Texas governor signs bill allocating up to $100 million in funding for psychedelics research
Abbott's signing of Senate Bill 2308 comes as the governor faces political pressure from veterans groups to veto the state's proposed THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) ban.
While Texas Gov. Greg Abbott contemplates whether to sign a bill to ban THC-containing hemp in Texas, he apparently had no problem approving separate legislation that would use state tax dollars to fund research on a hallucinogen that holds hope in treating those with PTSD and chronic depression.
On Thursday, Abbott signed Senate Bill 2308, also known as the Texas Ibogaine Initiative. As the name suggests, the new law will allocate $100 million for research on the medical benefits of ibogaine, a traditional African psychedelic plant that, in low doses, can treat addiction and depression in mice, according to researchers. Studies also suggests ibogaine may help mitigate the effects of PTSD.
Half of the bill's $100 million in proposed funding would come from taxpayers, making Texas the first state to initiate such a study on the psychedelic substance. In exchange for the funding, the Texas state government will retain a 20% stake in drugs developed during clinical trials. The remainder of the funding will come from the private sector.
"Texas will now lead the way in America for the evaluation of ibogaine as a potential medication that can help improve the lives of so many veterans," Abbott said in a statement.
At least some of the publicly funded ibogaine research and clinical trials are set to take place at the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy in Austin.
The bill's signing comes weeks after San Antonio veteran Mark Miller took his own life in the parking lot of the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in what his father said was in a protest of the VA's overprescribing of SSRIs and antidepressants to treat PTSD.
"Texas is definitely leading on this topic, which I think has taken many by surprise, but I believe that's because there is such a patriotic component to doing whatever it takes to help our veterans," said Amber Capone, the CEO and Founder of VETS, a Texas-based nonprofit that advocates for alternative PTSD treatments.
The bill's signing comes as Abbott is under intense political pressure from veterans groups, the state's hemp industry and libertarian-leaning members of his own party to veto Senate Bill 3, legislation promoted by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick that would completely ban sales of THC-containing hemp products in Texas.
