Maryland's House of Delegates voted 109-24 Thursday to pass SB 336, sending to Gov. Wes Moore (D) legislation that would keep the Maryland Task Force on Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances active through December 31, 2027. The bill was introduced by Sen. Brian Feldman (D). A companion measure, HB 427, from Del. Pam Guzzone (D), awaits final Senate action.
Both bills would extend the 17-member panel, overseen by the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA), and require it to submit an updated report by October 31 of this year. No other existing law would change. During Senate deliberations, SB 336 was amended to add an HBCU representative to the task force; the Senate Finance Committee applied the same amendment to HB 427 on Tuesday at Guzzone's request.
The task force was created after Gov. Moore signed a pair of bills in 2024 and issued its initial report last year recommending a "multi-pathway framework for safe, broad, and equitable access to natural psychedelic substances, with an initial focus on psilocybin." The panel currently limits its work to psilocybin, mescaline, and DMT.
The proposed three-phase framework opens with an advisory board establishing safety standards, data monitoring, practice guidelines, licensing protections, public education, facilitator training, and "immediate restorative justice measures." Phase two would introduce "deprioritization measures," supervised medical and adult-use consumption sites, personal cultivation for "permitted individuals," and research expansion. Phase three, contingent on "demonstrated safety outcomes and provider confidence," would launch commercial sales for adults "who maintain an active license to use natural psychedelic substances" and assess readiness for additional substances. The task force opposed "delaying state action pending future federal [Food and Drug Administration] approval."
An earlier version of HB 427 contained requirements to study statewide online sales with home delivery and product labeling standards; that language was removed before passage.
The legislature is also advancing a bill to protect firefighters and rescue workers from penalties for lawful off-duty medical marijuana use. The House Judiciary Committee has discussed legislation from Del. Robin Grammer (R) to protect gun rights for medical marijuana patients, a measure Grammer has introduced over multiple sessions without reaching enactment.
A separate state fund established roughly two years ago provides "cost-free" access to psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine for military veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury.
