Psychedelic Therapy & Law Update – February 2026

Maryland and New Jersey moving toward creation of psilocybin programs

The Maryland Task Force on Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances, in a report near the end of 2025 endorsed the creation of a regulated psilocybin program in the state. The recommendation still needs to be adopted by the Maryland legislature, but this is an exciting development. The Task Force also endorsed decriminalization of psilocybin. A copy of the Task Force report can be found here.  

At the end of January, the New Jersey governor signed a new law creating a psilocybin therapy pilot program. New Jersey’s pilot programs will be located in three chosen hospitals, and will emphasize careful attention to medical and psychiatric  screening, intentional use for mental health disorders, and therapy support around preparing and integrating the psychedelic experience. It should be noted that the bill is in no way legalizing the recreational use of psilocybin. For more information, see this article.

Compliance tools from Colorado on NMHA

The state of Colorado has released new compliance assistant tools for NMHA regulated licensees like healing centers and cultivation and manufacturing operations. These tools include guidance on the transportation of regulated natural medicine, advertising, security requirements, ESG requirements and other helpful operational materials. You can see the compliance tools here. Sean is actively helping licensed operators in Colorado comply with the rules and address operational issues.

Alabama ketamine and ayahuasca decisions

Ayahuasca Decision in a Federal Criminal Case

A federal court in Alabama recently denied a woman’s religious use defense around ayahuasca in a criminal case. The Court denied her motion to dismiss the case based on religious freedom grounds. At a hearing, one of the witnesses testified they attended ceremonies for non-religious purposes, specifically to address addiction or trauma issues and that there was no advanced screening to ensure they had a spiritual intention in their participation in the ceremony. The Court used this fact to say that the defendant was distributing DMT/ayahuasca for non-religious purposes since she allegedly did not screen people to ensure they had spiritual or religious intentions around the use. The decision can be reviewed here. While this case is just a district court decision and not really binding outside of Alabama, it highlights an important issue: if you are operating under a religious use defense – make sure you are clear to participants that the work is spiritual in nature. This is best done through a combination of paperwork and verbal communication to participants. McAllister Law is actively working with numerous church organizations to make sure they are presenting the strongest religous use defense possible. Contact Sean if you want more information about this decision.

Ketamine Decision by Alabama Board of Medical Examiners

The state Board of Medical Examiners in Alabama released a position statement on the off label use of ketamine. The Board found that the off lable use of ketamine constitutes the practice of medicine and that any patient use of ketamine should be in the presence of the doctor. See the Alabama position statement here. This effectively means that therapists should not be sitting with ketamine patients without a doctor present in Alabama. This case shows the unsettled nature of ketamine assisted therapy in some states. When ethically permitted, Sean consults with therapists nationwide to assess their risks related to ketamine work.

Contact Sean to discuss these issues more in depth at sean@mcallisterlawoffice.com.