House File 978 – Medical Use of Psilocybin

Meeting Time:	3/18/26 2:00 PM
Location:	Senate Lounge

Because psilocybin is an illegal substance under federal law, House File 978 requires employees to “engage in conduct which is in violation of the criminal laws of the United States.” HF 978 § 4, at page 5, lines 12-21.  This is exactly the same problem the Medical Cannabidiol Board has been asking the legislature to fix with the medical cannabis program, Chapter 124E, for the past seven years.  Here is the board’s most recent request from January 1, 2026:

The Board recommends that a task force of legal experts be authorized, similar to the current board of medical experts, to assist the department in navigating the legal issues involved with requesting an exemption for Iowa’s program from necessary Federal agencies.  This is related to a recommendation in the Board’s 2019 Annual Report and the passage of HF2589 in June, 2020.

It is hard to believe law makers are enacting laws that require violation of the law, but that is how bad this has gotten.  If federal law does not allow the medical use of a psychoacting plant or fungi, the legislature sets up federal racketeering scheme in the state to run it.

Something this extreme might seem justified if it was the only way to resolve the problem, but there is a much better way.  A federal exemption for the religious use of the psychoactive plant peyote is authorized by 21 U.S.C. § 822(d) which allows the Attorney General to waive registration requirements if “consistent with the public health and safety.”  The federal exemption for peyote, 21 C.F.R. § 1307.31, is an example of how Chapter 124E could be compliant with federal drug law.  The same is true for psychoactive mushrooms.

The last section of HF 978 requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on the use other psychoactive plants and fungi.

Sec. 34.  PSYCHEDELIC COMPOUNDS — STUDY.  The department of health and human services shall conduct a study regarding the use of psychedelic compounds other than psilocybin in the treatment of medical conditions.  The department shall submit a report to the general assembly, including the department’s findings and recommendations, by January 1, 2026.

Why can’t HF 978 be amended to include a study on how a church was granted a federal exemption to use peyote and what is required for the state to get the same exemption for the medical use of psychoactive plants and fungi?  Why would we want to promote organized crime in Iowa if we don’t need to?

This is a path Iowa should not be on.

Prior to giving a current employee an assignment or duty that arises from or directly relates to an obligation under this chapter, or hiring a prospective employee whose assignments or duties would include an assignment or duty that arises from or directly relates to an obligation under this chapter, a state employer or a political subdivision employer shall give the employee or prospective employee a written notice that the employee’s or prospective employee’s job duties may require the employee or prospective employee to engage in conduct which is in violation of the criminal laws of the United States.

6.  A psilocybin production establishment may be located at the same location as a medical cannabidiol manufacturer licensed pursuant to section 124E.6 if a separate license is obtained for each.

10.  The licensing board may, at the discretion of the licensing board, grant preference to an applicant who currently holds a medical cannabidiol manufacturer license issued pursuant to section 124E.6.

4.  A local government shall not do any of the following:
a.  Revoke from, or refuse to issue a license or permit to, a psilocybin production establishment on the sole basis that the applicant or psilocybin production establishment violates federal law regarding the legal status of psilocybin.

1.  A qualified medical psilocybin provider or a qualified therapy provider who recommends or administers psilocybin in compliance with this chapter shall not be subject to a civil or criminal penalty, or license discipline, solely for violating a federal law or regulation that prohibits recommending, prescribing, possessing, or dispensing psilocybin or a psilocybin product.

This paragraph shall not apply in any of the following circumstances:
(1)  The employee’s use of psilocybin jeopardizes federal funding, a federal security clearance, or any other federal background determination required for the employee’s position.
(2)  The employee’s position is dependent on a license or peace officer certification that is subject to federal regulations, including 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3).

It is the public policy of this state that contracts related to the production, sale, and administration of psilocybin pursuant to this chapter shall be enforceable.  It is the public policy of this state that no contract entered into by a psilocybin production establishment, qualified medical psilocybin provider, or qualified therapy provider, or its employees or agents as permitted pursuant to a valid registration, or by an entity who allows property to be used by an establishment, qualified medical psilocybin provider, or qualified therapy provider, its employees, or its agents as permitted pursuant to a valid registration, shall be unenforceable on the basis that cultivating, obtaining, manufacturing, distributing, dispensing, transporting, selling, possessing, or using psilocybin is prohibited by federal law.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committees/meetings/subCommMeeting?meetingID=42584

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committees/meetingPublicComment?meetingID=42584&action=viewCommitteePublicComments