Virginia lawmakers have cleared the way for use of the psychedelic mushroom compound psilocybin as a potential medical treatment, once formulated and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Senate Bill 379 directs the state Board of Pharmacy to reschedule psilocybin consistent with federal scheduling as soon as the FDA approves a formulation for use in medical settings.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Herndon, as a response to high veteran suicide rates and promising clinical studies toward treatment of mental health conditions with psilocybin. “As someone who recently lost a dear person in my life to suicide, if we have a treatment available that could help, I think we should do it,” Boysko said. The final vote on the bill passed unanimously and was not a partisan issue. Virginia had 678,149 veterans residing in the state in 2024, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Virginia supported the bill.
Compass Pathways, a biotechnology company, is in late-stage clinical trials for a synthetic psilocybin formulation called COMP360 intended to treat resistant depression. Researchers noted a reduction of depression symptoms in two trials: one trial had a 25% reduction, and another had a 39% reduction with 25 milligrams of the treatment. The company completed its second phase 3 trials with over 1,000 patients in Europe and North America and has requested a meeting with the FDA. Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi stated the legislation “allows Virginia to be prepared if and when the FDA approves psilocybin-based medication, and it enables Virginians to access the treatment legally and without delay.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.dailypress.com/2026/04/17/virginia-bill-allows-psychedelic-mushroom-therapy-pending-fda-approval/