Colorado Natural Medicine Health Act Overview
In recent years, Colorado has become a focal point of psychedelic policy reform. In May 2019, Denver became the first city in the nation to deprioritize the arrest and prosecution of adults engaging in the personal use of psilocybin. Three years later, in November 2022, Colorado voters approved Proposition 122, the Natural Medicine Health Act (“NMHA”). The law includes both a statewide decriminalization component and a framework for a regulated access system to psilocybin, and eventually other “natural medicines.” In May 2023, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 23-290 to implement the NMHA, and it took effect on July 1st, 2023.
The NMHA is organized into three parts. Part (1): regulation of facilitators by the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA); Part (2): regulation of licensed natural medicine businesses by the Department of Revenue (DOR); and Part (3): regulation of the personal use of natural medicine.
As applicable to the commercial regulatory program (i.e., excluding personal use), “natural medicine” currently refers to psilocybin and psilocin. Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and mescaline may be included in the regulated access model if recommended by the state licensing authority on or after June 1, 2026. Ibogaine may also eventually be included in the commercial access program if recommended by the State (there is no specific delayed date). Notably, the term natural medicine expressly does not include synthetic analogues derived from any of the substances mentioned.
Once the NMHA is implemented, adults 21 years of age and older will be permitted to purchase and consume natural medicines on-site at a state-licensed facility or “healing center” under the supervision of a licensed facilitator. Facilitators will be authorized to provide a “preparation session,” or a consultation between the participant and the facilitator before the medicine is administered; an “administration session,” when natural medicine is consumed by a participant under the supervision of a facilitator; and an “integration session,” a meeting between the participant and a facilitator that takes place after an administration session.
DORA is responsible for establishing rules regarding licenses, registrations, permits, certificates, and educational requirements governing facilitators (i.e., the individuals who will be responsible for supervising a participant’s use of natural medicine and providing related services). Whereas, the DOR is responsible for the oversight of licensed natural medicine businesses, including cultivation, manufacturing, testing facilities, and healing centers, as well as the regulation of the storage, distribution, transportation, and dispensing of natural medicines. While the timeline for the completion of rulemaking is not certain, beginning on or before December 31, 2024, both DORA and the DOR must begin their review of applications for new licenses.
The NMHA also includes a statewide decriminalization component. The law permits the personal use, possession, and sharing of natural medicines by adults twenty-one years of age and older, including allowances for personal cultivation. Adults are permitted to cultivate natural medicine on private property in an enclosed, locked, area which may not exceed 12 feet by 12 feet. Adults who fail to secure their medicine from persons under twenty-one years of age are subject to civil fines. There are no explicit possession limits on personal amounts of psilocybin, psilocin, ibogaine, mescaline, and DMT; however, the sale of any amount of natural medicine remains prohibited.
DORA released its first set of draft rules this month, and the DOR is likely to publish its first rulemaking notices by the spring. 2024 is going to be a critical year in implementing this novel legislation.
For more information on licensing and business opportunities in Colorado, please reach out to cbarnes@feldmanlegaladvisors.com