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Bill could make ‘magic mushrooms' a legal treatment option in New Mexico

Bill could make ‘magic mushrooms' a legal treatment option in New Mexico

Yahoo18-03-2025

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – So-called 'magic mushrooms' could soon be used to treat patients with certain medical conditions in New Mexico. Bipartisan bill SB 219 which would legalize psilocybin has been moving quickly through the legislative session.
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The bill is meant to help people suffering from conditions like PTSD and severe depression. Although the idea is controversial, on Monday it received a lot of support. 'This is another option, that's all this is. It's another option but New Mexicans deserve to have this option,' said Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces).
Giving New Mexicans more ways to improve their health when other traditional medical treatments haven't worked, is what Sen. Steinborn said his bill to legalize psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, is meant to do.
'We have New Mexicans who are suffering with various conditions that are really kind of end runs in some cases, major drug-resistant depression where the pharmaceutical world isn't giving them any relief or they have major major side effects, they need another option,' said Sen. Steinborn.
Modeled after programs in Oregon and Colorado, the bipartisan bill would allow the drug to be administered to a patient suffering from conditions including PTSD, severe depression, end-of-life anxiety, and addictions. Patients would be supervised and would only need the treatment once or twice.
Lawmakers emphasized this would be for use in medical settings only and would not create psilocybin dispensaries. Supporters spoke during the bill's last committee hearing on Monday.
'By creating a structured regulated program for psilocybin treatment, this bill ensures that patients in New Mexico can safely and legally access the miraculous benefits under medical supervision,' said Denali Wilson, supporter of the bill.
'My psychiatrist had me try psilocybin-assisted therapy, my depression is now completely cured and my life has been saved so I ask you to please support this bill,' said a supporter named Molly who underwent psilocybin treatment.
Some committee members expressed concerns about potential negative side effects but sponsors say the risks are low. 'It's a medicine of the mind in a way that has physical manifestations and sure it can be intense and a very very small amount of people could need extra deescalation or whatever from the experience, but by and large the outcome is very safe,' said Sen. Steinborn.
The bill passed 8-1 in committee. It now heads to the House floor. If it passes there, it will head to the governor's desk. There are only five days left of the legislative session.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Especially if you have private insurance and have ever been slammed with a delivery bill. You can find contact info at and Share your story. Lawmakers have said constituent birth bill stories played a big role in shaping this legislation. Talk about it on social. If your childbirth costs shocked you, say so. Use hashtags like #MakeBirthFree and tag your reps. This moment is historic not just because it's bipartisan, but because it signals a new kind of family policy thinking: one where moms aren't expected to 'figure it out' in isolation, one giant bill at a time. As Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute put it in a policy brief, 'Substantively and symbolically, bringing the out-of-pocket health care costs of childbirth to zero is an ambitious but achievable starting point for the next generation of pro-family policies.' Whether you're pregnant now or years past it, you probably remember your hospital bill—and you definitely remember how it made you feel. Exhausted. Angry. Maybe even ashamed. This new bill says: No more. And moms deserve that. Sources: Family-Friendly Policies for the 119th Congress. February 2025. AEI. Family-Friendly Policies for the 119th Congress. America might finally make childbirth free. May 2025. Vox. America might finally make childbirth free. Americans United for Life Applauds Bipartisan Innovative Policy Proposal. May 2025. America United for Life. Americans United for Life Applauds Bipartisan Innovative Policy Proposal to Make Maternal Healthcare More Affordable. AMA advocacy to improve maternal health. May 2025. AMA. AMA advocacy to improve maternal health. Impact of removing cost sharing. 2019. BMC Public Health. Impact of removing cost sharing under the affordable care act (ACA) on mammography and pap test use. New bipartisan proposal would remove childbirth costs. May 2025. Niskanen Center. New bipartisan proposal would remove childbirth costs and confusion for parents. Characteristics of Mothers by Source of Payment for the Delivery. May 2023. CDC. Characteristics of Mothers by Source of Payment for the Delivery: United States, 2021. About the Affordable Care Act. Us Department of Health an Human Services. About the Affordable Care Act. Out-of-pocket medical bills childbirth. National Library of Medicine. Out-of-pocket medical bills from first childbirth and subsequent childbearing. The Association of Childbirth with Medical Debt. National Library of Medicine. The Association of Childbirth with Medical Debt in the USA, 2019–2020. Sentators introduce bill to ease financial burden of pregnancy. Cindy Hyde-Smith. SENATORS INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO EASE THE FINANCIAL BURDEN OF PREGNANCY, CHILDBIRTH. Women who Give Birth Incur Nearly $19,000 in Additional Health Costs. KFF. Women who Give Birth Incur Nearly $19,000 in Additional Health Costs, Including $2,854 More that They Pay Out of Pocket.

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