Gov. Joe Lombardo has signed a bill allowing the state Department of Health and Human Services to establish a Psychedelic Medicines Working Group to study the therapeutic use of entheogens including psilocybin or magic mushrooms.

The Nevada Coalition for Psychedelic Medicines, a bipartisan advocacy organization that testified in support of the bill as it moved through the Legislature, said the move was one step toward bringing legal, psychedelic therapies to the state.

Senate Bill 242, sponsored by state Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, cites the Food and Drug Administration’s designation of psilocybin as a breakthrough therapy for its effectiveness in treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder.

The law outlines the makings of a working group tasked with identifying psychedelic therapies that could help in reducing suicidal ideation in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder, major depressive disorder or psychological distress relating to end of life. The group also will review laws relating to the use of therapies and develop recommendations and a plan for people to access them in the state.

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