30 July 11th-July 17th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | ‘Science Over Politics’ State budget extends magic mushroom study funding. BY NOAH CULLEN J une 18 brought a bright surprise for researchers hoping to launch the first state-funded human trial of psilocybin mushrooms as a treatment for life-threatening illnesses. Despite the need to cut more than $1 billion from the next Arizona state budget, lawmakers preserved research funding that was set to expire at the end of the month. The funding was in jeopardy due to a stipulation that any money not used by June 30 would revert to the general fund. On Feb. 21, the Arizona Department of Health Services awarded $5 million in grants to the Scottsdale Research Institute and the University of Arizona College of Medicine. SRI wants to study the effect of psilocybin on life-threatening illnesses, while the UA study would examine psilo- cybin as a treatment for severe obsessive- compulsive disorder. Because the trials would extend past the end of June, the studies risked running out of money. Sue Sisley, the founder and executive director of SRI, heard first from colleagues that the funding has been extended when Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the new state budget on June 18. After fretful months of uncertainty, Sisley was surprised that the money had been rescued. “This is a victory for science over poli- tics,” Sisley said. “Science won today, ensuring that these vital clinical trials can finally move forward and answer some of these questions once and for all.” The much anticipated 2025 budget — which had to address what Hobbs called a $1.8 billion deficit, though other reports have placed the deficit at $1.3 billion — included cuts to state agencies, universi- ties and a water fund meant to bring in water from out of state. The large deficit exacerbated Sisley’s worry that the scramble to cut spending would extend to their grant funding. Flooded with calls Sisley said that since the funding was initially approved, SRI has been flooded with thousands of calls and emails from Arizonans interested in being involved. “Not everybody’s going to get in,” she said, but “everybody will benefit from the infor- mation that’s derived from the trial.” Randomized, controlled trials are the “gold standard” in science, Sisley added, and the results will be able to be published in a medical journal. “We’ll be able to either validate all the anecdotal evidence suggesting that (psilo- cybin) is helpful as a medicine, or we’ll be able to dispute that — it’s not clear,” Sisley said. “But that’s the whole point.” The new budget was signed by Hobbs on June 18 and went into effect July 1. It served as an example of what Republicans and Democrats alike love to hate: compromise. “Nobody got everything they wanted, but this bipartisan, balanced budget puts our state on solid financial ground,” Hobbs said in a released statement on June 18. The same day, Hobbs vetoed SB1570, a bill that would have established the Arizona Psilocybin Advisory Board and paved the way for psilocybin to be used in clinical treatment for patients suffering from mental health issues. Hobbs noted in her veto letter that, in addition to the bill carrying an unbudgeted cost of $400,000 a year, “we do not yet have the evidence needed to support widespread clinical expansion.” That may change, Hobbs continued, thanks to studies like SRI’s. “This will allow research to take place with a goal to ensure that those who seek psilocybin treatment are doing so confi- dently and safely under proper supervision of qualified professionals,” Hobbs wrote, “with documented and verified research to support the treatment.” The Scottsdale Research Institute hopes its psilocybin study will be able to answer some questions about psilocybin mushroom treatments “once and for all.” (Photo by Evan Semón) | CANNABIS |
