The latest in Colorado, new study suggests single psilocybin session could reduce depressive symptoms in cancer patients, and MindMed announces preliminary results, stock soars

Plus: The Latest in Oregon and The State of Psychedelics

Happy Friday, and welcome back to The Microdose, an independent journalism newsletter brought to you by the U.C. Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. 

The Latest in Colorado

As soon as Coloradans passed Proposition 122 (the Natural Medicine Health Act) last November, the clock started ticking. The state is now working to establish protocols for how people will access the plant and fungi-derived psychedelics voters made state-legal under the new law. Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed the National Medicine Advisory Board in February, which is required to submit recommendations on implementing the initiative by September 30. By the state’s current timeline, the program should be up and running by late 2024. So far, progress has been slow, but activity has ramped up significantly in the last two weeks.

Last week, the Natural Medicine Advisory Board met for the first time to clarify the board’s responsibilities and the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA)’s role in providing oversight. The board also established six subcommittees. This week, the board announced each subcommittee will be holding a two hour meeting in the next ten days. (Details are available on the Natural Medicine Health Act’s homepage.) For more on the board’s first meeting, read attorney Mason Marks’s overview.

Other big changes could be ahead for Prop 122. On Wednesday, Colorado Senator Steve Fenberg (D) introduced Senate Bill 290, which “amends the regulatory framework for natural medicine.” The bill would give the state a little more time to set up its psilocybin services. It also shifts some licensing responsibilities away from DORA, the agency has previously stated that it has “no resources or expertise to begin implementation of this expansive new program.” 

SB 290 also introduces new penalties for violating policies related to the cultivation and use of drugs. While Prop 122 allows personal use of “natural medicines,” it did not define penalties; SB 290 states that anyone using these drugs in a public place would be subject to a fine of up to $100, and anyone whose cultivation area is larger than 12 feet by 12 feet could face a fine of up to $1000. 

New study suggests single psilocybin session could reduce depressive symptoms in cancer patients

People diagnosed with cancer sometimes also struggle with mental health issues as they undergo treatment and major life changes. A new study published in JAMA Oncology suggests that psilocybin-assisted therapy could help cancer patients experiencing depressive symptoms. 

A total of 30 patients at Aquilano Cancer Center in Maryland were given a single 25 milligram dose of psilocybin while in small groups of three to four. Therapists were available during those dosing sessions — one per each participant — and each cohort underwent three sessions of group therapy to prepare for and integrate their experiences, as well as individual therapy. Participants filled out a standard depression questionnaire called MADRS before receiving their psilocybin dose, and again at three and eight weeks after their session. The researchers found that the treatment had long lasting effects; 80% of patients had significantly lower MADRS scores eight weeks after treatment, and 50% of patients showed “full remission of depressive symptoms.” 

The researchers acknowledge that more studies are needed, as this study had no control group, so it’s difficult to know how much of the study’s efficacy was due to the psilocybin versus the therapy or the person’s expectations. “Nonetheless,” the authors write, “this study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of psilocybin treatment for patients with cancer.”

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MindMed announces preliminary results, stock soars

Last Friday, New York-based psychedelics company MindMed released preliminary results from a phase 2 clinical trial using LSD to treat major depressive disorder. In the study, which has not yet undergone peer review, 61 participants were given two doses of LSD four weeks apart. Half the participants were given two sizeable doses — first 100 micrograms, then 200 micrograms — while the other half were given a smaller, 25 microgram dose. MindMed says that participants in the high-dose condition scored significantly lower on depression scales six weeks after their initial dose.

The full results from the study will likely not be available until the work is peer reviewed, but nonetheless, these results seem to have boosted investors’ enthusiasm for the company. MindMed’s stock has jumped by nearly a third of its value since the company released these results, trading at about $4/share. Still, the company’s stock has fallen significantly since it began selling public shares in April 2021 at over $50/share.

State of Psychedelics: Washington legislation poised to pass, Nevada walks back bill, and North Carolina to introduce new bill

Each state legislature adheres to its own schedule, but for most states, the regular legislative session begins in January and ends in the spring or summer. As a result, we’ll be watching as more psychedelics bills make their way through state legislatures. Of course some bills will get stalled, a kind of de facto bill death. Here’s the latest: 

Washington Senate Bill 5263 has passed the state’s house and senate, and is now awaiting a signature from Governor Jay Inslee. The bill originally proposed that the state establish psilocybin services similar to Oregon, but the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce pared down the bill. Rather than establishing services, the bill now only establishes an advisory committee to develop a plan to roll out such services. When the bill reached the state house, Representative Nicole Macri (D) proposed an amendment for the legislation to also establish a pilot program at the University of Washington in which veterans and first responders with PTSD, mood disorders, or substance use disorders would receive psilocybin therapy services. Advocates are hopeful Inslee will sign the bill; he’s previously said he would consider discussions about making psychedelics state-legal.

When it was first introduced last month, Nevada’s Senate Bill 242 proposed making it state-legal for Nevadans to possess up to four ounces of psilocybin-containing fungi and to allow researchers to register with the state to study psilocybin and MDMA. Last week, the state’s Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed the bill but amended it significantly. Now, SB 242 establishes a working group to “study psychedelic medicines and make recommendations to the legislature.” The bill will now head to the full Senate for a vote.

A bipartisan group of North Carolina representatives plan to file a bill that would earmark $5 million for studies on using psilocybin and MDMA to treat PTSD, reports North Carolina Public Radio.

The Latest in Oregon: OPS issues first facilitator licenses, SB 303 up for a senate vote

In another move forward for Oregon’s psilocybin services, three facilitators were granted licenses this week. According to Oregon Psilocybin Services’ records, the agency has now issued six psilocybin licenses: three to facilitators, and three to manufacturers. (Read our recent interview with Tori Armbrust, the state’s first licensed manufacturer, for more on the burgeoning psilocybin industry.) As of yet, no service centers or testing labs have been licensed; before people can receive psilocybin services, OPS will need to issue all four types of licenses and licensees will need to cooperate to grow, test, and administer psilocybin products.

On Monday, Senate Bill 303 passed out of the Oregon Senate Health Care committee. The bill would require psilocybin service providers to report aggregated and de-identified demographic information about clients and the services they received to the Oregon Health Authority; prospective facilitators and service center owners have raised concerns over this data reporting. The committee was split on the vote — 17-11 yays to nays — and the bill now heads to the full senate.

• Researchers are looking into psychedelics as a potential treatment for long COVID, reports Time. 

• The Globe and Mail explores the companies making psilocybin and MDMA in Canada.

• In a Psychedelic Health op-ed, Tadeusz Hawrot, founder and executive director of the Psychedelic Access and Research European Alliance (PAREA), calls for policymakers and health officials to start planning for how EU countries can cooperate and prepare for the roll-out of psychedelic treatment.

• Do older adults face more risks when using psychedelics? Lucid News reviews a recent study.

• In an essay published on Insider, writer Perry Berline says microdosing psychedelics helped him explore his gender expression.

• The New European interviews Beckley Foundation founder Amanda Feidling about the history of LSD.

You’re all caught up! Have a great weekend. We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday with a new issue of 5 Questions.

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