A bill meant to help Colorado’s budding psychedelic medicine industry get off the ground faces a mountain of opposition.
The bill, Senate Bill 23-290, requires the Department of Revenue to create cash funds to support the industry and makes the Departments of Regulatory Agencies responsible for handling industry licensing.
But groups ranging from religious-use advocates to municipal lawmakers and lobbyists united on April 20 to ask Colorado lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee to amend several parts of the bill.
One issue that was raised during the hearing by religious use advocates and indigenous groups is that there aren’t enough guardrails to prevent people from profiteering off the culturally and spiritually significant medicine.
Angela Beers, who identified herself as an indigenous Mexican and instructor of psychology at Naropa University, told the committee that she had concerns about how legalization will impact farming communities in Texas and Mexico since some psychedelic medicines can’t grow in Colorado’s climate. She also expressed concerns about equity in the new industry since most of the advocates signed up to speak were white, she said.
“There aren’t many Brown and Black folk in this room, and we’re supposed to be talking about healing?” Beers said.
Other groups like the Colorado Municipal League also asked lawmakers to add language to the bill to expand the local control provisions contained in Proposition 122. Mollie Steinemann, a policy advocate with CML, said local governments should be able to determine whether treatment centers can operate within their jurisdiction.
Sen. Kyle Mullica (D-Thornton), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, argued that state lawmakers should stick close to the language of Proposition 122 given that voters approved it a little more than six months ago.
“If we want to respect the will of the voters, it did contemplate this in the ballot measure,” Mullica said. “Cities are allowed to implement some regulations, but they can’t do a total ban.”
Advocates with the Healing Advocacy Fund, a group that helped pass Proposition 122, also expressed concerns about SB-290. HAF Director Tasia Poinsatte said one of her concerns is that the bill inadvertently criminalizes the San Pedro cactus, a common houseplant that contains mescaline. This could create unintended consequences for small business owners, she said.
Poinsatte added that she is concerned about the bill removing protections for harm reduction services and it does not include funding for ceremonial services. However, Poinsatte also said she felt optimistic about getting new language added to the bill.
“All of this is critical to keeping people safe while using these medicines,” Poinsatte said. “We feel this language is integral to the measure and must be added back.”
Several individuals also spoke about the transformational impact that psychedelic medicine had on their lives.
Adam Casey, a military veteran from Wheat Ridge, said the medicines helped him recover from trauma he experienced in the Navy after he was unable to join the SEAL team. Casey said that event continued to impact his relationships with friends and family after he left the military, and eventually spiraled into a major depression.
After that, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. All before the age of 28.
Casey added that he tried psychedelic therapy in an “underground setting” for the first time after his diagnosis. Thereafter, he said he noticed a “night and day” difference in his outlook on life.
“I recognized absolutely beauty in forgiveness and forgiving myself for not being person I thought I should be,” Casey said. “I don’t advocate for open use, but I think this approach to opening new therapies is much more comfortable and safer than going underground.”
