Everything You Need to Know About Colorado’s Proposition 122
In what is undoubtedly a monumental victory for advocates, Colorado voters approved Proposition 122 in last Tuesday’s elections. Proposition 122 decriminalized five psychedelic substances and will enable adults 21 and over to use them at licensed “healing centers” in Colorado. Nearly 53% of Colorado voters voted in favor of the measure.
Proposition 122 specifically decriminalized the personal use, possession, growth, and transport, for adults 21 years of age and older, of the following hallucinogenic or entheogenic plants and fungi, which were previously classified as Schedule I substances and are now instead defined as natural medicines in Colorado: dimethyltryptamine (DMT); ibogaine; mescaline (excluding peyote); psilocybin; and psilocyn. Proposition 122 was also designed to create a natural medicine services program for the supervised administration of such substances; create a framework for regulating the growth, distribution, and sale of such substances to permitted entities; and create an advisory board to promulgate rules and implement the regulated access program. Proposition 122 does not provide for the retail sale of psychedelic plants and fungi.
Specifically, the initiative was designed to create the Regulated Natural Medicine Access Program for licensing healing centers to administer natural medicine services under the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (“DORA” or the “Department”). The initiative also created the Natural Medicine Advisory Board within the DORA to advise the Department on implementing the Regulated Natural Medicine Access Program in accordance with specified rules and timelines. Governor Jared Polis has until January 31, 2023, to appoint 15 members to the Natural Medicine Advisory Board. Under the program, individuals 21 and older can receive natural medicine services provided by a licensed healing center under the supervision of a facilitator. The natural medicine services were designed to include a preparation session, administration session, and integration session.
The Natural Medicine Advisory Board’s first recommendations are due by September 30, 2023, but the regulated access program will launch in late 2024 and will initially be limited to psilocybin. However, if recommended by the Natural Medicine Advisory Board, the program could expand to include DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline by June 2026. Further, Proposition 122 requires that the state issue rules for drug testing standards, license requirements, and health and safety warnings by January 1, 2024, and that the state begin accepting applications for licensed facilities to administer psilocybin by September 30, 2024.
Although Proposition 122 is not without its critics, the measure ultimately passed and signifies a huge step forward for advocates of psychedelic treatments. Passage of the measure comes as more and more scientific research shows the significant mental health benefits of psychedelic treatments. Coalition Director for Natural Medicine Colorado, Kevin Matthews, expressed that Colorado is often ranked as one of the states with the poorest mental health and that there is a need for more mental health treatment options. As such, “[t]he intent was to make these medicines accessible to as many people in Colorado who could possibly benefit, and especially for those who are suffering from things like major depression, extreme anxiety, PTSD, end-of-life distress, and other ailments.” Matthews believes that people should at least have the option of working with these natural medicines and now, thanks to the majority of Colorado voters, they will.
