Colorado Psychedelics Program Primed for Launch

Colorado’s medicinal psilocybin program is set to launch soon after
officials said they have licensed and inspected a testing facility, which
was the last type of business required to properly run the program, Marijuana
Moment reports.

The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Natural Medicine Division (NMD) said
in an email Tuesday that officials are “excited to announce that the first
licensed testing facility is fully certified by the Department of Public
Health and Environment” (CDPHE).

Colorado voters approved the legalization of psychedelic mushrooms in 2022.
Under the proposal, people aged 21 or older can grow and share psychedelic
mushrooms, and the state is establishing regulated “healing centers” where
people will soon be able to make appointments to consume psilocybin in a
controlled environment.

In addition to the testing license, regulators have also approved five
separate healing center licenses, three cultivation licenses, and two
manufacturing licenses. Dozens more licenses are still pending.

“Now that the Colorado Department of Revenue has licensed cultivators,
manufacturers, healing centers, and testing facilities, CDPHE has certified
a testing facility, and the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies has
licensed facilitators, natural medicine can start to be transferred from a
cultivator or manufacturer to a lab for testing, then eventually to a
healing center where a facilitator can oversee administration.” — CDPHE
statement, via Marijuana Moment

The Colorado psychedelics program follows in the footsteps of Oregon, where
voters approved a medicinal psilocybin program in late 2020, and the
program launched in early 2023.