‘Magic mushroom’ bill clears Virginia General Assembly

A bill that would regulate the prescription and dispensing of so-called “magic mushrooms” in Virginia passed the House Tuesday. 

SB1135, which had already passed the Senate, was approved 51-45 in a nearly party-line vote with one Republican in favor. It  directs the Board of Pharmacy,“to promulgate regulations that allow for prescribing, dispensing, possessing, and using,” crystalline polymorph psilocybin upon approval from the Food and Drug Administration, according to the bill. 

The bill also calls for the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration to reschedule psilocybin from its current status. Psilocybin is illegal in the United States and considered a Schedule I Drug alongside LSD and heroin. 

Psilocybin is the active part of a psychedelic compound of mushrooms, more commonly known as “magic mushrooms.” The crystalline polymorph refers to the structure of the psilocybin, indicating that the psilocybin is in a stable, solid form. 

Sen. Jennifer B. Boysko, D-Fairfax, is the chief patron of the bill.

Del. Robert Orrock, R-Caroline/Spotsylvania, raised concerns about creating an expedited process for a drug that is still in clinical trials during the Health and Human Services committee last Thursday. 

“If you pass this you establish a precedent, stay tuned sports fan, you’ll be getting a lot more of these as drugs are in trials,” Orrock said. 

Orrock argued that the Board of Pharmacy already reviews drugs as they are passed through the FDA and that this would be the first time that one drug would be given “expedited consideration” during his tenure in the legislature. 

Del. Howard Otto Wachsmann, R-Brunswick, also opposed the bill, stating that the Board of Pharmacy moves timely with the FDA and that the bill does not seem necessary. 

According to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, magic mushrooms or, “psilocybin can have anti-depressant and anti-anxiety effects that last for several months.” Some forms of psilocybin have been given “Breakthrough Therapy designation” for being studied as suitable forms to treat depression. 

Virginia would join a cluster of states that have allowed for the decriminalization and use of psilocybin. In 2020, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize psilocybin and allow for controlled use of magic mushrooms in monitored settings for those over 21 through ballot measure 109. 

The bill now awaits action from Gov. Glenn Youngkin.