SALT LAKE CITY — People who have used psychedelics to treat mental health issues tearfully urged members of the Utah State Legislature to support a bill that would legalize psilocybin in the state.
"I'm super grateful for it and I know there’s other people out there like me that need it. It’s powerful and it will save lives because it’s saving my life right now and it’s saving my family’s life," said Audrey Squires, holding back tears as she spoke at a news conference on Utah's Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Many people who said they have benefited from the use of psilocybin were emotional as they shared intensely personal struggles with mental illness and how the drug has changed their lives and helped them and their families.
FOX 13 News first reported on Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla's pending bill to legalize psilocybin in January. But since then, Sen. Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said she will amend her Senate Bill 200 to allow for a pilot program limiting the number of patients and where they can consume psychedelics for mental health issues like depression, anxiety and PTSD.
Sen. Escamilla cautioned advocates the program would be tightly controlled and no one would be allowed to "self-medicate." The powerful political leader said she has been getting support from her colleagues in the Republican supermajority in the legislature. Last year, lawmakers passed a bill to study the issue.
SB200 is expected to get a hearing next week in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. The bill is being backed by the Utah Patients Coalition and the Libertas Institute, which supported Utah's medical cannabis ballot initiative. The bill also has support from Utah Mushroom Therapy, which presented the Senate Minority Leader with a petition from people calling for its passage.
