Senators on the Senate Health and Human Services committee hear SB200 at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Legislature put a hold on a bill to legalize magic mushrooms in the state on Wednesday.
The bill, proposed by Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, would narrowly legalize the drug psilocybin, aka medical mushrooms.
The legalization would give citizens suffering from depression, anxiety, or other mental issues an alternative substance to use for relief instead of opioids.
Currently, the U.S. prohibits the “trippy” drug. The Food and Drug Administration also has yet to approve the drug as a safe or effective substance for medical use.
Healthcare professionals are torn as to whether psilocybin should be used or not.
But Utah legislators and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee decided to wait for more studies and potential FDA approval.
The committee voted unanimously to forgo taking action on the bill in the meantime.