California’s governor has signed a bill aimed at streamlining research on marijuana and psychedelics.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday gave final approval to the measure that empowers the Research Advisory Panel of California (RAPC) to expedite reviews of study proposals on Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances, through January 2028.
The newly enacted legislation, sponsored by Assemblymember Christopher Ward (D), will also authorize RAPC’s chair to assign two or more members of the body to conduct expedited reviews of research proposals and approve them on behalf of the panel.
It will also allow “individual panel members to communicate and consult asynchronously with other individual panel members with complementary core competencies outside of full panel meetings to conduct their individual reviews,” a summary of the legislation states.
The overall intent of the bill is to facilitate studies to determine whether marijuana, psychedelics or other Schedule I or Schedule II drugs can be utilized “to treat opioid use disorders, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health conditions fueling the disproportionate incidence of suicide among California veterans,” the summary says.
“Eliminating any and all unnecessary delays in commencing such clinical research in California will save lives,” it says.
A leading veterans group had called on Newsom to sign the legislation after it was sent to his desk by lawmakers.
Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) said in an action alert last month that the bill will “cut through red tape and expedite approval for psychedelic research projects at California’s world-class institutions.”
“These studies will not only benefit veterans in California but will ripple across the nation, changing lives, advancing science, and offering hope where it’s desperately needed,” VETS said.
Newsom did not comment on the legislation when signing it into law along with other unrelated bills.
The measure’s passage comes more than a year after the governor signed a separate bill that’s similarly meant to streamline the processing of applications to study psychedelics and marijuana.
That legislation from Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R) was meant to help clear a logjam of psychedelics study applications overseen by RAPC.
Members had previously decided to suspend their activities because they were prohibited under existing law from publicly disclosing applicants’ trade secrets and other confidential information. To resolve the issue, the bill reauthorized the panel to carry out their duties in closed-door meetings, freeing them up to process the backlog.
The newly signed bill from this session extends the panel’s exemptions from open meetings laws to January 1, 2028.
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Last month the governor signed a bill into law to put a pause on a recently enacted tax hike on marijuana products.
California officials are also inviting research proposals for a second round of grants under a program meant to better educate the public on the state’s marijuana law and help policymakers make informed decisions on the issue.
In June, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced the recipients of over $52 million in community reinvestment grants to nonprofits and local health departments, also funded by marijuana tax revenue.
That marked the seventh round of cannabis-funded California Community Reinvestment Grants (CalCRG) under the state program.
Legalization in California has created a number of new grant programs aimed at addressing the consequences of marijuana prohibition and attempting to nurture a strong, well-regulated legal industry.
California’s Supreme Court separately delivered a victory for the state’s marijuana program in June, rescinding a lower court ruling in a case that suggested federal prohibition could be used locally to undermine the cannabis market.
The state Supreme Court ruling also came just weeks after California officials unveiled a report on the current status and future of the state’s marijuana market—with independent analysts hired by regulators concluding that the federal prohibition on cannabis that prevents interstate commerce is meaningfully bolstering the illicit market.
The governor did sign a bill in 2022 that would have empowered him to enter into interstate cannabis commerce agreements with other legal states, but that power was incumbent upon federal guidance or an assessment from the state attorney general that sanctioned such activity.
Meanwhile, a California Senate committee recently declined to advance a bipartisan bill that would have created a psilocybin pilot program for military veterans and former first responders.
Image element courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos.
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