Iowa GOP Lawmaker Makes Another Push To Decriminalize Psilocybin Mushrooms

A Republican lawmaker in Iowa is taking another swing at reforming the state’s psychedelics laws, introducing a bill on Tuesday to remove psilocybin from the list of controlled substances.

Rep. Jeff Shipley (R) first filed a bill to get the policy change enacted in 2019, and then pursued the idea again the next year as an amendment to a spending bill. The standalone legislation died in committee and the amendment was soundly defeated on the floor, in part because some members questioned its germaneness in a budget process.

The representative also filed legislation in 2019 that would have legalized psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine for therapeutic purposes. That also did not advance.