Connecticut opens its psychedelic therapy pilot to more adults
Connecticut's governor signed Public Act 26-108 on June 4, 2026, opening the state's MDMA- and psilocybin-assisted therapy pilot to adults 18 and older who meet the study's clinical criteria, not just veterans, retired first responders and health care workers. It also keeps the pilot alive after any federal approval, and it's still research: Connecticut hasn't legalized psilocybin.
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Hartford, June 4, 2026. Senate Bill 191, "An Act Concerning the Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Pilot Program," was signed by the governor as Public Act 26-108, according to the General Assembly's bill history.1 The Senate passed it 35-0 on April 8, with one senator absent, and the House passed it 122-27 on May 6, with two members absent.2, 3 The Public Health Committee, which raised the bill, had approved it 23-8 on March 2.4
What the new law changes
The act rewrites the statute that created the pilot, effective July 1, 2026.5
- Who can take part. A "qualified patient" is now anyone "eighteen years of age or older" who "meets clinical eligibility criteria established by the institutional review board" of the medical school running the pilot, "including, but not limited to," a state resident who is a veteran, a retired first responder or a direct care health care worker.5 Before, the pilot was limited to those three groups, according to the legislature's Office of Legislative Research.4
- No federal shutoff. The act deletes the line that told the state to stop running the pilot "when MDMA and psilocybin have been approved to have a medical use by the Drug Enforcement Administration."5
- No stale deadline. It drops the old "Not later than January 1, 2023" start date.5
What stays the same: the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services runs the pilot "within available appropriations," a medical school administers it, and patients get MDMA- or psilocybin-assisted therapy "as part of a research program approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration."5 The research office's bill analysis names Yale University as the medical school.4 The fiscal note says the wider eligibility "does not require DMHAS to support additional clients"; the possible cost comes from keeping the pilot open past a DEA approval.6
"It does not legalize psychedelics," said Sen. Saud Anwar, the Senate chair of the Public Health Committee, when the Senate passed the bill. He said it "makes sure their use to treat depression and post-traumatic stress is closely monitored and studied."7
What it means for New Yorkers
A neighboring state now runs a state-backed psychedelic therapy study open to a wider group of adults. Don't count on it being open to New Yorkers: the act's text leaves eligibility beyond the age floor to the medical school's review board,5 and the legislature's Office of Legislative Research describes the change as letting Connecticut residents take part.4
New York has no equivalent law. Albany's veterans and first responders pilot, which would also work through FDA-approved research, is still in committee. In New York the legal route is a clinical trial: see our New York trials directory. For how Connecticut compares with New Jersey, Massachusetts and the licensed programs out west, see where psilocybin is legal near New York.
Sources
- SB 191 bill history, 2026 session. Connecticut General Assembly.
- Senate roll call vote 98 on SB 191. Connecticut General Assembly, April 8, 2026.
- House roll call vote 288 on SB 191. Connecticut General Assembly, May 6, 2026.
- OLR bill analysis, SB 191 (File No. 28). Connecticut Office of Legislative Research, March 16, 2026.
- Public Act 26-108. Connecticut General Assembly, approved June 4, 2026.
- OFA fiscal note, SB 191. Connecticut Office of Fiscal Analysis, March 16, 2026.
- Sen. Anwar leads Senate passage of bill expanding, protecting therapy pilot programs utilizing psychedelics. Connecticut Senate Democrats, April 8, 2026.
Keep reading
Where is psilocybin legal near New York?Nowhere in the Northeast. Each neighbor's status, dated and sourced, plus road miles to Colorado and Oregon.
Which psilocybin clinical trials are recruiting in New York?Every psilocybin study with a New York site: who's recruiting at NYU Langone, Mount Sinai and the Bronx VA, and how screening works.
Can you get legal psilocybin therapy in NYC?Trials, Spravato and ketamine clinics, Oregon and Colorado: what's legal for New Yorkers now, and what isn't.
Reported and checked by the Mushrooms New York desk. Every figure on this page links to its source. If something is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll correct it in the open, as our editorial standards describe. Mushrooms New York is published by the team behind My Mushroom Dispensary, an online shop. We sell no advertising.