Psychedelic News: From Marijuana to Magic Mushrooms

On November 8, 2022, the colorful state of Colorado became the second state in the United States, after Oregon, to decriminalize the use of psychedelic mushrooms when it passed Proposition 122, The Natural Medicine Health Act. After Colorado residents voted to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin (the chemical compound found in psychedelic mushrooms), two years of lawmaking followed before it could be used to treat conditions such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, cluster headaches, and PTSD. 

“This is a historic moment for both the people of Colorado and our country,” says Kevin Matthews, coalition director for Natural Medicine Colorado. “I think this demonstrates that voters here in Colorado are ready for new options and another choice for healing, especially when it comes to their mental and behavioral health.”

After the Natural Medicine Act passed, decriminalization began in early 2023. The proposition removed criminal penalties related to the cultivation, possession, and consumption of psilocybin-containing mushrooms and three other psychedelic substances: ibogaine, mescaline, and DMT. Adults are allowed to grow mushrooms for personal use outside of the regulated market, but it is still illegal to sell homegrown mushrooms.

The roots of this change can be traced back to the legalization of recreational marijuana a little more than a decade ago. That monumental decision opened the door for conversations about other substances with possible medicinal benefits. Advocates—including doctors, veterans, and mental health professionals—championed for psilocybin mushrooms to be acknowledged for their therapeutic capability, especially for mental health conditions. Psilocybin mushrooms are still designated as Schedule 1 under United States federal law, but other states are following suit. Last year, Utah lawmakers approved a Republican bill that allows research hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA for mental health treatments. Lawmakers in 22 states are looking at legislation that would allow for some form of psychedelic medicine to treat a variety of behavioral health issues.

What’s Happening in Denver Now?

Colorado legalized psychedelic therapy in January of this year. Lawmakers in the state have passed three bills in the three years since the Natural Medicine measure was approved by voters in 2022. The latest bill to be passed—Senate Bill 297, Implementation of Colorado Natural Medicine Initiative—relaxes a few requirements for facilitators while directing the state’s public health department to compile data around the health effects of natural medicine. 

Denver hosted Psychedelic Science 2025 (PS2025), a major bi-annual conference, on June 16–20, 2025. On Wednesday, June 18, Governor Polis spoke at PS2025, where Polis announced new pardons for those convicted at the state level of possessing psilocybin or psilocin.

“Colorado has been a national leader in breaking through outdated laws around cannabis, and now we are doing the same for natural medicine. This action eliminates past state-level convictions for psilocybin and psilocin possession that would be legal today. With these pardons, we are fulfilling the will of Colorado voters and moving away from ineffective drug policy and encouraging local municipalities to follow suit,” says Governor Polis. 

PS2025 has become a central event for the global psychedelic movement. The event offers classes and workshops, as well as speakers. This year, the Conference attracted thousands of attendees and more than 700 speakers to discuss the future of mental health, medicine, and consciousness through the lens of natural medicine. The Community Commitments and Perspectives page of their website for PS2025 states how important it is to “honor the many communities, traditions, and individuals whose contributions and experiences have paved the way for us to be here today. Healing doesn’t happen in isolation; integration means more than just science meeting action—It calls for humility, reciprocity, and a never-ending commitment to justice.”

High Hopes in Denver

The Mile High City issued its first license for a psychedelic healing center on Wednesday, July 23 to the Center Origin, located near 15th Street and Blake Street, marking a major step forward in Colorado’s slow rollout of legalized psilocybin treatment. The space is designed for guided psilocybin sessions under the supervision of trained facilitators. Founder Elizabeth Cooke stressed that the treatment is focused on mental health, not recreational use. “This isn’t just for people to come in and party,” Cooke says. “This is really a model for treatment, for real therapy.”

To legally offer the treatment, Center Origin had to meet strict regulatory standards. Facilitators must complete 150 hours of classroom instruction, plus 40 hours of in-person training, before administering any substances. The cost for a guided individual session at The Center Origin is $3,500, but lower-cost options are available. That includes group sessions or sessions led by facilitators in training. Unlike cannabis dispensaries, healing centers do not generate tax revenue from psilocybin. Clients also cannot take the product home, and all sessions must be supervised on-site. Cooke welcomes any inquiries about the process, and she has hopes that The Center Origin can serve as a model for other centers as the state’s new system takes shape.

Racial Equity Considerations

While the psychedelic movement has brought renewed vigor, it has also highlighted that the movement is heavily whitewashed. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in psychedelic research studies and clinical trials are largely underrepresented.This underrepresentation is alarming given the significant historical use of psychedelic mushrooms in Indigenous medicine as well as the psychological/physiological impact of race-based trauma among BIPOC communities.

This oversight of diversity in research highlights imperative questions about the equity of access to these emerging psychedelic-assisted treatments. Without adequate representation of non-white ethnic groups, it becomes challenging to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and cultural relevance of these therapies for BIPOC communities, which often face disproportionate mental health burdens and disparities in access to care. 

Now that psychedelic medicine has evolved and recreational use has become decriminalized, researchers, clinicians, and lawmakers must keep racial equity at the forefront and guarantee that the benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapies are accessible and inclusive for every community. Failure to address these issues risks perpetuating existing health disparities and further marginalizing already underserved populations. By addressing racial equity, psychedelics have the potential to revolutionize mental health treatment and serve as a beacon for promoting social justice.

How Do We Keep Children Safe?

As Colorado’s psilocybin program has begun, conversations around cost, regulation, commercialization, and access—including protecting children from hallucinogenic drugs—are surfacing, reminiscent of debates from Colorado’s cannabis legalization. Meanwhile, although there is an intense fervor for the legalization of psychedelics, some citizens worry that the public may not fully understand the risks involved with using psychedelics. A local psychedelics campaign by public health advocates is focusing on public health and safety, specifically aimed at young adults.

Kristen Nash is co-founder of the Coalition for Psychedelic Safety and Education. Drawing from her background in public health, particularly in HIV education, Nash founded the group to address what she sees as a growing gap between public enthusiasm for psychedelics and their healing properties versus critical safety information. Nash’s concern is also deeply personal. Five years ago, her 21-year-old son died in a psychedelics-related accident. She says neither the people who were with him at the time nor the security officers on campus who arrived to help knew how to safely manage the situation. Her experience inspired her to create the “Before You Trip” campaign,  a safety project aimed at the 19 to 30-year-old demographic on Instagram. 

Although the conversation around the use of psychedelics is mainly focused on the benefits, Nash points out that most use happens outside of regulated environments. “I think that’s where a campaign like this comes in. It’s just a reality-based support system of information to sort of guide people who, again, often are coming from the mainstream,” she says. “So they’re new to the substances, and they don’t come from informed subcultures of knowledge. So it’s again, meeting people where they are with information they need.”