A synthetic version of psychedelic mushrooms will be legal for use in mental health therapy in South Dakota if approved by the federal government. Republican Governor Larry Rhoden signed House Bill 1099 into law on Tuesday, which sets the state up to instantly legalize crystalline polymorph psilocybin if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves its use and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reschedules it from a drug of abuse to a drug with medical value.
House Bill 1099 passed the House of Representatives 58-7 based on testimony about the drug’s promise in clinical trials as a more effective option for post-traumatic stress disorder and treatment-resistant depression. Lobbyists for combat veterans testified in support of the measure. The bill met resistance in the Senate, where Rapid City Republican Senator Greg Blanc pulled it from the chamber’s consent calendar to decry the idea of using a psychedelic drug in therapy. However, supporters returned repeatedly to the theme of hope for veterans and treatment-resistant depression and stressed that nothing would happen until the federal government approved the drug as safe and effective. The bill passed the Senate 21-12.
Other Legislation Signed
Rhoden also signed House Bill 1164 on Tuesday to create the crime of fraudulent assisted reproduction. This measure was spurred by the actions of a fertility doctor in Indiana who inseminated dozens of women with his own sperm without their knowledge, a story that inspired the Netflix documentary “Our Father.” Starting July 1, it will be a felony crime to engage in fraudulent assisted reproduction in South Dakota, and parents or children affected will be empowered to seek civil damages.
The governor also announced legislation requiring social media companies with 100 million or more monthly users to give South Dakotans, upon request, a copy of all personal data collected about them. Senate Bill 111 sets up parameters for usability and access of the requested data.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.yankton.net/community/article_7f2c312e-fe8e-4bd4-80fc-4805cda7bc9d.html