Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) has introduced a bill that would allow some end-of-life patients to use psilocybin and other investigational treatments.
The Right to Try Clarification Act would revise a current law that was designed to give access to experimental treatments to dying patients who have exhausted other options. The proposed bill would add Schedule I substances that have completed phase 1 clinical studies to the list of available options.
“Federal restrictions have obstructed access to end-of-life care for too long, this legislation will change that and ensure that all patients have the Right to Try,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “The psychedelics laws in this country are broken, including our laws governing patients’ access to new and promising end-of-life care.”
To date, 41 states have passed Right to Try laws that included investigational therapies like psilocybin.
Psychedelics have become a hot topic in health care, particularly as it pertains to mental health care and palliative care.
Researchers have identified a number of potential clinical benefits, including reduction of anxiety, depression and improved acceptance of mortality, according to a 2019literature reviewin the journal Current Oncology.
