As psychedelic healing centers prepare to open in Colorado this spring, Denver has decided it will impose some local rules for the programs beyond the state’s requirements.
Under the city’s ordinance, which the City Council approved unanimously Monday, businesses interested in operating centers where people can take psychedelics under supervision will be required to apply for both city and state licenses.
“We, in Denver, led the way in cannabis legalization, and we also led in regulating it responsibly to ensure long-term success,” said Councilman Chris Hinds. “This is the same kind of thoughtful, risk-averse progress that allows natural medicine to be a sustainable part of our city’s future.”
The new rules come after Colorado voters in 2022 approved Proposition 122, directing the state to develop regulations for psychedelic-assisted therapies. The proposition also decriminalized possession, personal use, growing and sharing of five psychedelic substances: psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline.
In part, the city decided to develop its own local licensing program because there is potential for facilities to open that offer psychedelics to more than 60 people at once — as long as there are enough supervisors for them.
That could mean retreat centers, yoga studios or social clubs could offer the treatments.
“These could allow for healing centers that operate a little bit more like a social venue. That’s where we’ve identified potential community impacts and risks that we want to be able to mitigate through a local license,” said Abby Soisson with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses in a February committee meeting.
Psilocybin, which is still a federally-controlled drug, has long been used for unsanctioned therapy, but recently, it has become more mainstream as a treatment for major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Under state regulations and city zoning restrictions — including a 1,000-foot-buffer zone for schools and child care centers — spots where the healing centers can open will be sparse.
A map provided by city officials shows patches mostly along Interstate 25 and in northeast Denver where the programs can open. Some Front Range cities, like Boulder and Colorado Springs, have tweaked the state requirements to loosen or tighten requirements around where they can operate.
In February, state regulators began issuing licenses to individuals interested in opening psilocybin-related businesses, including some in Denver. Much like marijuana regulations, all individuals working in the centers will have to be licensed along with the overall business.
The city won’t impose any restrictions on hours of operation for the centers because those limitations could be dangerous, Soisson said.
“We wouldn’t want to force a business to make somebody leave the premises who may still be under the influence of natural medicine just because they have to close at a certain time,” she said.
The city will be able to investigate specific centers and impose “reasonable restrictions,” including hours restrictions, if there are “significant community, neighborhood concerns” around noise, traffic or safety.
The city’s applications will require a $100 fee and the licenses will cost another $100 annually.
Tasia Poinsatte, with the group Healing Advocacy Fund, said Denver is the only municipality to adopt a local licensing requirement so far but that she appreciates the city keeping the licensing fees as low as possible so the centers can be more accessible.
“We’re really excited,” she said. “There’s such an incredible range of different conditions that this can potentially benefit.”
Healing center participants are required to go to a preparation session and undergo a safety screening before the experience. The sessions must last at least three hours and can last up to five, depending on the dose given, Soisson said.
The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies is also set to adopt rules allowing for quicker sessions for “micro doses,” Soisson said.
Anyone who takes natural medicine at one of the centers must have a plan for how to get home afterward and aren’t allowed to drive. The centers can’t sell the medicines for off-site consumption.
While the city will require additional local licenses for healing centers, other facilities — like those used for cultivation, manufacturing and testing of the substances — will only be licensed by the state.
Like marijuana dispensaries, the healing centers will be limited from advertising outdoors in an effort to prevent kids and teens from using the substances. The state rules also prevent advertising that appeals to minors or “misappropriates Native American or Indigenous cultures.”
There will be an exemption from the city licenses for any clinical centers or members of a federally recognized tribe performing a religious ceremony.
The new ordinance will also repeal a 2019 voter-approved city initiative that decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms because the state law now makes it obsolete.
Reporter Tiney Ricciardi contributed to this story.