In November 2022, Colorado voters passed a decriminalizing the cultivation and personal use of psilocybin for adults over 21. In the coming months, the state is expected to begin licensing 鈥渉ealing centers鈥� where people can legally consume psilocybin in a supervised setting.
But before these healing centers open, cities like Boulder can impose modest restrictions on when and where the centers operate as part of zoning codes. The Natural Medicine Health Act does not allow cities to prohibit healing centers entirely.
Boulder has now begun this process. In a to the Boulder City Council this week, city planners proposed zoning rules that would prohibit centers within 1,000 feet of residential areas. They would be classified as medical offices, similar to sites used by chiropractors or dentists, which are permitted in business, downtown and mixed-use zones. But unlike these offices, city planners proposed prohibiting healing centers in residential neighborhoods.
The memo does not identify any specific potential impacts from healing centers. However, the location restriction is based in part on not wanting to limit the hours of operation of these centers and also on wanting to 鈥渁void impacts of late operation鈥� on residential areas. The city wants to avoid 鈥渄ischarging patients who may not be ready to leave during typical office hours鈥� or curtailing 鈥渢raditional practices,鈥� according to the memo.
Tasia Poinsatte, the Colorado director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, an organization that helped pass the 2022 decriminalization ballot measure, said the organization supports the recommendation by city officials to not restrict the hours of operation for healing centers.
鈥淭his is an equity and also a safety consideration, since psychedelic experiences can occasionally last longer than expected depending on an individual鈥檚 metabolism,鈥� Poinsatte wrote in an email to Boulder Reporting Lab.
鈥淥n the other hand, we are concerned that the proposed residential setback may preclude existing mental health practitioners 鈥� the exact people we hope to become licensed psychedelic therapy providers 鈥� from integrating this modality of care into their current practice,鈥� she said.
The passage of the ballot measure came as psychedelics began entering mainstream psychiatry as for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. Indigenous groups have long used psilocybin in spiritual and healing practices.
Psychedelic-assisted therapy has already taken hold in Oregon, where voters in 2020 approved the regulated use of psilocybin like in Colorado. Styled as a sort of a boutique mushroom retreat, in Oregon provides a three-hour session starting at around $2,000.
The Colorado law prohibits the sale of psychedelic mushrooms to the general public. But healing centers can obtain mushrooms from licensed cultivation facilities where psilocybin can be grown and harvested. City officials proposed classifying these facilities as 鈥渓ight manufacturing鈥� in the zoning code, meaning cultivation facilities could only be located in industrial areas of the city, such as East Boulder.
City officials plan to gather feedback from the Boulder City Council on Thursday, Aug. 1. They are seeking to adopt a zoning ordinance for healing centers and cultivation sites in December.
John Herrick is a reporter with the Boulder Reporting Lab. His work frequently appears on-air at KUNC 91.5 FM and online at KUNC.org. Contact John at john@boulderreportinglab.org.