An Iowa House committee has unanimously approved a Republican-led proposal to create a state-regulated therapeutic psilocybin program for adults with PTSD.
The bill, HF 620, from Rep. John Wills (R), passed the House Ways and Means Committee on a 23–0 vote at a hearing Thursday.
If enacted into law, it would allow up to 5,000 patients in the state to legally access psilocybin produced in-state by licensed entities. Administration sessions would need to be supervised by registered facilitators—mostly medical professionals—who would need to complete state-specified psilocybin education.
Psilocybin providers would need to be doctors, advanced nurse practitioners, advanced practice nurses, psychologists or social workers who complete psilocybin continuing education requirements, register with the state and pay a registration fee.
Administration sessions themselves would need to be at registered clinical locations and would need to be video recorded. Those records would need to be available for inspection by state officials upon request.
The psilocybin itself would be produced by state-licensed establishments. Local governments could not outright ban those facilities, nor could they deny them appropriate licenses based merely on the fact that psilocybin violates federal law.
Notably, a licensed psilocybin production facility could be co-located with one of the state’s few licensed medical cannabis producers—known in Iowa as medical cannabidiol producers—and the bill says regulators may grant psilocybin licensing preferences to those existing cannabis producers. Facilities couldn’t be located within 1,000 feet of a community location or 500 feet of a residential area.
Only people 21 and older and without “a misdemeanor for drug distribution or any felony” could work at psilocybin producers, and licensees themselves would face background checks.
Up to four independent testing labs could be licensed under the bill, and the state could also establish its own lab.
License applications would be accepted beginning July 1, 2026.
To oversee the system, the legislation would create a state Psilocybin Production Establishment Licensing Board under the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Appointed by the director of that department, the board would include a member of the public with knowledge of psilocybin, a member with knowledge and experience in the pharmaceutical or nutraceutical manufacturing industry, a law enforcement member, a university chemist or researcher with experience in manufacturing, a member who has a background in fungus or mushroom cultivation and processing.
The HHS director or a designee would also sit on the board, casting a vote only in the event of ties.
Earlier this week, a Ways and Means subcommittee unanimously advanced the legislation from Wills, himself a military veteran of 25 years.
“I know a lot of my guys that are still suffering,” the lawmaker told the Cedar Rapids Gazette at the time of the subcommittee vote. “What happens with those PTSD sufferers is they (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) put them on mind-altering medicine for the rest of their life.”
Wills also told the Gazette that although other psychedelic substances and qualifying conditions aren’t listed in the bill‘s text, the intent is that state regulators could eventually expand the program to include other conditions or substances that research supports.
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The lawmaker did not immediately respond to Marijuana Moment’s request for comment on Thursday’s full committee vote.
Committee member Rep. Brooke Boden (R) said earlier this week of the proposal, meanwhile, that as chair of the House Veterans Affairs committee, she has “had countless conversations about the need for treatment.”
“This is urgently needed for our veterans,” she said in a social media post, citing the statistic that 22 veterans a day lose their lives to suicide.
Rep. Jeff Shipley (R), a proponent in past sessions of descheduling psilocybin under Iowa law, called the issue “an urgent matter that should have been handled probably years ago,” according to the Gazette. He said the mere fact lawmakers were discussing the psilocybin’s medical benefit “to me indicates it’s not suitable for Schedule I.”
A separate bill in play this session, HF 383, would allow a synthetic form of psilocybin to be prescribed in the state in the event of approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Lawmakers in Colorado sent a similar bill to the governor earlier this month.
Another measure introduced earlier this year in Iowa would double the allowed number of medical cannabis dispensaries to 10, allowing up to five more to open across the state.
The Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board recommended in a 2023 report that the state remove the cap and grant more licenses “in an effort to provide Iowans with greater geographical access to medical cannabis products.”
Aside from the state’s comparatively limited medical cannabis program, which initially allowed only low-THC products, lawmakers have been resistant to ending marijuana prohibition for adult use despite the allure of potential tax revenue.
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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Workman.
The post Iowa Lawmakers Unanimously Approve Bill To Create Psilocybin Program That Would Treat Up To 5,000 Patients With PTSD appeared first on Marijuana Moment.
