarkable promise in helping patients. These therapies have exceptional success rates in helping patients achieve healing and lasting recovery, with some clinical trials reporting over 75% of participants experiencing symptom remission.

The research in this field has been so promising that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently awarded psilocybin and MDMA treatments “Breakthrough Therapy” status.

My bill will amend Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Try Act to offer lifesaving psilocybin and MDMA - assisted therapies to veterans. The act will require a psilocybin or MDMA - assisted therapy session to be conducted by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist in a controlled clinical setting. Additionally, this act will only come into effect if the United States Drug Enforcement Agency changes the Schedule 1 drug designation of psilocybin or MDMA or if a waiver is issued for their use.

With promising federal action on the horizon, it is imperative that Pennsylvania enacts the necessary laws to ensure that, once federal agencies act, our veterans can promptly begin receiving the treatment they need.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this bill and allowing every veteran the opportunity to achieve recovery and get their lives back.
 




Memo Updated: August 6, 2024 01:19 PM