Virginia · Schedule I · Senate 40-0, House killed it
Virginia's Senate backed a psilocybin study 40 to 0 — then the House killed it 18 to 0.
Virginia is the state where the two legislative chambers could not agree. In 2025, SB 1101 — sponsored by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi — proposed a modest six-member advisory council to study FDA-designated breakthrough therapies including psilocybin and MDMA. The full Senate approved it unanimously, 40 to 0. When it reached the House, the Rules Committee shelved it without debate on an 18-to-0 vote. No advisory council, no study, no change. Earlier and more ambitious decriminalization bills (SB 262, SB 235) had already died in Senate committee. Throughout, psilocybin stayed Schedule I in Virginia, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration provided an unfavorable backdrop for any reform that did advance.
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How Virginia’s bill died
Passed one chamber, killed in the other
Virginia’s SB 1101 produced two unanimous, opposite votes. The Senate passed it 40–0; a House committee shelved it 18–0. The panel below shows the bill dying in the gap between the two chambers.
SB 1101: 40–0 then 18–0
SB 1101 · advisory council on FDA breakthrough therapies
Senate floor
40–0
Passed
House Rules Cmte
18–0
Shelved
Two unanimous votes, opposite outcomes, in the same Capitol. The bill never reached the House floor.
Why this shape
A study bill was as far as it got
Virginia advocates had already learned that decriminalization could not pass — bills SB 262 and SB 235 died in Senate committee in earlier sessions. SB 1101 was the cautious follow-up: not access, not decrim, just a council to study breakthrough therapies. The Senate's unanimous yes showed real appetite; the House Rules Committee's unanimous shelving showed the ceiling. A study was the most Virginia's legislature would consider, and even that did not survive both chambers.
- Only a study council — SB 1101 did not legalize, decriminalize, or fund anything — it proposed a six-member council to study FDA breakthrough therapies.
- Decrim already dead — earlier, broader bills (SB 262, SB 235) to decriminalize psilocybin died in Senate committee, narrowing what advocates would attempt.
- Chambers split — the Senate passed SB 1101 40–0; the House Rules Committee shelved it 18–0. The disagreement, not the policy, is the story.
Four cities
Where Virginia's psilocybin question sits
Virginia's psilocybin geography spans the coast and the capital. Virginia Beach is the largest city and a major military-veteran center. Richmond is the capital, where SB 1101 split the chambers. Norfolk anchors the Hampton Roads naval region. Charlottesville is home to the University of Virginia and its academic-medical research base.
Virginia Beach
Largest city · military
450K. Virginia's largest city and a major military-veteran center — the demographic at the heart of the breakthrough-therapy argument.
Virginia Beach pageRichmond
Capital · General Assembly
230K. State capital and seat of the General Assembly, where SB 1101 passed the Senate and died in the House.
Richmond pageNorfolk
Hampton Roads · Navy
235K. Anchors the Hampton Roads naval region — the largest concentration of naval forces in the world and a dense active-duty and veteran population.
Norfolk pageCharlottesville
UVA · research base
45K. Home to the University of Virginia and its academic-medical center — the research base any future Virginia study or trial would draw on.
Charlottesville pageCommon questions
Virginia psilocybin FAQ
Q · 01
Is psilocybin legal in Virginia?
No. Psilocybin is a Schedule I controlled substance in Virginia. Decriminalization bills have died in committee, and the most recent reform — a study council — was killed in the House after passing the Senate.
Q · 02
What was SB 1101?
SB 1101, sponsored by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, proposed a six-member advisory council to study FDA-designated breakthrough therapies including psilocybin and MDMA. The full Senate passed it 40-0, but a House Rules Committee shelved it 18-0 without debate.
Q · 03
Did Virginia ever try to decriminalize psilocybin?
Yes. Earlier bills, including SB 262 and SB 235, sought to decriminalize psilocybin but died in Senate committee. Advocates then pivoted to the narrower study-council approach of SB 1101.
Q · 04
Why did the House kill a bill the Senate passed unanimously?
The House Rules Committee shelved SB 1101 on an 18-0 vote without debate. The unanimous Senate approval and unanimous House shelving reflect a sharp split between the chambers on even a modest study measure, against an unfavorable gubernatorial backdrop.
While the chambers stay split
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