A Lakewood resident grew psilocybin mushrooms at home as pictured in this August 2023 file photo. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) Boulder’s City Council on Thursday evening signaled its approval for broad zoning and licensing guidelines for regulating natural medicines, including psychedelic mushrooms, at the local level.
Psilocybin and psilocin, which are both found in psychedelic mushrooms, are two of the five substances that became legal in Colorado when voters approved Proposition 122 in November 2022. The other three substances are plant-based psychedelics: dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, and mescaline. An additional 2023 state Senate bill modified the original law and set up a regulatory framework for natural medicine businesses and products. On the federal level, psilocybin remains an illegal Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration.
In Colorado, all five psychedelics are legal for personal use, but adults 21 and older are expected to be able to use psilocybin and psilocin at licensed facilities (and under supervision) by later this year. DMT, ibogaine and mescaline are slated to be allowed for supervised use at licensed facilities starting in 2026.
Under state law, local governments can regulate natural medicine businesses — which include natural medicine healing centers, cultivation and testing facilities and product manufacturers — but they cannot ban them or create “unreasonable regulations,” according to a city staff presentation Thursday evening. Boulder and other communities have until Jan. 1, 2025, to firm up their local regulations before the state begins issuing natural medicine licenses.
There are also specific statewide rules being made that are expected to be adopted in the coming weeks. The state rule-making process wrapped up on July 25, and those rules are expected to cover areas such as fees, applications, licensing, sanitation, safety and record keeping.
Many Colorado communities are waiting to see what those rules will be before they decide on their local regulations. Currently, Boulder staffers are studying how the city should approach zoning and licensing for natural medicine businesses.
City staffers recommended that zoning requirements for natural medicine healing centers should be comparable to the requirements for medical […]
Boulder City Council outlines guidelines for psychedelic mushrooms, other natural medicines
