North Carolina SB 1018: The HEAL Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 1018

Short Title: The HEAL Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Chitlik and Brinson (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S1018-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ENACT THE HEALING THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED ACCESS TO 2
LIFESAVING CARE ACT. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.(a) Establishment of Fund. – The Breakthrough Therapies Research 5
(BTR) Grant Fund is established as a nonreverting special fund in the Department of Health and 6
Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use 7
Services (Division). Funds shall be used to award two competitive BTR Grants to recipients for 8
eligible research projects or studies, as outlined in this section. The funds shall be used by the 9
recipient to pay for costs associated with an eligible research project or study, which is intended 10
to last three years. 11
For the purposes of this act, the term "breakthrough therapies" shall mean any drug 12
that has been designated as a Breakthrough Therapy for which an expedited approval pathway 13
has been granted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 14
SECTION 1.(b) Eligible Research Projects or Studies. – The Division shall accept 15
applications in a timely fashion for the grant awards to be made no later than August 1, 2027. 16
Applications are limited to federal medical or research entities and academic institutions located 17
in this State with infrastructure and staff experience to support the research being funded under 18
this act. All research must be conducted within this State and participants must be age 21 or older. 19
To be eligible for a BTR Grant, the recipient must attest that the grant funds will be used to 20
conduct research in this State on the use of psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, MDMA, and 21
psilocybin, and that the research will adhere to all FDA protocols and all applicable federal laws, 22
including President Trump's April 18, 2026, Executive Order on "Accelerating Medical 23
Treatments for Serious Mental Illness." The research shall be concentrated on treating the mental 24
health of any of the following populations that are disproportionately impacted by trauma: 25
(1) Military veterans. 26
(2) Active or former first responders, specifically individuals with specialized 27
training who are among the first to arrive and aid or provide incident 28
resolution at the scene of an emergency or natural disaster. This population 29
includes, but is not limited to, law enforcement officers, paramedics, 30
emergency medical technicians, and firefighters. 31
(3) Frontline healthcare personnel, specifically individuals with specialized 32
training to provide direct healthcare services to members of the community. 33
These healthcare services include preventing, detecting, and treating diseases 34
or other public health issues. Frontline healthcare personnel includes licensed 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 1018-First Edition
doctors, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, and community health 1
workers. 2
(4) Individuals who have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault. 3
The research study involving psilocybin shall be concentrated on the treatment of 4
anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, or both. All research studies awarded a grant must measure 5
participant baseline pain levels and any changes to the pain levels that may be related to the 6
breakthrough therapies. 7
Each grant recipient shall be required to submit a report on the research findings and 8
recommendations to the Division and the Breakthrough Therapies Task Force, established under 9
Section 2 of this act, no later than January 15, 2031. The grant amount is intended to fund three 10
years worth of research study. 11
SECTION 1.(c) Grant Awards. – Upon the recommendation of the Breakthrough 12
Therapies Task Force, established under Section 2 of this act, and no later than July 1, 2027, the 13
Division shall award up to five competitive grants of no less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) 14
each. No later than July 1, 2027, the Division shall announce the recipients of the competitive 15
grant awards authorized under this section and report to the Joint Legislative Oversight 16
Committee on Health and Human Services on the following information related to the research 17
project or studies to be conducted by each eligible competitive grant recipient: 18
(1) The scope and purpose. 19
(2) The anticipated number of people participating and a description of the 20
participating targeted population. 21
(3) The geographic area to be served. 22
(4) The anticipated time frame for completion. 23
SECTION 1.(d) Rules. – The Division may adopt any rules, emergency, temporary, 24
or otherwise, for the purposes of this act. The Division shall determine the method and manner 25
by which applicants may ap