“There’s going to be very few license applications in Denver, at least in the first year."
March 4, 2025 Denver’s new mushroom industry rules do not impact personal use, possession or cultivation allowed by state laws. Evan Semón Photography
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Denver City Council has approved a licensing structure for psilocybin mushroom growers, facilitators, product manufacturers and other businesses that are now legal in Colorado . However, city officials expect only a slow trickle of businesses at the start.
The city’s new set of rules, approved on March 3, largely follows psychedelic regulations approved at the state level last year, although there are some differences.
Mushroom growers, infused product manufacturers and testing facilities, which are already licensed by the state Natural Medicine Division (NMD), will not require additional local licensing. However, healing centers and facilitators must be approved by the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses "with a couple of exemptions," including native American religious ceremonies and clinical facilities that are already licensed to diagnose and treat certain health conditions, according to the department.
Like state regulations, Denver’s ordinance requires a psilocybin business be at least 1,000 feet away from a preschool, primary school or childcare facility.
"The state rules are robust, they’re comprehensive, and we feel like they’re pretty limited in what these businesses are actually allowed to do, particularly when compared to marijuana," Excise & Licenses policy analyst Abbey Borchers told a city council committee in February. "On the other hand, we felt healing centers are a place where a local license would be useful. …Healing centers have more of a potential for posing community impacts and risks."Unlike medical and recreational marijuana, psilocybin cannot be sold at licensed dispensaries or taken home by clients. Any adult interested in psilocybin therapy or microdosing sessions, which aren’t yet allowed by the state but are expected to be approved this year, would have to visit a licensed facilitator or healer to partake onsite.City officials and members of the natural medicine community don’t expect a vast industry turnout in Colorado. Since the state began accepting business applications last December, only 26 businesses have applied for licenses […]
Denver Approves Magic Mushroom Licensing Rules, Expects Slow Turnout
