The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted 148-2 on Wednesday to establish a five-year pilot program permitting supervised psychedelic treatment for mental health conditions, embedding the measure within a $561 million bond bill.
The plan would let “clinically appropriate patients” receive “naturally occurring psychedelic materials” through “on-site administration by a multi-disciplinary care team” at licensed mental health clinics. It creates a new Medical Psychedelics Fund, with the Department of Public Health authorized to issue up to three clinic permits to develop safe clinical practices and gather data on psychedelic pharmacotherapy outcomes.
Participating clinics cannot be affiliated with cannabis companies, psychedelic molecule developers, or pharmaceutical firms, and must track outcomes for treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use disorder. The bill exempts psilocybin and psilocin use under the pilot from existing state drug criminalization statutes.
For other substances, the department is directed to coordinate with research institutions to speed federally authorized research into psilocybin, ibogaine, 5-MeO-DMT, and MDMA, including pursuit of federal approvals and funding. Regulators must also set rules for storing, dispensing, and administering psychedelics, plus standards for producing and cultivating the materials, including licensing.
Rep. Marjorie Decker (D) led the psychedelics provision, which was folded into a broader amendment adopted unanimously. The bill, H5562, now moves to the Senate and could eventually reach Gov. Maura Healey (D).
Decker told the Boston Globe, “It’s pretty mind-blowing to see that psychedelics offer, under the right medical guidance, real treatment, and I want to be bold to say it cures. It’s not a lifetime of treatment. It’s a cure.” She noted alignment with federal action, referencing President Trump’s April executive order on psychedelics access, adding that Massachusetts has acted independently of federal timing.
The vote follows Massachusetts voters rejecting a broader 2024 ballot measure that would have legalized possession, cultivation, and sharing of substances like psilocybin, ibogaine, and DMT for adults 21 and older.
Graham Moore of Mass Healing called the outcome proof of “a new kind of politics” built on trust after the group faced a “trust deficit” from prior mismanagement. Executive Director Jamie Morey said the organization grew out of the failed 2024 measure and called the House vote a win for people facing PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, and addiction.
This session saw a dozen psychedelics-related bills filed, several advancing through committee, with the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society backing multiple reform measures, including psilocybin decriminalization. In 2024, Healey signed legislation creating a psychedelics working group focused on veterans.
Separately, a Massachusetts ballot initiative to repeal the state's marijuana legalization law has qualified for the November ballot, though it now faces a challenge over some recently submitted signatures.
