COLORADO, USA — Colorado likely won’t see its first regulated psilocybin “healing center” for a couple of years, but the work on regulating them has just begun with the appointment of 15 experts to a Natural Medicine board.
Some of the board’s experts include therapists, a paramedic, psychologists who have worked with veterans, a sheriff and people who focus on disparities in access to health care.
Some of the board members are familiar with the use of natural medicines by Indigenous cultures.
A medical doctor based in Arizona has also been appointed to the board because she is the only federally licensed professional in the country allowed to conduct psilocybin studies using whole mushrooms during controlled trials.
The board will advise the state on what requirements healing centers and licensed facilitators should meet as people seek psilocybin therapy for mental health help.
The healing centers are expected to be places where people can use, distribute, buy and obtain growing supplies for psychedelic mushrooms.
The board is also expected to consider how to regulate psilocybin, as the psychedelic remains illegal under federal law as a Schedule I drug.
According to the Department of Regulatory Affairs, people seeking to open and operate “healing centers” should be able to start submitting applications for licensing by September 2024.
The 15 board members are:
- William Dunn, NRP, FP-C, of Avon, to serve as a representative of emergency medical services and services provided by first responders
- Billy Wynne, JD, of Greenwood Village, to serve as a representative of health care insurance and healthcare policy and public health, drug policy and harm reduction
- Sofia Chavez, PhD, of Lakewood, to serve as a representative of traditional and Indigenous use and religious use of natural medicine
- Bradley Conner, PhD, of Fort Collins, to serve as a representative of natural medicine therapy, medicine and research
- Wendy Buxton-Andrade of Lamar, to serve as a representative of levels and disparities in access to health care services among different communities
- Skippy Upton Mesirow of Aspen, to serve as a representative of permitted organization criteria
- Ernestine Gonzales, PhD, MA, MS, of Colorado Springs, to serve as a representative of health care insurance and health care policy, past criminal justice reform efforts in Colorado, and disparities in access to healthcare services among different communities
- Heather Lundy Nelson, MA, of Denver, to serve as a representative of mental health and behavioral health providers and disparities in access to health care services among different communities
- Dr. Suzanne Sisley of Scottsdale, Arizona, to serve as a representative of mycology and natural medicine cultivation
- Katina Banks, JD, of Denver, to serve as a representative of permitted organization criteria
- Ricardo Baca of Denver, to serve as a representative of traditional Indigenous use and public health, drug policy, and harm reduction
- Dr. Alisa Hannum to serve as a representative of mental and behavioral health providers and issues confronting veterans
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés, PhD, of Denver, to serve as a representative of traditional Indigenous use and religious use
- Joshua Goodwin, PhD, of Aurora, to serve as a representative of issues confronting veterans
- Sheriff David Lucero of Pueblo, to serve as a representative of past criminal justice reform in Colorado
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