HB 26-1325

HB 26-1325, also known as the Natural Medicine bill, establishes a research program to study how ibogaine can help treat mental health issues and substance use disorders. It sets up a committee to choose up to five pilot sites for this research and allows these sites to receive grants from a special fund. The bill also updates licensing rules for natural medicine providers and requires the state to seek federal funding for further ibogaine research. Since it has been signed, the bill is now law and its provisions are in effect.

Official Summary

The bill establishes the ibogaine research pilot program (pilot program) in the behavioral health administration (BHA) to research the safety and effectiveness of using ibogaine to treat mental health conditions and substance use disorders.     The bill requires the BHA to establish a committee to review pilot program site applications and make recommendations to the BHA on which applicants to accept. The BHA may select up to 5 ibogaine pilot sites.     The bill allows the BHA to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations and establishes the ibogaine research pilot program cash fund (cash fund). Money from the cash fund may be used to administer the pilot program and award grants to the selected ibogaine pilot sites to help with financing needs.     The bill allows the state licensing authority for natural medicine or natural medicine product (state licensing authority) to adopt rules related to the administration, manufacturing, and use of ibogaine.     Under current law, the division of natural medicine advisory board consists of 15 voting members; 8 of whom must have general expertise and experience related to natural medicine and 7 of whom must have specialized expertise and experience in various areas of natural medicine. The bill amends the expertise and experience requirements to apply equally to all 15 voting members.     The bill adds that a facilitator of natural medicine services is not liable for a physical or psychological injury that a participant may experience as a result of the facilitator's performance or supervision of the natural medicine services that a participant receives, unless the injury is the result of the facilitator's intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or a deviation from the recognized standard of care.     The bill sets requirements for how the state licensing authority must prioritize reviewing applications for licensure to facilitate natural medicine services and allows the state licensing authority to set different licensing fees depending on the type of natural medicine the applicant is seeking licensure for.     The bill allows the state licensing authority to accept gifts, grants, and donations from public or private sources and requires gifts, grants, or donations received to be deposited in the regulated natural medicine division cash fund.      The bill requires the BHA to work to secure federal research and development funding available through the advanced research projects agency for health within the federal department of health and human services, or other available funding, in order to advance research on the use of ibogaine for the treatment of serious mental illness.     The bill updates the powers and duties of the director of the division of professions and occupations to include adopting rules that guide the use and administration of ibogaine.      A licensee seeking to cultivate, manufacture, dispense, or administer ibogaine shall, in consultation with Indigenous communities, establish a benefit-sharing plan that directly benefits those Indigenous communities.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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