Aloha, Supporters!
The Clarity Project, a citizen’s initiative dedicated to expanding patient access to psilocybin-assisted therapy modalities in Hawaii, needs your help!
HB2567 is slated for a hearing THIS THURSDAY 1/30 at 9:00AM and WE NEED YOU TO TESTIFY IN STRONG SUPPORT. You can do so RIGHT NOW online. You have until Wednesday at midnight!
You can also testify in person with us on Thursday.
House Conference Room 329
Hawaii State Capitol
Help Us Spread the Word!
WE URGENTLY NEED:
Testimonies from local professionals in the mental health, public health, health administration, and research fields who understand Hawaii’s unique environment will be critical to our success. Please help us reach as many of these individuals as possible within the next 48 hours by forwarding this email to any you know that may be interested in our cause!
And of course, citizen supporters and impacted community members are urged to join our team in person at future hearings and/or send written testimony through the website. This is our opportunity to show our legislators that their constituents support therapeutic psilocybin for Hawaii.
HOW TO TESTIFY
1. You will need to create an account for the Capitol website here.
2. Submit your testimony here (be sure to click “Continue” next to HB2567 on the left).
3. Testimony is always most effective in your own words. Including how a bill would affect you personally gets our legislators to pay attention! Included are TALKING POINTS and SAMPLE TESTIMONY (also available here) related to psilocybin-assisted therapy for mental health treatment to aid with your message.
HB2567 - RELATING TO PSILOCYBIN [SUPPORT]
Establishes temporary Medicinal Psilocybin Working Group. Requires reports to the Legislature.
Learn more here
The Clarity Project Website
Therapeutic Psilocybin for Hawaii White Paper
RESEARCH BASED: Research from major institutions around the world has shown psilocybin to be a promising clinical treatment tool for a wide range of mental and psychiatric diagnoses including anxiety, addiction to alcohol and other drugs, depression, end of life anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
CLINICAL USE: Medical psilocybin is most effective when administered and overseen by a trained healthcare professional who can guide the patient, understand drug interactions, and screen for known risks such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other pre-existing mental health diagnoses.
GROWING MAINSTREAM ACCEPTANCE: These findings have also given rise to a groundswell of interest, study, and use of psilocybin, which has begun to surface in mainstream society through media and art, health, spirituality, and culture.
ADVOCACY ACROSS THE US: In step with public sentiment, advocates across the US have begun pursuing multi-pronged decriminalization and legalization strategies in an effort to extend the benefits of psilocybin outside of the research setting. In fact, as of June 2019, 55 cities across 30 states are actively seeking guidance on reforming relevant regulations.
Dear Chair Mizuno, Vice Chair Kobayashi, and Members of the Committee,
Please pass HB2567. This important piece of legislation helps our state take an important first step in expanding access to psilocybin assisted therapies in Hawaii by creating an advisory board of relevant state agencies, experts, community organizations, and potential beneficiaries.
Psilocybin can be effective for a wide range of mental and psychological disorders many of which are a major contributing factor to Hawaii’s most pressing issues. Hawaii’s medical professionals and outreach programs need access to innovative, effective, and safe tools to continue the work to help heal and support Hawaii.
The science and medical research coming out of respected institutions like Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and on psilocybin is clear, psilocybin
By passing this bill, our state will be a part of a growing trend in state and local initiatives to expand clinical access to plant medicines like psilocybin. In fact, as of June 2019, 55 cities across 30 states are actively seeking guidance on reforming relevant regulations.
Physicians need new and innovative tools in their toolkit as they are tackling Hawaii’s growing mental health crisis and clinical access to these innovative tools is key to their success. In fact, medical psilocybin is most effective when administered and overseen by a trained healthcare professional who can guide the patient, understand drug interactions, and screen for known risks such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other pre-existing mental health diagnoses. Research on psilocybin has shown that the context of the experience plays a critical role in determining positive outcomes for patients. In this clinical research, patients given psilocybin are provided a safe, comfortable space with trained experts to offer support to participants.
Based on a thorough examination of the current socio-political environment and the potential of medical psilocybin, we see this bill as the best next step in helping to move this important conversation forward.
Thank you for hearing and passing this measure out of your committee.
YOUR NAME
Mahalo!
Mahalo for your support. HB2567 is moving quickly and we appreciate the swift responses of everyone willing to testify. We haven’t had a chance to inform the public of who we are and what we are doing, so individual follow up emails will be sent out within the next few days to properly connect and introduce our team. (Your email address has NOT been added to our mailing list.) Feel free to contact us by replying to this email address!
The Clarity Project Team