Linked In Post – Jon Dennis, Psychedelic Lawyer: Washington SB 5201, the regulated psilocybin access bill, was considered today by the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce ( 18 Feb 2025)

Washington SB 5201, the regulated psilocybin access bill, was considered today by the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce. The bill would require low-income and other taxpayers to subsidize regulated access that is cost-prohibitive for many, while continuing to criminalize the same activities outside of the regulated marketplace.

For context, Oregon’s regulated system was promised to be self-funded by licensing fees and sales taxes, but the program needed a $3.1MM bailout in 2023, and the program is now seeking an additional $3.5MM bailout from the legislature. This is despite already-exorbitant licensing fees, including a $2,000 annual fee for facilitators. (By contrast, the annual fee for an Oregon law license is $683; the annual fee for medical doctors is $702.)

Taxing residents for the administration of a costly access program, while criminalizing affordable access outside the program, is problematic–particularly in Washington where local governments representing 14% of the entire population have already called on state lawmakers to decriminalize psilocybin and other plant-based psychedelic substances. Washington lawmakers must do better and not ignore the socio-economic and criminal justice impacts of a regulated-only access program.