SANTA FE, N.M. — This year, the Medical Psilocybin Act was introduced. It’s meant to create legal access to the drug.

In 2023, there was a similar bill to study the drug’s use for mental health, but it didn’t pass. And last year the senate requested a study of psilocybin for therapeutic purposes that did pass.

“We have over 37 percent of folks in this state and overall suffering with depression and anxiety,” said Deborah Thorne, the CEO and co-founder of “Sol Tryp” in Las Cruces.

It’s a group designed to share knowledge about the uses of psilocybin, the compound in psychedelic mushrooms.

Saturday, she spoke with the community about Senate Bill 219. The bi-partisan bill has several sponsors, including Senator Jeff Steinborn.

It focuses on creating a program to treat things like PTSD and substance abuse with psilocybin. And Thorne said it would be different from the medical marijuana system.

“It’s one or two dosing sessions, but there’s a lot of preparation involved to get to that point, and then there’s integration afterwards, and that’s really key,” she said.

The drug would be given in a controlled environment with trained staff. Everyone involved — patients, growers, clinicians and therapists — would have to be accepted into the program.

But there’s some pushback on the bill. In the fiscal impact report, the legislative finance committee cites concerns about how the funding is set up. The bill asks for $4 million to get the program up and running.

“We are looking at donations, gifts and a certain amount of money set aside in the state that could be utilized for the first two years,” Thorne said. “And I think as the advisory committee is formed, there will be an establishment of how do we keep this flowing.”

There’s also concerns about access to treatment. The Department of Health said there could be issues for patients who use federal programs like the VA.

Thorne said she’s excited to see where the bill goes.

“We’ve got two years, if this bill goes through, two years to plan, and it’ll just evolve over time,” Thorne said.

The bill was introduced last week. It needs to pass through three committees, and they expect it will be presented to the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee Tuesday. It will also have to clear the senate judiciary and finance committees as well.