Colorado stands poised to become the second state implementing a regulated psychedelic mushroom program after voters approved natural psychedelics in 2022. State regulators now issue licenses for healing centers that are expected to open doors in late spring or early summer. 

Medical professionals see potential benefits for certain mental health conditions, though significant questions remain about implementation, accessibility, and costs. Colorado follows Oregon, which began a similar program two years ago, creating an unprecedented experiment in psychedelic medicine regulation.

How Colorado Said ‘Yes’ to Mushrooms

Colorado voters made a pivotal decision in 2022 when they narrowly approved Proposition 122, legalizing natural psychedelics for therapeutic use. Unlike cannabis, which rolled out through a retail model, psilocybin follows a medical framework centered around supervised administration at specialized facilities. During the past two years, the governor-appointed Natural Medicine Advisory Board developed comprehensive regulations determining everything from facilitator qualifications to safety protocols.

Applications now flood state offices, with at least 15 healing center licenses, nine cultivation licenses, four manufacturer licenses, and one testing facility under review. Like the cannabis legalization process, Colorado learned from Oregon, which implemented a comparable program in 2020, adapting the framework to fit local needs while avoiding pitfalls experienced elsewhere.

Significant federal questions linger since psilocybin remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, technically illegal except for approved research. However, more than a dozen cities nationwide have already deprioritized or decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms in the past five years, demonstrating shifting attitudes toward substances once solely associated with counterculture movements.

How Colorado Does Mushroom Medicine Its Own Way

Unlike cannabis available through retail outlets, psychedelic mushrooms require professional administration within a structured environment. Adults 21 and older may legally grow, consume, and share mushrooms privately, but supervised sessions follow strict protocols established by the regulatory framework. Colorado distinguishes itself by allowing integration of psilocybin into existing mental health practices through clinical facilitator licensing, creating a pathway for medical professionals to incorporate treatments into broader care plans.

Colorado also permits micro-healing centers to store limited amounts, potentially increasing accessibility compared to the Oregon model. Another key distinction involves explicit recognition of psychedelic mushrooms’ long history in Indigenous cultures, with legal provisions respecting spiritual, cultural, and religious ceremonial uses while acknowledging potential cultural harm from commercialization or exploitation.

Transparency regarding health risks appears central to the Colorado approach. Patients receive screening 24 hours before sessions for doses exceeding 2 milligrams, then participate in a several-hour consumption session, followed by an integration meeting to help process experiences. Unlike FDA-regulated pharmaceuticals, the state assumes direct oversight responsibility, usually handled by federal agencies, creating an unprecedented regulatory experiment.

Picking the Right Guide for Your Mushroom Experience

Colorado creates extensive requirements to ensure facilitators possess proper training and qualifications before administering psychedelics. Requirements include 150 hours of coursework and 80 hours of hands-on experience, a $420 training fee, and a $900 annual license. The total costs of facilitator preparation could exceed $10,000, creating a significant barrier to entry into the profession.

Licensed mental health counselor Amanda Clark expressed enthusiasm about the therapeutic potential while acknowledging that prohibitive costs prevented pursuing facilitator qualification personally. Other practitioners like Mandy Grace successfully obtained a state license, joining approximately 40 people gathered by the advocacy group Nowak Society in Boulder discussing implementation details earlier this year.

Medical experts emphasize the importance of proper facilitator training in handling mental health emergencies, performing adequate screening, obtaining informed consent, and conducting post-session monitoring. University of North Carolina psychiatry assistant professor William Smith highlighted the need for data collection from Colorado and Oregon to ensure safety across various administrative settings outside clinical research environments.

Can Everyone Afford This New Treatment Option?

Financial considerations loom large over implementation discussions. Oregon sessions typically cost between $1,000 and $3,000, paid entirely out-of-pocket since insurance companies exclude coverage. According to Tasia Poinsatte from the nonprofit Healing Advocacy Fund, which supports regulated psychedelic therapy programs, Colorado likely follows a similar pricing structure.

Raw mushrooms contribute minimally to overall costs, with expenses primarily covering facilitator time, support services, and regulatory fees. Healing centers face substantial startup expenses, including $3,000 to $6,000 for initial licensing, potentially limiting program accessibility despite potential medical benefits.

Some healing centers plan to offer sliding-scale payment options with discounts for veterans, Medicaid enrollees, and low-income patients attempting to address affordability concerns. Group sessions provide another potential cost-reduction strategy, though questions remain about effectiveness compared to individual treatment approaches.

Financial barriers mirror ongoing debates surrounding other mental health treatments, where promising interventions remain unavailable to many patients due to cost constraints. Unlike pharmaceutical approaches covered through insurance pathways, psychedelic therapy currently requires significant financial resources, limiting access primarily to affluent patients despite potential broader applications.

Brain Science or Just Buzz? A Look at Psychedelic Studies

Clinical research provides the foundation for therapeutic applications, with several studies demonstrating psilocybin’s potential to treat conditions, including treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. The Food and Drug Administration designated psilocybin a breakthrough therapy, expediting the development process. At the same time, late-stage clinical trials continue paving the way toward potential FDA approval separate from state-level programs.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse acknowledges that mental health risks remain relatively low within supervised clinical settings, though potentially higher outside controlled environments. Common adverse effects include headaches and nausea, typically resolving within days, though extended psychological difficulties occasionally persist with anxiety, fear, existential struggle, and dissociation reported as potential complications.

University of California-San Francisco associate professor Joshua Woolley observed that patients often experience profound shifts, allowing them to break entrenched patterns, become unstuck, and see situations from fresh perspectives. Such cognitive flexibility potentially explains therapeutic benefits for otherwise treatment-resistant conditions.

Research gaps remain significant according to experts, particularly regarding effectiveness compared to existing advanced treatments and safety profiles for individuals with psychotic or bipolar disorder diagnoses or family histories. The Colorado experiment provides an opportunity to gather real-world data addressing questions unanswerable within limited research contexts available under federal prohibition.

My Personal RX: Supporting Emotional Health Even Without Psychedelics

The growing conversation around psychedelics for mental health has sparked curiosity—and for some, even hope. But the reality is, not everyone will choose that path, and that’s okay. Emotional resilience doesn’t require a psychedelic journey. What we do all need are consistent, everyday tools to help us regulate stress, process emotions, and support our brain and body in natural, sustainable ways. Mental wellness is not a one-size-fits-all solution—it’s a daily practice built on intentional choices.

1. Support Your Gut-Brain Axis Naturally: Your emotional state is deeply connected to your gut health. MindBiotic is designed to nourish this connection by promoting microbial balance and reducing inflammation—two crucial factors in mood stability and mental clarity.
   
2. Nourish Your Brain with Every Bite: The Mindful Meals cookbook offers more than just recipes—it’s a toolkit for building a brain-friendly, gut-healing diet that supports emotional resilience. Each meal is a step toward balanced mood and long-term vitality.
   
3. Start and End Your Day with Rituals: Simple routines—like 5 minutes of morning stretching, a gratitude journal, or nighttime tea—signal safety to your nervous system and help regulate emotional highs and lows.
   
4. Spend Time in Nature: Time outdoors supports circadian rhythm, vitamin D production, and emotional reset. Just 15–20 minutes a day can lift your mood and clear mental fog.
   
5. Move Your Body, Release the Weight: Regular movement, whether walking, dancing, or yoga, helps process pent-up emotion and triggers feel-good neurotransmitters. Think of it as therapy in motion.
   
6. Create a Daily Space for Stillness: Mental wellness begins with the ability to pause and tune in. Calm the Chaos offers a guided meditation series designed to help you create intentional space for emotional regulation, clarity, and inner calm—especially on days when life feels overwhelming.
   
7. Set Healthy Mental Boundaries: Protect your energy. Limit exposure to news or social media when you’re already overwhelmed, and say no when you need rest—not guilt.
   
8. Talk It Out, Write It Down: Verbalizing emotions—or even writing them—can help reduce their grip on your mind. Journaling, therapy, or honest conversations are powerful tools for clarity.
   
9. Create Connection, Not Comparison: Human connection is a vital nutrient. Choose community over scrolling, and aim for deep, meaningful interactions that nourish your spirit.
   
10. Redefine What Healing Looks Like: You don’t have to go on a trip to find peace. Healing can be slow, subtle, and beautifully ordinary—and it often starts right where you are, with what you already have.

Sources: 

1. Hughes, S., Terpak, L., Capps, R., Peters, P., Lilly, N., & Rivard, D. (2025). Psilocybin mushroom stewardship: A qualitative inquiry into practices and priorities of “underground” psilocybin mushroom practitioners. Journal of Psychedelic Studies. https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2025.00375 
2. Schonholz, S. M., Appel, J. M., Bursztajn, H. J., Nair, M., & MacIntyre, M. R. (2024). Legal and ethics concerns of psilocybin as medicine. PubMed. https://doi.org/10.29158/jaapl.240089-24 
3. Marks, M. (2022). The varieties of psychedelic law. Neuropharmacology, 226, 109399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109399