New Yorkers for Mental Health Alternatives Lauch Campaign to Legalize Psychedelics for Treatment

NEW YORKERS FOR MENTAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVES LAUNCH CAMPAIGN TO LEGALIZE USE OF PSYCHEDELICS TO TREAT MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, PAIN, AND SUBSTANCE USE PROBLEMS

New Yorkers for Mental Health Alternatives (NYMHA) announced the launch of its campaign to reform the state’s antiquated drug laws and provide New Yorkers suffering from pain, depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use problems, and other intractable mental health issues with legal access to psychedelic medicine.

Dozens of clinicians, advocates, and grassroots activists from across the state are participating in a week-long event: Spotlight on Mental Health Alternatives, in the Legislative Office Building from March 20 – March 23. NYMHA will share the latest research about the safety and effectiveness of psychedelic therapy with lawmakers, and urge support for pending legislation.

The group is supporting two bills pending in the State legislature to allow access to psychedelic medicine:

➤ A3581 (Burke) / S3520 (Fernandez) would legalize medical use of psilocybin and establish a psilocybin-assisted therapy grant program for veterans, first responders, and others.

➤ A114 (Rosenthal) would legalize adult possession and use of certain natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogens (like psilocybin) by removing such hallucinogens from the list of schedule I controlled substances.

“New Yorkers are suffering,” said NYMHA’s co-president, Avery Stempel. “More than 20% of New Yorkers have symptoms of a mental disorder, while an additional 20% live with chronic pain, the leading cause of disability in the U.S. Every year, New York loses more than 10,000 people to alcohol, drug overdose, and suicide, forever changing thousands of families. Traditional approaches to these conditions aren’t working for many people. We need proven alternatives.”

As mental health providers struggle to provide care to the unprecedented number of people seeking services, researchers are simultaneously studying the beneficial effects of psychedelics in place of traditional medicines for anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pain management, inflammation, arthritis, and more.

“I was diagnosed with cluster headache in 2002. I found information online that said that psychedelics could help stop cluster headaches,” said retired New York City firefighter Joseph McKay. “Because of my job, I didn’t want to risk taking an illegal substance, but traditional medical treatments were no longer working, and I got desperate and tried psilocybin mushrooms. It stopped my headaches dead in their tracks. I had no more pain, it was a miracle! It gave me my life back, it gave me hope back. Psychedelics healed me physically and mentally.”

Legislation, similar to the two proposed bills in New York, is pending in more than 16 states, while several states and municipalities have already taken action to legalize, decriminalize, reduce penalties for, or deprioritize enforcement of laws relating to psychedelic substances, including psilocybin.

NYMHA has begun to form a bipartisan coalition of allies comprised of individuals supporting the expanded use of psychedelic medicine, including law enforcement, military veterans, first responders, medical professionals, therapists, and religious leaders.

The group and its allies will be at the Well Wall on the first floor of the Legislative Office Building each day from March 20 – March 23.

NYMHA is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for novel approaches to addressing the mental health epidemic through psychedelic policy reform. Their mission is to provide New Yorkers with legal access to psychedelics and Psilocybin-containing fungi (including growth, possession, sale, and consumption) and to spread awareness about the benefits and safe use of such substances.