The governor of Massachusetts has signed a military veterans-focused bill that includes provisions to create a psychedelics working group to study and make recommendations about the potential therapeutic benefits of substances like psilocybin and MDMA.
Gov. Maura Healey (D) initially introduced the proposal—titled the Honoring, Empowering and Recognizing Our Servicemembers and Veterans (HERO Act)—last November. It cleared the legislature last month in amended form before being transmitted to her desk and being signed into law on Thursday.
In a press release, under a section titled “Modernization of Veterans Services,” the governor’s office highlighted that the legislation “establishes a working group to study the benefits of alternative therapies, such as psilocybin, for treating veterans’ mental health disorders.”
The psychedelics language wouldn’t immediately create a framework for legal access, but it would require the Executive Office of Veterans’ Services (EOVS) to convene a working group to study “alternative therapies for mental health treatments for veterans” and exploring “whether psychedelic therapy is associated with improved outcomes among veterans with diagnosed mental health disorders.”
The panel would need to “evaluate literature, research trials and expert opinions to determine in psychedelic therapy is associated with improved outcomes regarding mental health treatment for veterans.” And it would
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