03/14/2024 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

        HB 228-MENTAL HEALTH/PSYCHEDELIC MED. TASK FORCE                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:42:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHAW  announced that the  final order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL  NO. 228,  "An  Act  establishing the  Alaska  mental                                                               
health and psychedelic medicine task  force; and providing for an                                                               
effective date."  [Before the committee was CSHB 228(MLV).]                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:42:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ARMSTRONG,  Alaska  State Legislature,  as  prime                                                               
sponsor, presented  HB 228.   She  presented a  sponsor statement                                                               
for  HB 228  [included in  the committee  packet], which  read as                                                               
follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     HB  228  seeks  to  create a  task  force  to  consider                                                                    
     barriers to the implementation  of and equitable access                                                                    
     to certain psychedelic medicines  ahead of the expected                                                                    
     FDA  authorization  of  prescription drugs  that  would                                                                    
     fall under this category.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     The  task  force  will report  to  the  Legislature  by                                                                    
     December  31, 2024  what regulations  or other  changes                                                                    
     are  necessary  in the  state  for  Alaskans to  safely                                                                    
     benefit  from these  new treatments  for mental  health                                                                    
     issues  such as  treatment-resistant depression,  post-                                                                    
     traumatic stress  disorder, substance use  disorder and                                                                    
     other mental health issues common in Alaska.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska  has the  highest share  of veterans  per capita                                                                    
     and one  of the  highest suicide  rates in  the nation.                                                                    
     Coupled with  also being a  state where 43.3%  of women                                                                    
     and  30.2%   of  men  in  Alaska   experience  domestic                                                                    
     violence  and related  crimes  in  their lifetimes  and                                                                    
     where  84%  of   American  Indian/Alaska  Native  women                                                                    
     experience  violence, there  is a  potential for  these                                                                    
     medicines to  have a profoundly positive  impact on the                                                                    
     mental health crises we see  statewide. This task force                                                                    
     is an  opportunity to  ensure we  are prepared  for the                                                                    
     potential federal  medicalization of  these life-saving                                                                    
     and life-changing medicines.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ARMSTRONG  added that  the  task  force will  not                                                               
consider   or   take   a    position   on   the   medicalization,                                                               
decriminalization,  or  legalization  of  psychedelic  medicines.                                                               
The  purpose of  the  task force  is  to craft  a  set of  policy                                                               
recommendations  for the  Thirty-Fourth Alaska  State Legislature                                                               
to  consider  in  advance  of  the  potential  medicalization  of                                                               
certain   psychedelic   medicines   by    the   Food   and   Drug                                                               
Administration   (FDA).     Licensing  and   insurance  will   be                                                               
considered by  the task  force for  policy recommendations.   She                                                               
reported that  in 2021, Texas became  the first state to  enact a                                                               
psychedelic research  bill to study veterans  with post-traumatic                                                               
stress  disorder  (PTSD).   She  mentioned  that there  are  many                                                               
states with similar task forces to the one proposed in HB 228.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG  emphasized the  importance of  the task                                                               
force and  said that the FDA  approves about 43 novel  drugs each                                                               
year, but not  all of them have  the potential to make  as big of                                                               
an impact as psychedelic medicines.   She reported that Alaska is                                                               
suffering from an  acute mental health and  addiction crisis, has                                                               
the  third highest  suicide rate  in the  country, and  35.6 drug                                                               
overdoses per 100,000 people in state.   She said that trauma can                                                               
exacerbate  mental health  issues,  which can  lead to  violence.                                                               
She reported the  high rate of women killed by  men in Alaska and                                                               
the  high rate  of women  who have  experienced intimate  partner                                                               
and/or sexual violence.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:45:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ARMSTRONG reported  that Alaska  has the  largest                                                               
share  of veterans  per  capita  in the  United  States and  that                                                               
veterans  have  a  57  percent  higher  suicide  rate  than  non-                                                               
veterans.  She  said that two out of ten  veterans with PTSD also                                                               
have  a substance  use  disorder.   In  November  2023, the  U.S.                                                               
Department  of Veterans  Affairs  (VA) stated  its commitment  to                                                               
studying psychedelics for PTSD treatment.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   ARMSTRONG    described   the   Multidisciplinary                                                               
Association for  Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which  has conducted                                                               
20      years      of      clinical     trials      for      3,4-                                                               
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine  (MDMA)-assisted therapy  for PTSD;                                                               
in 2017 this  therapy was deemed a "breakthrough  therapy" by the                                                               
FDA.    Clinical  trials showed  that  patients  had  "clinically                                                               
significant improvements"  in PTSD  symptoms and that  71 percent                                                               
of  participants receiving  the MDMA  therapy no  longer met  the                                                               
diagnostic  criteria for  PTSD  at the  end of  the  study.   She                                                               
emphasized  the  potential impact  of  these  new treatments  for                                                               
Alaskans struggling with mental health.   She reported that there                                                               
are no adverse side effects to  the treatments.  Later this year,                                                               
the FDA is expected to announce its determination.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG mentioned that  the FDA has also granted                                                               
two  "breakthrough  therapy"   designations  for  psilocybin  for                                                               
treatment  resistant depression  and  major depressive  disorder.                                                               
She  listed other  conditions that  are being  studied, including                                                               
cancer-related  anxiety,  depression, anorexia,  PTSD,  substance                                                               
use disorders, and chronic pain.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:50:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ARMSTRONG  described the  MDMA therapy  in greater                                                               
detail.   She emphasized  the importance of  licensing.   The FDA                                                               
has provided clinical  guidance on the six  credentials needed to                                                               
be a licensed administrator of MDMA.   She advised that the state                                                               
should work to  be prepared for when the FDA  approval comes into                                                               
effect.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:52:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MICHAEL  DEMOLINA, PhD,  Wisdom  Traditions Counseling  Services,                                                               
provided invited testimony for HB  228.  He introduced himself as                                                               
a veteran with  three decades of experience  as a substance-abuse                                                               
counselor and trauma-informed therapist.   He described his first                                                               
clients as veterans who served in Vietnam.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
DR. DEMOLINA  expressed his strong  support for HB 228.   Through                                                               
his  work  at  the  California   Institute  of  Integral  Studies                                                               
graduate   level   program   on    the   topic   of   psychedelic                                                               
certification, he  will be  certified.  He  remarked that  he has                                                               
gained  valuable   insight  into  the  transformative   power  of                                                               
psychedelic assisted  therapy.   He emphasized the  importance of                                                               
convening  a task  force to  be ahead  of the  curve in  creating                                                               
guidelines.   He  emphasized the  urgent  need for  comprehensive                                                               
approaches to mental  healthcare.  He said that HB  228 creates a                                                               
significant   opportunity  to   expand   the  understanding   and                                                               
implementation of trauma-based interventions.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:55:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SHAW after  ascertaining that there were  no questions from                                                               
the committee, announced that HB 228 was held over.