Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) and Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) introduced the bipartisan “Heal Our Heroes Act” as Senate Bill 803, which creates a narrow pilot program for military veterans and first responders to access psychedelic treatments for mental health treatments in a regulated setting. Click here for the bill’s fact sheet.
“As a dedicated advocate for veterans and first responders, I firmly believe it is our duty to support and heal the brave individuals who served our country and communities,” said Leader Jones. “To be clear, I’m not calling for the widespread legalization of psychedelic drugs. Rather, I’m championing a targeted medical treatment aimed specifically at aiding veterans and first responders in their recovery. The Heal Our Heroes Act is a thoughtful and balanced measure designed to rigorously study the effectiveness of these treatments with the hope of providing much-needed relief to those patients who need it most.”
“SB 803 is an entirely new and innovative effort that is the result of comprehensive discussions on how the state can best support our veterans and first responders with a viable treatment for work-induced post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Becker. “We have a responsibility to do everything possible to provide quality care to these heroes, and I am proud to joint author this bipartisan effort that will have a real impact on the people who serve our state and country.”
The Heal Our Heroes Act authorizes San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and San Diego counties to run a pilot program to offer treatment using psilocybin or psilocyn to military veterans or first responders. The counties will be responsible for authorizing the facilitators who must be a licensed physician or surgeon, clinical psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, licensed professional clinical counselor, or a naturopathic doctor. The pilot sunsets after three years and requires data collection and reporting at the two year mark. The program includes several safety measures, such as requiring a suitability screening for each participant to ensure they are a safe candidate for treatment.
“As a decorated combat Veteran and mental health advocate that has struggled with PTSD, I applaud the bipartisan coalition that is supporting the legislation Senator Becker and Senator Jones have authored,” said Jason Moore Brown, a veteran with Heroic Hearts, the sponsor of the measure. “We’ve struggled to find meaningful support on this matter so I’m very thankful to the Senators. We have lost over 130,000 Veterans to suicide since the Global War on Terror began in 2001. I know first hand that Psilocybin, when used responsibly and with support, has the potential to save the lives of California’s Veterans. This pilot program is the responsible first step to reducing, and hopefully ending, the Veteran suicide epidemic.”
The Heal Our Heroes Act is sponsored by the Heroic Hearts Project and Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS). The measure is joint authored by Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones and Senator Josh Becker, and coauthored by Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R-Valley Center).
SB 803 is currently on the Assembly Floor. The Heal Our Heroes Act is expected to be referred to the Assembly Rules Committee for referral to a policy committee.