Starting July 1, CT medical program using psychedelics opens to the public. There’s high demand

Hartford Courant – Wednesday, July 1, 2026
By Livi Stanford 

A new law taking effect Wednesday expands a Yale pilot program that uses psilocybin with structured therapy to treat depression, PTSD, anxiety OCD, and related conditions. Researchers say early results are promising as the treatment has been well tolerated. But they caution that the study is ongoing.

Lead researchers who have implemented the program in collaboration with the Yale School of Medicine and the Connecticut Mental Health Center said early outcomes suggest that many participants experience improvements in functioning and symptoms.

The program was previously limited to first responders, Connecticut veterans and direct healthcare workers.

Now, those who are at least 18 and meet “clinical eligibility criteria set by the institutional review board” of Yale University, can participate, according to the Office of Legislative Research analysis of the new law.

“These medicines can be very effective with the right safety and protection in a controlled environment,” said State Sen. Saud Anwar, physician, co-chair of the state’s Public Health Committee, and proponent of the bill. “This is not legalization. This actually can be a very dangerous chemical when not used under careful supervision by experts who deal with it.”

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound produced by several species of mushrooms — the active ingredient in what are commonly called ‘magic mushrooms.’ The FDA has not yet approved psilocybin for medical use.

“Psychedelic drugs have for decades had a complicated place in our culture, whether that be something that is mind-altering and scary or something that is life-changing,” said Dr. Chris Pittenger, co-founder of the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science and one of the lead researchers overseeing the implementation of the program. “I think both of those are extreme positions but there are lots of people who would have them. There are people who are excited about the use of psychedelic drugs as an alternative to traditional treatments for depression and other conditions. And some of the early data looked very promising.”

Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, a licensed clinical psychologist and instructor who serves as the lead investigator at the state-funded psilocybin trial, said in an email that 17 patients have completed treatment with psilocybin.

“The response has been encouraging,” Agin-Liebes said. ”The study is designed to approximate real-world conditions in which psilocybin may be administered, while still maintaining rigorous screening, monitoring, and safety procedures. Early outcomes suggest that many participants experience meaningful improvements in symptoms and functioning, though results remain preliminary.”

She said some patients have had adverse effects including “transient increases in blood pressure, anxiety, headache, nausea, dizziness, and temporary emotional distress.

“Most events have been mild to moderate and self-limited,” she said.

She said psychedelics may “temporarily increase psychological flexibility, emotional openness and the ability to examine rigid patterns of thinking, feeling and behavior.

“In a supportive therapeutic setting, this may help patients process difficult emotions, gain new perspectives, and develop greater self-compassion or connectedness,” she said.

However, in the same measure, Agin-Liebes said “psychedelics can carry psychological and medical risks, especially without screening, supervision, and follow-up.”

“Potential risks include acute anxiety, panic, distressing experiences, increased blood pressure or heart rate, impaired judgment, and possible worsening of symptoms in vulnerable individuals,” she said. “This is why real-world implementation must be studied carefully, with appropriate safeguards.”

Dr. Benjamin Kelmendi, assistant professor for the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science, said in an email that response to the program has been substantial.

“Enrollment demand has outpaced what we projected and clinicians across Connecticut have been asking how to refer patients in,” he said. “The people who have completed treatment describe something closer to a change in how they relate to their illness than a quieting of symptoms. That response tells us the design is meeting a need the existing system has not — a treatment serious enough for conditions that have resisted everything else.”

Kelmendi said the program is needed because “conventional psychiatry helps many people and fails a substantial number.

“For treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD, the standard tools leave a meaningful fraction of patients still suffering and out of options,” he said. “We designed this study to be transdiagnostic — to admit the comorbidities, the stable medications, the complex presentations that real patients actually carry, rather than the narrow, idealized cases most trials select for.”

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