The Office of Wellness and Resilience announced the establishment of the Breakthrough Therapies Task Force, which aims to assist the state in expanding therapeutic access to two key substances: MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and psilocybin, both of which received “breakthrough therapy” status by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 and 2018/2019, respectively.
Yesterday, the task force, which is comprised of local physicians, psychiatrists, mental health professionals and government partners, conducted its first meeting. This meeting represents a significant milestone in advancing the recognition and understanding of the potential benefits of therapeutic psychedelic access in Hawai‘i.
A full list of task force members can be found below:
- Lorrin Kim, Chief Policy Officer and Legislative Coordinator, Department of Health
- Tia L. R. Hartsock, MSW, MSCJA; Director, Office of Wellness and Resilience, Office of the Governor
- Senator Joy San Buenaventura, Chair of Health and Human Services Committee, Hawai‘i State Senate
- Senator Chris Lee, Assistant Majority Whip, Hawai‘i State Senate
- Melanie Martin, Department of Public Safety, Deputy Director of Administration
- Dr. Sean Munnelly, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Addiction Specialist; Veteran’s Affairs (VA)
- Oriana Filiaci, MA; Hawai‘i Pacific Health
- Ashley Lukens, Ph.D.; Director and Co-Founder, Clarity Project
- Kristina Rodriguez, RN-BSN, IFMCP; Integration Coach, Krysalis Lifestyle Medicine
- Heather Lusk, MSW, LCSW; Executive Director, Hawai‘i Health and Harm Reduction Center
- Nikos Leverenz, President, Drug Policy Forum of Hawai‘i and Grants and Advancement Manager, Hawai‘i Health and Harm Reduction Center
Aligned with a growing national movement led by Oregon, which passed its first therapeutic psilocybin access program in 2020, followed by Colorado in 2022, these initiatives to expand access are rooted in the growing body of research that is establishing psychedelics as the most promising new frontier in psychiatric care since the advent of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Research has shown that both psilocybin and MDMA have significant and unprecedented efficacy in the clinical treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, end-of-life anxiety in terminal patients, eating disorders, treatment-resistant depression and more.
The task force will complete its final report by the end of the year.
A primary goal of the task force is to leverage the learnings from Colorado and Oregon, and prepare for the potential FDA approval of these breakthrough therapies by laying the foundation for a regulated psychedelic therapy program. This foundation will specifically address questions of supply, licensing for guides and integration coaches, and administrative needs. It will examine issues of safety, access and affordability of care.
The Breakthrough Therapies Task Force underscores the state’s dedication to exploring effective and innovative approaches to mental health treatment.
To learn more about breakthrough therapies, a public event is being hosted by the Clarity Project: Breaking Through Trauma: The Case for Psilocybin & MDMA on Friday, Sept. 8 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Ka Waiwai in Honolulu. This event features Dr. Jennifer Mitchell, a professor in the University of California at San Francisco Department of Neurology and Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development at the San Francisco VA.
For more information about the event, visit clarityproject.org.
AP Photo