Colorado finalizes rules for magic mushrooms

DENVER ( KDVR ) — Rules surrounding the use of psilocybin , more commonly known as magic mushrooms, are now in place in Colorado.

The administering of magic mushrooms from healing centers is not set to take place in Colorado until 2025, but the state made headway when it comes to getting rules in place for the medicine — finalizing them late last week.

Tasia Poinsatte is the Colorado director of the Healing Advocacy Fund . The group helped Oregon get its psilocybin program off the ground four years ago. Now, Poinsatte is closely watching and weighing in on Colorado’s process as they get ready for next year. To recap, Colorado’s format will not allow patients to take the products home. Instead, licensed facilitators will administer the treatments at healing centers,

“The state has actually set minimum sessions based on the dosage of psilocybin. So, no session in Colorado under the current rules would be shorter than three hours. They might be up to five or six,” Poinsatte said. “I really think they’ve met the mark and that we’re going to have a really strong program.”

In the final rules, the state defines a single serving as 10 mg of psilocybin, edibles can have up to 50 mg. The state will also allow the healing centers to operate at facilities that house other health care centers.

“We want to allow as many of the options as possible for psychedelic therapies to be integrated within our mental health and health care system. And part of what that means is allowing these sessions to take place at locations like clinics, addiction treatment centers and therapist offices where people are already receiving mental health care,” Poinsatte said.

The state will also allow the medicine to be administered in the form of gummies or chocolates, along with teas, tinctures and capsules.

Some groups, like One Chance to Grow Up , were concerned about children getting a hold of the products; specifically, they were worried about facilitators’ ability to take the products outside of healing centers for administration.

In a statement, the group’s director said she is disappointed in the final rulemaking, saying:

We are disappointed that the final rulemaking on psilocybin left the language allowing for products to come in chocolate and gummy form intact.

Colorado must have a thoughtful regulatory framework for psychedelics that provides protections for kids. That is our only focus. While the labeling requirements prohibiting imagery and colors that may appeal to children is a good start, we still have concerns. Proposition 122 allowed for the ‘administration’ of psychedelics outside of a healing center by a facilitator opening the door for access to this powerful drug. Over 125 concerned citizens expressed their concerns by way of petition, but their concerns were not heard by the regulators.

When it comes to marijuana, we’ve seen the surge of accidental ingestions of candy-like edibles by kids. It appears that we’ll have to learn these same lessons over again when it comes to psychedelic drugs, but with even higher stakes for kids. The safety of kids is more important than the taste preferences of adults. If this is to be treated as medicine, let’s treat it like other medicine that is not provided in kid-friendly flavors that could lead to accidental ingestion.”

Henny Lasley, One Change to Grow Up

Advocates like Poinsatte appreciate the concern for child safety but they note the state did specify that packaging cannot appeal to children in the final rules. The state is looking to lay out licensing and application fees for administrators next.

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