{"id":79638,"date":"2025-01-08T10:41:14","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T18:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/01\/08\/colorado-regulators-can-now-issue-psychedelic-assisted-therapy-licenses-ahead-of-programs-launch-later-this-year\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T19:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T03:45:47","slug":"colorado-regulators-can-now-issue-psychedelic-assisted-therapy-licenses-ahead-of-programs-launch-later-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2025\/01\/08\/colorado-regulators-can-now-issue-psychedelic-assisted-therapy-licenses-ahead-of-programs-launch-later-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Regulators Can Now Issue Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Licenses Ahead Of Program\u2019s Launch Later This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Colorado has already approved several facilitator training programs, which cost anywhere between $7,000 to $11,000 to complete.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coloradans will soon be able to take psychedelic mushrooms in a regulated environment as the state\u2019s natural medicine program finishes taking shape this year.<\/p>\n

The voter-approved program will allow licensed facilitators to conduct therapeutic sessions using psilocybin, the active ingredient found in \u201cmagic mushrooms,\u201d starting in 2025. Colorado voters approved Proposition 122 in 2022, making Colorado the second state, after Oregon, to decriminalize the use of psychedelic mushrooms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Patients won\u2019t simply be able to walk into a healing center and leave with psychedelic mushrooms or other psilocybin products for consumption at a later time, as is the case with cannabis dispensaries. Someone interested in participating will need to go through a screening process to determine any risks of taking natural medicine. If they are deemed an appropriate candidate for psychedelic therapy, they will take natural medicine in a secure, regulated environment with a licensed facilitator to supervise and walk them through the entire experience.<\/p>\n

As the new year begins, Colorado regulators say they\u2019ve received a handful of applications for the licenses that will be required to cultivate mushrooms, manufacture natural medicines and operate healing centers.<\/p>\n

Tasia Poinsatte, Colorado director for the Healing Advocacy Fund, said a lag is expected between license applications opening this month and healing centers actually serving clients. Healing centers could open as early as April, but early summer is more likely, she said.<\/p>\n

The Healing Advocacy Fund is a nonprofit organization that advocates safe and equitable access to psychedelic therapies. It started in Oregon after voters there approved a state-regulated psilocybin program in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Personal use provisions of the law, which have been in place since December 2022, allow adults 21 or older to share natural medicines including psilocybin, psilocyn, ibogaine, mescaline and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) with others 21 and older for \u201ccounseling, spiritual guidance, community-based use, supported use, or related services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocates say psilocybin will serve as another tool in the mental health care toolkit<\/a> that can help Coloradans who are struggling, particularly veterans. Research has suggested psilocybin could be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance use disorder and major depression. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated psilocybin as a \u201cbreakthrough therapy\u201d option for treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat breakthrough therapy designation means that FDA believes psilocybin may demonstrate substantial improvement above and beyond what\u2019s currently available for treatment,\u201d Taylor West, executive director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, said during a December press conference. \u201cIn Colorado, we know that we\u2019re dealing with a mental health crisis much like we are in the rest of the country, and that\u2019s part of the reason that psychedelic therapy has been supported by voters and by many in the mental health care field.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are four steps to the psilocybin therapeutic model in Colorado: assessment, preparation, administration and integration. First, an interested participant will go through a screening process to determine if they are a good fit for psychedelic therapy and the type of facilitator they would work best with. The participant then meets with their facilitator to learn about the administration process, set goals for their session and develop a safety plan.<\/p>\n

Then, the facilitator will administer psilocybin at a licensed service center, overseeing the session and supporting the participant throughout. An administration session can last five hours or longer. The participant will meet with their facilitator again after their session to \u201cintegrate insights and learnings from the psilocybin experience into daily life\u201d and make plans for future support needed.<\/p>\n

Participants will primarily take psilocybin at a healing center, but the law will also permit clinical facilitators to offer psilocybin services at their existing practice, a retreat model where participants may stay overnight and reflect on their experiences for several days, and at-home administration with additional safety measures in place.<\/p>\n

Local governments in Colorado are able to determine when and where healing centers may operate, but they cannot outright ban them. Arapahoe County Commissioner Jessica Campbell said at the Healing Advocacy Fund press conference that local governments should protect access in their communities so that anyone in Colorado can take advantage of the new therapeutic option.<\/p>\n

\u201cColorado\u2019s psychedelic therapy program is also estimated to be less than 1% of the size of Colorado\u2019s cannabis market, but could make 100 times the difference in patients\u2019 lives,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cMost importantly, I would urge local decision makers to think about the veterans, patients, survivors, and others suffering in our communities right now who could benefit from this therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n

State regulations and licensing<\/h4>\n

West said the state-regulated model works as \u201ca complementary pathway\u201d to ongoing federal evaluations of psychedelic therapy, offering another tool for mental health care without making prospective patients wait through the FDA\u2019s review process.<\/p>\n

\u201cState regulated programs also allow people to use this medicine and these treatments for more than just a narrow, specific diagnosis of a condition,\u201d West said. \u201cSo people can use them not only for when they\u2019re having a mental health crisis, but actually use them to build up resilience and wellness before they experience a mental health crisis, and that\u2019s something that doesn\u2019t happen within a prescription-based program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responsibility for regulating the natural medicine program is split between two Colorado agencies. The Colorado Department of Revenue regulates natural medicine businesses including healing centers, cultivation sites, manufacturers and testing facilities, and it will license their owners and employees. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies regulates training and licensing for facilitators who will directly engage with people consuming natural medicine.<\/p>\n

DORA has received \u201ca handful\u201d of applications<\/a> for facilitator licenses, DORA spokesperson Katie O\u2019Donnell said Thursday. Department of Revenue spokesperson Elizabeth Kosar said the department has received three applications for business licenses to operate healing centers or cultivation sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be many factors that would contribute to the timing of a business becoming operational once an application is approved,\u201d Kosar said in a statement. \u201cIt would be difficult for us to estimate a timeline. The Division will look to make timely decisions on complete applications to support applicants looking to become operational.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donnell said \u201cno one can begin practicing until there is regulated medicine available,\u201d which won\u2019t happen until cultivation sites are licensed and operating.<\/p>\n

Some licenses need to be renewed every year and others need to be renewed every two years.<\/p>\n

State licensing fees vary depending on the type of license a facilitator is applying for. Someone seeking a facilitator in training license will pay the state $420 as they work to complete supervised hours required to get a full facilitator license, which costs $840. A clinical facilitator license, which goes to someone with a medical background who plans to offer natural medicine services, costs $970.<\/p>\n

A \u201cdistinguished educator\u201d license is available for people who have proven substantial experience with natural medicine in another state or country and teach for a facilitator education program in Colorado. That license costs $1,120.<\/p>\n

Poinsatte said the licensing fees, which the state only recently finalized, are a bit lower than initially expected, though they are still higher than fees for other licensed professions in Colorado. The fees are \u201csignificantly\u201d lower than Oregon\u2019s, though, which Poinsatte said are $2,000 annually for facilitators.<\/p>\n

Colorado has already approved several facilitator training programs<\/a>, which cost anywhere between $7,000 to $11,000 to complete. Anyone 21 or older who has a high school diploma or equivalent and has met the state\u2019s training requirements can become a psilocybin facilitator.<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Colorado Newsline.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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DEA Judge Orders Agency To Respond To New Allegations It Opposes Marijuana Rescheduling And Improperly Conspired With Prohibitionists<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia\/Mushroom Observer<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Colorado Regulators Can Now Issue Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Licenses Ahead Of Program\u2019s Launch Later This Year<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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Colorado has already approved several facilitator training programs, which cost anywhere between $7,000 to $11,000 to complete. By Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline Coloradans will soon be able to take psychedelic mushrooms in a regulated environment as the state\u2019s natural medicine program finishes taking shape this year. The voter-approved program willContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79638"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79639,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79638\/revisions\/79639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}