Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 382: Controlled substances; Schedule I; psilocybin; revise a provision
Last action July 1, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 382 would exempt future FDA-approved LSD and psilocybin drugs from Georgia's Schedule I controlled substances list and would loosen several pharmacy supervision and drug-return rules statewide.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia currently classifies lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin as Schedule I controlled substances (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-25), meaning they have no accepted medical use under state law. This bill says that if the federal Food and Drug Administration approves a specific form of either drug (lysergide tartrate or crystalline polymorph psilocybin) and federal authorities schedule and list it under the Controlled Substances Act, that approved drug would no longer count as a Schedule I substance in Georgia. These two sections only take effect if and when that federal approval happens. The bill, titled the 'Prescription Drug Security, Supervision, and Return Act,' also rewrites several pharmacy rules. It lets pharmacy technicians work remotely on certain technical tasks without counting against supervision ratios, raises the number of technicians and interns a single pharmacist can supervise, adds a definition of 'closed-door pharmacy,' drops a certification requirement tied to technician count, and removes a one-year manufacture-date limit on which drugs wholesalers must accept as returns.
What the bill does
- Exempts a future FDA-approved LSD drug (containing lysergide tartrate) from Georgia's Schedule I list, but only once federal approval and scheduling occur.
- Exempts a future FDA-approved psilocybin drug (containing crystalline polymorph psilocybin) from Georgia's Schedule I list under the same federal-approval condition.
- Lets pharmacy technicians perform certain technical functions remotely without counting toward the pharmacist supervisory ratio, which stays at one pharmacist per four technicians physically in the pharmacy.
- Allows a pharmacist to supervise up to six pharmacy interns and externs combined, instead of the prior limit of one intern and one extern.
- Removes a rule requiring a set number of certified technicians once a pharmacist supervises three or more of them.
- Eliminates the requirement that wholesale drug distributors only have to accept returns of 'essential' drugs if those drugs expire within one year of manufacture.
Who it affects
Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy interns and externs, hospital and closed-door pharmacies, wholesale drug distributors, and the State Board of Pharmacy, which sets and enforces these supervision and return rules. It would also affect patients if a federally approved LSD or psilocybin medication ever comes to market.
Why it matters
If the FDA someday approves an LSD or psilocybin based medicine, doctors and pharmacies in Georgia would be able to handle it without state Schedule I restrictions. In the meantime, pharmacies would gain more flexibility to use remote pharmacy technicians and supervise more interns and externs, changing daily staffing practices.
Key provisions
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-13-25(3)(I) so LSD does not include an FDA-approved, federally scheduled and listed lysergide tartrate drug.
- Section 3 revises the same Code section's subparagraph (N) so psilocybin does not include an FDA-approved crystalline polymorph psilocybin drug.
- Section 4 updates the definition of 'pharmacy technician' in O.C.G.A. § 26-4-5 to cover technicians working 'in the practice of pharmacy' rather than only 'in pharmacies.'
- Section 5 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 26-4-82 to require physical, on-site pharmacist supervision, exclude remote technicians from the 1-to-4 supervisory ratio, define 'closed-door pharmacy,' and raise the combined intern/extern cap to six.
- Section 6 removes from O.C.G.A. § 26-4-115(c) the requirement that exempted 'essential' drugs must expire within one year of manufacture to be excluded from mandatory wholesaler returns.
- Section 7 clarifies the Act does not limit the State Board of Pharmacy's authority or affect drugs already scheduled II through V.
- Section 8 makes the LSD and psilocybin provisions (Sections 2 and 3) effective only if the FDA approves and federal authorities schedule and list the specific drug forms described.
From the bill
“Such term does not include a drug containing crystalline polymorph psilocybin that is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration under Section 505 of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, scheduled in accordance with its scheduling by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and listed in the federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. Section 812”
“the pharmacist to pharmacy technician ratio shall not exceed one pharmacist providing direct supervision of four pharmacy technicians”
Discussed in meetings (10)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Health Committee, March 2, 2026
From 0:17:35 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 382 would allow Georgia's drug classifications to follow anticipated federal approvals involving LSD and psilocybin. The sponsor described research on treatments for PTSD and severe depression and said patients could otherwise face delays in access. The sponsor also described pharmacy provisions covering certified technicians, supervision of interns and technicians, and a limit of six supervised workers in any combination. Another provision would give the Board of Pharmacy discretion over requirements for returning expired drugs. The sponsor said mandatory full-credit returns had contributed to higher prices for certain short-dated medicines, citing a reported Georgia price of about $1,500 for a drug costing a few hundred dollars elsewhere. In response to the chair, the sponsor confirmed that the Board of Pharmacy requested the additions beyond the original drug-classification provisions. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote.
House Rules Committee, March 4, 2026
From 1:40:59 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: A committee member said HB 382 would help consumers obtain certain treatments more quickly. The member described anticipated federal approval of an LSD-derived treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a psilocybin-related treatment for severe depression. No questions or decision followed.
House floor session, March 6, 2026 (legislative day 28, PM, part 2)
From 1:53:57 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2172
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 382 would allow certain drugs involving LSD and psilocybin to become available to patients once approved by the FDA, without waiting for a later annual state drug update. The sponsor described potential treatments for post-traumatic stress and severe depression, cited research at Emory University, and credited work by pharmacy regulators and pharmaceutical companies. The sponsor also noted provisions concerning pharmacy technician supervision without explaining them further. Two supporting members emphasized possible benefits for veterans with traumatic conditions. One cited research supporting effectiveness, and the sponsor agreed. The House adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill 167-0.
House Rules Committee, March 6, 2026
From 0:43:40 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2139
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 382 on the day’s supplemental floor calendar under modified structure following a motion and second, with no objection stated. No substantive discussion occurred.
Senate Health and Human Services Committee, March 23, 2026
From 0:23:03 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the substitute would let Georgia make certain lysergic acid and psilocybin treatments available after federal approval without waiting for the next annual state drug update. The sponsor described potential uses for post-traumatic stress disorder and life-threatening depression and said the treatments would remain highly regulated. The sponsor also described pharmacy staffing changes requested by the Board of Pharmacy because of difficulty finding certified technicians. One committee member asked about allowing a pharmacist to supervise six people and whether the pharmacist must remain physically present. The sponsor said the six could include an intern and an extern, with four technicians, and confirmed that a pharmacist must be present and overseeing them. That member expressed concerns about changing drug classifications and disagreed with the sponsor's favorable comparison to medical marijuana. In response to further questions, the sponsor said the drug provisions would take effect only following federal approval and would apply only to the two specified drugs. The committee approved the bill, 6 to 4.
Senate Rules Committee, March 30, 2026
From 1:20:39 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The vice chair selected HB 382 for the floor calendar. No substantive explanation or debate followed. The committee unanimously approved the calendar containing it.
Senate floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 1)
From 7:19:57 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 382 would allow qualifying psychedelic medicines to become available in Georgia automatically if they received FDA approval and moved out of Schedule I, avoiding a wait for another legislative session. The sponsor said potential medicines were in clinical trials, cited veterans traveling to Mexico for treatment and described published research as showing anxiety symptom improvement. The sponsor also said the bill increased the number of pharmacy technicians a pharmacy could supervise, without stating the new limit. No questions or opposing speeches followed. The Senate passed the bill 38-10.
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 476
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
Show full history (17 actions)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
- Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
- Ben Watson (R, SD-1)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2026
167 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 8 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2026
38 yea, 10 nay (0 not voting, 6 excused)
Topics
- controlled substances
- psilocybin and LSD
- pharmacy regulation
- drug scheduling
- pharmacist supervision