SB 191 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE PSYCHEDELIC-ASSISTED THERAPY PILOT PROGRAM.

Senate GeneralBill Assembly File No.

28191 FebruaryPublic Session,Act 2026 Senate Bill No.

19126-108 Senate,AN MarchACT 16,CONCERNING 2026THE ThePSYCHEDELIC-ASSISTED CommitteeTHERAPY onPILOT PublicPROGRAM. Health reported through SEN.

ANWAR of the 3rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE PSYCHEDELIC-ASSISTED THERAPY PILOT PROGRAM.

(3) "Qualified patient" means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older and meets clinical eligibility criteria established by the institutional review board of the medical school selected to administer SB191the /pilot Fileprogram No.under subsection (b) of this section, including, but not limited to, a resident of the state who is (A) a veteran, (B) a retired first responder, or (C) a direct care health care worker.

28Senate 1Bill SB191 File No.

28191 the(b) pilot[Not programlater underthan subsectionJanuary (b)1, of2023, thisthe] section,The including,Department butof notMental limitedHealth to,and aAddiction residentServices ofshall theestablish, statewithin whoavailable isappropriations, (A) a veteran,psychedelic-assisted (B)therapy apilot retiredprogram, firstto responder,be oradministered (C)by a directmedical careschool healthin carethe worker.state.

(b) [Not later than January 1, 2023, the] The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall establish, within available appropriations, a psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program, to be administered by a medical school in the state.

[The department shall cease to operate the pilot program when MDMA and psilocybin have been approved to have a medical use by the Drug Enforcement Administration, or any successor agency.] ThisGovernor's actAction: shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

SectionApproved 1June July4, 1, 2026 17a-484gPublic PHAct Joint Favorable SB191 / File No.

2826-108 2 SB191of File2 No.

28 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ Mental Health & Addiction GF - Potential See Below See Below Serv., Dept.

Cost Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill results in a potential cost to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) due to eliminating the requirement that DMHAS terminate the psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) pilot program when the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) approves MDMA and psilocybin for medical use.

To the extent the pilot would have otherwise ended due to DEA approval, DMHAS may now continue to operate the pilot under the bill.

The bill also expands eligibility for the pilot, which may impact participant mix but does not require DMHAS to support additional clients.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to federal DEA approvals.

SB191 / File No.

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28 OLR Bill Analysis SB 191 AN ACT CONCERNING THE PSYCHEDELIC-ASSISTED THERAPY PILOT PROGRAM.

SUMMARY This bill expands eligibility for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) pilot program by allowing Connecticut residents to participate who (1) are at least age 18 and (2) meet clinical eligibility criteria established by the institutional review board of the medical school who administers it (currently Yale University).

Currently, the pilot program is limited to Connecticut veterans, retired first responders, and direct health care workers.

As under current law, participants must receive MDMA- (i.e.

“Molly” or “ecstasy”) or psilocybin-assisted therapy as part of a research program approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The bill also eliminates the current requirement that DMHAS end the pilot program if the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) approves MDMA and psilocybin for medical use (the DEA has not yet done so).

MDMA is a synthetic psychoactive drug, and psilocybin occurs naturally in some mushrooms.

Both act as serotonin receptor agonists, andMDMA also actsasareuptake inhibitor ofserotoninanddopamine.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2026 COMMITTEE ACTION Public Health Committee Joint Favorable Yea 23 Nay 8 (03/02/2026) SB191 / File No.

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