2025’s Psychedelic Policy Surge: A State-by-State, Bill-by-Bill Analysis – Psychedelic Alpha

Since the start of the 2025 legislative session, more than three dozen psychedelics-related bills have been introduced across more than a dozen states.

That burst of momentum will be a welcome sight to many psychedelics advocates, especially after a very challenging 2024 that saw policy reform efforts plateau. Last year was also punctuated by prominent failures like Massachusetts’ Question 4 and more localities opting out of Oregon’s state-regulated psychedelics program. As the year came to a close, then, there was a sense of lethargy among certain corners of the psychedelic policy reform movement.

But 2025 is off to a roaring—unparalleled, even—start with lawmakers, corporate interests, and grassroots activists alike focused on achieving reforms at the state level, regardless of what the new administration might bring on the federal front.

Here, we parse through the influx of new bills. First, Psychedelic Alpha Editor Josh Hardman provides a high-level thematic overview of the fresh set of bills. Then, Jack Gorsline runs through the bills one by one.

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In this Article

• Overview: From Washington to Rhode Island, Lawmakers Introduce Bevy of Psychedelics-Related Bills
• State-by-State, Bill-by-Bill: A Deep Dive Into Psychedelics on State Legislative Agendas
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • New York
  • Connecticut
  • Virginia
  • Missouri
  • Indiana
  • Illinois
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Oregon
  • Washington
  • New Mexico
• Local Wins, Losses, and What to Expect in the 11 Months Ahead

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Words by Josh Hardman

Before we dive into Jack Gorsline’s state-by-state, bill-by-bill analysis, I thought it might be helpful to provide a high-level overview of the types of bills introduced so far this session.

Psilocybin Dominates: Psilocybin-focused bills dominate, with almost all bills mentioning the drug and at least a dozen of the bills exclusively focused on it (MA HD 4017, MA HD 188, MA HD 1003, MA HD 4196, RI HB 5186, OR HB 2387, MO HB 829, IN HB 1166, CO HB 25-1063, CO SB 076, IA HF 14, WA SB 5201, WA HB 1281, NM SB 219, and CT HB 6380).

Ibogaine Research in Washington: Outside the glut of psilocybin-specific bills, the only other proposed law to limit itself to one psychedelic is WA HB 5204, which calls for a study of ibogaine-assisted therapy in adults with opioid use disorder to be conducted via the University of Washington and hosted at a “licensed clinic in Mexico”.

Other Bills Cover Various Psychedelics: While psilocybin is by far the most commonly mentioned psychedelic, and some bills are limited only to that drug, others reference various psychedelics. MA SD 1624, for example, simply covers “psychedelics”; NY A628 covers ‘certain natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogens’ and specifically invokes DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin and psilocin; and, MA HD 4243 covers psilocybin “and other naturally cultivated entheogenic plants and fungi”, mentioning “the full spectrum” of such natural materials including “indole amines, tryptamines, phenethylamines”, and so on.

Aside from the type of psychedelics covered by Bills, there is also a diversity of outcomes envisaged.

Lawmakers Continue Push for State-Regulated Psychedelics Programs: Lawmakers in a handful of states are proposing the creation of Oregon- or Colorado-style state-regulated programs (WA SB 5201, MA HD 4017, MA HD 4196, IL HB 1143, and WA HB 1433).

Decriminalisation On the Agenda: Other bills look to decriminalise the use of certain psychedelics, such as MA HD 188 and CT HB 6380.

Further Trigger Bills Introduced: There are also several trigger Bills, which aim to swiftly reschedule drugs (and/or drug products) at the state level upon FDA approval and rescheduling. Those included VA SB 1135, CO HB 25-1063, IA HF 14, and, to some extent, RI HB 5186. We wrote about some of these Bills which are supported by psilocybin drug developer Compass Pathways in a recent deep dive.

Efforts for State-Funding of Psychedelics Research: Elsewhere, lawmakers aim to direct the State to fund the research and study of psychedelics, as in MA HD 4243, IN HB 1166, MO HB 829, and that ibogaine study bill, WA HB 5204.

State Task Force: At least one Bill, MA HD 4243, aims to establish a state task force.

Veteran-Focus Continues: Aside from their drug focus and intended outcomes, it is notable that bills often invoke veterans in their language. MA SD 323, MO HB 829, and WA HB 1281 all focus on veteran access to psychedelics, with the latter also including first responders.

Grassroots Involvement: While many of the Bills appear to be driven by lawmakers, and trigger law bills are often supported by companies, a handful of the bills introduced thus far this session have clear involvement from grassroots organisers, as in the cases of MA HD 4017, MA HD 188, and CT HB 5456.

Blue States Lead the Pack: Despite some cases of convincing bipartisan, and even Republican (as in the cases of Missouri and Indiana), support, the bulk of the bills introduced thus far in 2025 are in Democrat-leaning states like Massachusetts and Washington. In fact, Democrat stronghold Massachusetts accounts for a third of the psychedelics-related bills introduced this month.

It should be clear, then, that the start of this legislative session is marked not only by the most active period for psychedelics-related bills being introduced to state legislatures, but also by great diversity among said bills.

For the deeper dive into this flurry of activity, I leave you in the capable hands of journalist Jack Gorsline…

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By Jack Gorsline

Following a seemingly momentum-stalling year for psychedelics advocates and industry leaders alike in 2024, few experts could have predicted the sheer volume of psychedelics-related news stories that have both stoked optimism and stirred controversy thus far in the year 2025.

So far this year, mainstream discourse surrounding psychedelics has been dominated by RFK Jr.’s controversial nomination for Health and Human Services Secretary, while insider headlines have included outcry over eleventh-hour alterations to the psychedelics program in Colorado, and a stunning $100 Million-backed coup d’état attempt at Lykos Therapeutics bankrolled by billionaire tech investor and Elon Musk associate Antonio Gracias.

Chaotic political occurrences were certainly expected in these earliest days of the Trump 2.0 administration in Washington, D.C., which some may argue has been of benefit to state-level psychedelic policy stakeholders seeking to bring forth substantive legislative proposals while minimizing public misperception during this tenuous time for drug policy reform efforts at large here in the US.

On the first of January, Minnesota’s state-appointed Psychedelic Task Force released its long-awaited report and recommendations for psychedelic policy reforms, the results of which definitely did not disappoint advocates. A majority of Task Force members formally recommended that state legislators give serious consideration to decriminalizing psilocybin for personal use and possession and to establish a state-funded regulated psychedelic therapy program for prospective patients with qualifying conditions.

Elsewhere in the American West, a comparably-styled psychedelic task force in politically-purple Nevada has been assembled to conduct similar research and provide their own recommendations to state lawmakers.

But most surprising of all for 2025’s earliest political contributions to psychedelics has been the explosion of state-level psychedelics-related legislative proposals this month. As of publication, the total number of psychedelics-related bills filed at the state level stands at thirty-eight across fourteen states.

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Massachusetts

In spite of the failure of Massachusetts’ now-defunct dual psychedelics decriminalization/regulated access ballot initiative, formally (and formerly) known as the Yes on 4 Campaign, grassroots psychedelic supporters from around the Bay State hit the ground running to start the new year, working hand-in-hand with a politically diverse group of state lawmakers to file a national-record twelve bills related to psychedelics in some form.

As noted by Mass Healing Co-Founder and former Yes on 4 Community Engagement Coordinator Jamie Morey, post-election polling found that over half of voters expressed support for, “removing criminal penalties for personal use of these substances and roughly two-thirds support legalized therapeutic access.”

Potential voter remorse aside, the results of a post-election survey or two were certainly not guaranteed to inspire serious interest from state legislators, especially following the $8 Million dollar catastrophe that was the Yes on 4 campaign’s demise. That only makes the record number of bills submitted before the state’s January 17 filing deadline all the more surprising to political power players both within and beyond the psychedelic advocacy bubble.

Most noteworthy and worth keeping an eye on amongst the twelve bills filed by Bay State legislators before the state’s filing deadline on January 17th are the three differing psychedelic therapy pilot programs introduced by multiple prominent state legislators from distinctly varied political backgrounds. While each pilot program proposed is similarly structured at first glance, upon further review and comparison, the language in each bill provides key insights into the involvement (or lack thereof) of prominent grassroots advocates in drafting each of those varied legislative proposals.

HD 4017: An Act relative to therapeutic psilocybin treatment centers was filed by Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D) and written in coordination with former Yes on 4 campaign staffers Jamie Morey and Graham Moore alongside prominent Question 4 Volunteer Spokesperson and US Army Veteran CJ LoConte. HD 4017’s particular pilot program model would create, “[the] rules and regulations necessary for the operation of a therapeutic psilocybin center” including licensure requirements and training standards for “entities that are run by medical professionals, psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists” seeking to obtain a psilocybin facilitator license.

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