The bill would ban social media accounts from posting about certain controlled substances, including the psychedelics that were decriminalized in Colorado in 2022, to users of all ages. Jacqueline Collins
Advocates of natural psychedelic medicine are marching on the State Capitol today before testifying against a social media bill currently making its way through the Colorado Legislature.
Meaghan Richmond opened Plant Magic Cafe as a place where the psychedelics community could gather and educate people interested in psilocybin, DMT and other natural psychedelics that are now decriminalized in Colorado . The cafe regularly hosts roundtable discussions and craft markets, as well as events at which adults legally share small amounts of psilocybin as longtime growers or facilitators teach them about psychedelics.
"The programming is founded in education," Richmond says. "And where does the public go for information nowadays? Social media. And if they’re limited on social media, I don’t feel like this is going to help people get information."
She’s referring to a legislative measure aimed at changing how children use social media — Senate Bill 24-158 — that could push Plant Magic Cafe and other businesses connected to decriminalized psychedelics off Instagram, Twitter and other popular platforms. So Richmond sent out a call to action through Plant Magic Cafe’s social media channels for a march and rally at the Capitol at noon today, May 1, before signing up to testify against the bill.
According to Richmond, the bill would ban social media accounts from posting about certain controlled substances, including the psychedelics that were decriminalized by Proposition 122 in 2022, to users of all ages. Certain consumable hemp products and over-the-counter cough syrups would be off limits, as well.
Richmond says that operating on Instagram and Facebook is already difficult because of policies and algorithms that flag federally illegal substances with state-legal sectors, such as cannabis and psychedelics, while TikTok’s approach is even less tolerant.
SB 158, sponsored by state Senator Dafna Michaelson Jenet, proposes age verification and time limitation tools for juvenile social media use, as well as increased parental or guardian surveillance and censorship of certain material. Under the bill, parents could request […]
Colorado Psychedelics Community Protesting Proposed Social Media Ban
