There were many substantial legislative moments for psychedelics in 2022. States and municipalities across the country continue to seriously consider making changes to their laws governing psychedelic substances.
Late this year, we received encouraging national news when the U.S. House of Representatives announced the creation of a psychedelic caucus. We celebrated the formation of the Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Clinical Treatments (PACT) Caucus, led by Representatives Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI).
This caucus will consist of bipartisan members of Congress committed to “addressing ways to alleviate the national mental health crisis through psychedelic science and research.” PACT looks to advance research into the therapeutic use of psychedelic compounds and ensure any FDA-approved psychedelic-assisted therapies are available to those in need, in accordance with the law.
“We are encouraged that Representatives Correa and Bergman are taking significant steps to bring the conversation about psychedelic research and therapy to Congress. This initiative will build upon the growing national interest in the potential for psychedelic care modalities to be incorporated into healthcare. We look forward to working with members of the caucus to educate their colleagues to replace drug war rhetoric with science, evidence, and compassion.”
– Ismail Ali, J.D., Director of Policy & Advocacy, MAPS
The PACT Caucus will not be offering recommendations on decriminalization, legalization, rescheduling or de-scheduling psychedelic substances. Rather, the goals of this caucus are to:
- Increase awareness of psychedelic-assisted therapies among members of Congress and their staffs,
- Support increases in federal funding for psychedelic science
- Examine regulatory impediments to psychedelic research
