Colorado Voters Approve Legalizing Psychedelic Mushrooms

As a result of Tuesday’s election, Colorado voters have approved Proposition 122, a ballot initiative that will decriminalize and regulate certain psychedelics.

The passage of this measure comes four years after Denver became the first U.S. city to decriminalize psilocybin or hallucinogenic mushrooms.

In 2020, Oregon was the first state to legalize psilocybin and decriminalize all drugs.

Highlights of the initiative, dubbed the “Natural Medicine Health Act,” include:

· The development of rules for a therapeutic psychedelics program where adults 21 and older can visit a “licensed healing center to receive treatment under the guidance of a trained facilitator”;

· Possession, use, cultivation and sharing of psilocybin, ibogaine, mescaline (not derived from peyote), DMT and psilocyn will be legalized for adults 21 and older; however, there will be no recreational sales component;

· Psilocybin and psilocyn will be permitted for therapeutic use at licensed healing centers until June 2026. After that point, regulators can decide whether to also permit regulated therapeutic use of DMT, ibogaine and mescaline; and,

· An advisory board will be responsible for making recommendations on adding substances to the program, and the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies could then authorize those recommended additions.

Joshua Kappel, founding partner at top cannabis and psychedelic law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP and one of the drafters of Proposition 122, expressed relief on the passage of the initiative. He also lauded it for being the most comprehensive state psychedelic reform measure seen to date.

“It not only protects community healing modalities and the civil liberties of everyone in the natural psychedelic ecosystem,” he said, “but creates much-needed access to natural psychedelic therapy to give hope to those who are suffering with hard to treat mental health ailments such as, treatment resistant depression, trauma, and PTSD. Now the real work begins.”

Last June, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill to legalize MDMA prescriptions if and when the federal government ultimately permits such use.