SALT LAKE CITY — Rick Perry shook hands with his fellow Republicans and talked to them about the benefits of psychedelics.
The former Texas governor, former U.S. energy secretary under the Trump administration, and former GOP presidential candidate visited Utah to meet with members of the state legislature as he advocated for legalized medicinal psilocybin.
"I'm a big advocate for the use of plant medicine for post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury," he said in a brief interview with FOX 13 News on Wednesday.
Perry was brought in by advocates who are gearing up to resurrect a bill to create a highly regulated program in Utah. Similar to Utah's existing medical cannabis program, people with qualifying conditions like depression or PTSD could get access to "magic mushrooms," as they are sometimes called, under the supervision of qualified medical providers.
Perry told FOX 13 News he has seen firsthand how psilocybin has helped veterans. Marcus Luttrell, the author of the book "Lone Survivor," had stayed with Perry in the Texas Governor's Mansion and ultimately used them as a treatment for PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. It helped convince Perry that psilocybin can help some people and he said he is now educating people on it.
"Literally saving lives," Perry said.
He said he was urging Utah lawmakers to consider a program here (Texas recently passed legislation allowing for clinical trials).
"It's not about legalization of drugs. Keep very tight guardrails on this," he said. "Make sure that it's strictly for — in my case veterans — I'm very hopeful a lot of young men and women who are literally at the end of their rope can find relief and healing with these plant-based medicines."
The original bill, proposed earlier this year by Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, stalled in the legislature after Governor Spencer Cox signaled he would not support it. Since then, groups like the Utah Patients Coalition and Libertas Institute (both of whom backed the medical cannabis ballot initiative) have been working to address concerns and bring it back.
On Thursday, people who said they have benefited from psilocybin were on Utah's Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and sharing their stories.
"It helped me focus on me," said Shane Rawlings. "And I realized I needed to go in and look at myself and make some changes there."
Shawn Blymiller said he had been on antidepressants for nearly 10 years and did not like how he felt on those drugs. When he tried psilocybin, things changed.
"I feel like I became more effective in everyday work because of the use of psilocybin," he said.
Sen. Escamilla confirmed to FOX 13 News she planned to run the bill in the 2024 legislative session, believing it could help people.
"We have a very restrictive medical cannabis program and I think psilocybin shouldn’t be different," she said. "A very small pilot program to start this process and control who has access to this stuff."
She said she welcomed the support from patients and the former Texas governor.
"I'm already seeing more people talking about it that before were not even open to having a conversation," Sen. Escamilla said.
Perry urged Utah lawmakers to keep an open mind.
"Educate themselves, that’s what I've talked to the members here about," he said. "Educate yourself about this. Get comfortable that this isn’t some recreational thing."
