The Louisiana Senate passed SB 43 on Wednesday by a unanimous 37-0 vote. Sponsored by Sen. Patrick McMath (R) and funded by opioid settlement dollars, the bill would create a psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program conducting clinical trials on substances including psilocybin and ibogaine.
McMath said Navy SEALs and combat veterans who traveled to Mexico for ibogaine therapy brought the concept to his attention. He argued for removing barriers to treatment: “The results, not only in post-traumatic stress, but also in substance abuse disorder and chronic depression are overwhelming—over 90 percent success rate when it comes to both heroin and alcohol dependency. Seventeen veterans per day in this country commit suicide. For every combat death, there are five veterans that commit suicide when they come home. If we don’t try to remove some of the regulatory pathways for those folks who sacrificed so much to find peace, then shame on us.”
The bill now goes to the House of Representatives. If enacted, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) would administer the program, running clinical trials for people with opioid use disorders, co-occurring substance use disorders, or treatment-resistant neurological or mental health conditions. All studies must obtain FDA investigational drug approval, and researchers need DEA authorization to handle Schedule I substances. Participants require mental and physical health screening; researchers must follow adverse event reporting rules and maintain therapist licensing and substance-tracking protocols.
Under SB 43, academic institutions may collaborate in ibogaine trials to support FDA prescription drug development, and cross-state research partnerships are encouraged. The state would receive 20 percent of profits from any drug developed through the program. A committee amendment also adds Louisiana to a national ibogaine research consortium, which would receive intellectual property revenues from any approved ibogaine therapy beyond that 20 percent state share. Floor amendments adopted Wednesday align clinical study procedures with best practices and remove the program’s fiscal impact to the department.
McMath last year sponsored a Senate resolution establishing a task force on psychedelics’ therapeutic benefits for veterans.
The Senate recently passed separate legislation letting terminally ill patients use medical marijuana in hospitals. Rep. Candace Newell (D) has separately introduced the “Adult-Use Cannabis Pilot Program Regulation and Enforcement Act,” a three-year marijuana legalization pilot. A similar Newell bill failed last session, as did a proposal to establish a cannabis tax framework ahead of potential legalization.
