Wisconsin Bill Would Create Pilot Program to Study Psilocybin as PTSD Treatment

A bipartisan bill in Wisconsin aims to make it easier for researchers to treat patients with acute post-traumatic stress disorder with psilocybin, WPR reports. The measure would create a trust fund called the “medicinal psilocybin treatment program” that would be administered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which launched a center for studying psychedelics to treat PTSD in 2021.

State Sen. Jesse James (R), one of the bill’s sponsors, told WPR that the “federal government has failed us when it comes to marijuana and the psilocybin and all these other variants that are out there in doing these studies.”

James and State Rep. Clinton Anderson (D), the measure’s co-sponsor, said they hope to include $100,000 in state funds to establish a trust that can be used for psilocybin research in the state.

“Let’s try to find some alternatives to treatment for our veterans who serve our country. And I think that’s something we should all be able to get behind. Otherwise, we’re just playing political theater when we talk about how important our veterans are.” — Anderson to WPR 

Ander added that the bipartisan nature of the legislation shows lawmakers are “serious” and “not just throwing out a messaging bill.”

Under the proposal, individuals eligible to participate in the pilot program must be military veterans who are 21 years of age or older and who suffer from treatment-resistant PTSD. The bill text notes that “individuals who are law enforcement officers are not eligible to participate in the pilot program study.” The psilocybin therapy provided by the pilot program must be provided through pathways approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the research accomplished in the pilot program may be accomplished in conjunction with other medications approved by the federal FDA, the bill states.

The proposal was sent last week to the Senate Universities and Revenues Committee.