Leading the Next Generation of Psychedelic Healing One State at a Time
As the psychedelic community looks to the future, Healing Advocacy Fund’s work to protect and expand facilitated psychedelic healing is more important now than ever. We believe that state-regulated psilocybin therapy is the best opportunity to continue safely and thoughtfully expanding access to psychedelic healing across the country.
In Oregon (now in its second year of psilocybin therapy) and in Colorado (where the program is set to launch in 2025), these programs offer a comprehensive approach to healing, guiding clients at every step through early assessment, preparation, the therapeutic experience itself, and essential post-treatment integration. Healing Advocacy Fund has been instrumental in ensuring that these programs not only meet the highest safety standards, but also remain as accessible as possible to those who need them most.
In Colorado, we are particularly excited about the newly finalized rules that represent the evolution of a strong regulatory framework, building on lessons being learned in Oregon. The Colorado program allows dual licensure for those already licensed to work in mental health and health care. It also includes scaled licenses for micro-healing centers and micro-cultivation businesses. These provisions will help smaller providers enter the field, in some cases by offering psilocybin therapy alongside existing mental health and wellness services, thereby broadening the reach of the program and integrating it more closely into the mental health system.
For a particularly good overview of the Colorado program, its thoughtful design, and HAF’s role in helping shape that design, don’t miss this thorough article from Vail Daily.
In the coming months and years, as new states come into the state-regulated psilocybin space, our staff’s deep policy knowledge, relationships, and regulatory expertise can help build and expand the next generation of safe, accessible models of psychedelic care. With your help, we are on the cusp of an exciting new period of healing. Thank you for your continued support in this work.
Taylor West
Executive Director
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
Gorge Psychedelic Mushroom Pioneer at Harvard
Heidi Venture, owner of Vital Reset in Hood River, was invited to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in early August to present at an unprecedented “bootcamp” at Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center, designed to inform, educate, and build skills in psychedelic law.
She served on a panel titled “States’ Experimentation and Regulation,” which explored how the regulated environment in Oregon is working and discussed the lack of acknowledgement of indigenous people’s contributions. Venture offered her perspective as the owner of a licensed service center, and shared details about the inner workings of the Oregon psilocybin therapy program.
Venture shared the stories of two of her service center’s clients: one seeking help for Complex PTSD and depression, and the other for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Both clients have seen positive results and credit those results to their psilocybin experiences.
Other speakers at the bootcamp included representatives from the FDA, DEA, research universities, Native American tribes, and investors in psychedelic drugs. Attendees included several Veterans Affairs staff advocating for veterans to access psilocybin services.
Vital Reset is a legal, licensed psilocybin service center in Hood River, Oregon, serving Oregon, Washington, California and beyond. Licensed facilitators at Vital Reset help clients prepare for psilocybin journeys that can be beneficial for people struggling with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, anxiety, traumatic brain injury, neurodivergence, and more.
> Learn More about Vital Reset
UPDATES
Oregon: Up to Date Numbers on Psilocybin Services Program Licensing
These numbers are updated on a weekly basis and are subject to change. Last updated Aug 19, 2024.
Colorado Healing Centers Survey
Are you interested in opening a healing center in Colorado? We want to hear from you! Your responses will inform our programming and advocacy to support healing centers becoming operational in Colorado. This information will also inform advocacy efforts to encourage supportive local zoning regulations.
> Complete the Survey
Leading with Safety: An Update on Psilocybin Therapy Rules in Colorado and Oregon
As Oregon moves through the second year of its program, and Colorado continues to build towards a program launch in 2025, the lessons we are learning are being shared across state lines, improving both programs.
Recently, the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) finalized rules and regulations for Colorado’s psychedelic therapy program. The new rules put critical safeguards in place for healing centers as well as the cultivation, manufacture, testing and secure storage of psilocybin mushrooms. Together with DORA’s previously adopted rules for facilitation and standards of care, Colorado has now completed the regulatory structure for the natural medicine program.
Throughout the rulemaking process, the Healing Advocacy Fund has advocated for rules that center safety and access: asking for increased facilitator training requirements in areas such as ethics and trauma-informed care; highlighting the need for required safety screens that will flag health concerns and triage clients to appropriate care; and advocating for the addition of micro-healing center and micro-cultivation license types to provide a pathway for small operators. We are pleased that the final rules for standards of practice in Colorado prioritize informed consent and require careful tracking of any adverse events.
The Department of Revenue (DOR) rules also include psilocin in the overall potency calculation, reflecting concerns raised by HAF in Oregon, which is not currently including psilocin in its dosing regimen. HAF also successfully advocated for DOR to allow healing centers at multi-use spaces in Colorado, including healthcare facilities and therapists’ offices, which will support the integration of psilocybin therapy more fully into the mental health system.
After working with stakeholders for months to develop these rules, we are grateful to DOR and DORA for thoughtfully and diligently working to create a strong foundation for Colorado’s psychedelic therapy program that puts safety at the forefront.
> Learn More about Colorado's Rules
In Oregon, the administrative rules governing psilocybin therapy have reopened and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is holding Rules Advisory Committees (RAC) to discuss new approaches. HAF Oregon Director Heidi Pendergast was appointed to the committee responsible for launching Oregon’s outcomes reporting effort in 2025 and is advocating for a range of safety improvements that will create a stronger program. These include: pushing for better safety measures like expanding the time window for service center reporting of adverse events to 72 hours after an administration session; advocating to have psilocin included in the overall potency calculation for mushroom products; and calling for more effective training program recommendations. HAF will continue to monitor Oregon’s rules updates with an eye towards safety and access.
RESOURCES
Certified Training Programs for Colorado Facilitators
Applications for Facilitator Training Programs opened last month in Colorado. Five programs are now approved to train future licensed psychedelic therapy facilitators:
● Elemental Psychedelics
● InnerTrek
● SoundMind Institute
● Changa Institute
● Naropa University Center for Psychedelic Studies
● Integrative Psychiatry Institute
We expect several additional programs to apply and receive approval in the coming weeks. Facilitator Training Programs need to be certified by DORA to graduate students who can then apply for a facilitator license in Colorado.
EVENTS
Breaking Down the Final Rules for Psychedelic Therapy in Colorado
Colorado has adopted final rules for its psychedelic therapy program, set to launch in early 2025. On September 10th, join HAF Colorado Director Tasia Poinsatte and HAF advisor Josh Kappel, of Vicente, LLP, for a breakdown of the rules. This session will provide important clarification for those hoping to participate in Colorado's groundbreaking model for legal psychedelic care. Come prepared with questions!
> Register for the Info Session
Self-Employment Training Series for Psychedelic Professionals
From the Psilocybin Facilitator Association:
Join PFA’s partner organization, the Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Association, for a new FREE educational series on how to navigate the financial, legal, and operational challenges of being self-employed within the psychedelic industry. This multiple part series is presented by leading experts in the field with direct knowledge of industry challenges within and out of Oregon.
This series is designed specifically for psychedelic facilitators, practitioners, coaches, guides, and caregivers. Learn essential skills and knowledge to make your business thrive and remain sustainable.
• Session 1, August 14, & Session 2, August 21: Accounting and navigating tax implications lead by industry expert Justin Botillier of Calyx CPA.
• Session 3, August 28: Key legal issues by Sean Clancy of Emerge Law Group.
• Session 4, September 11: Liability insurance and understanding policies and terminology by Todd Foster of Oath Insurance.
• Session 5, September 28: Differences between for-profit and nonprofit corporation structures and exploring nonprofit best-practices.
> Register for the Training Series
IN THE NEWS
Colorado Progresses Toward New Model of Mental Health Care as Regulations Gain Approval for Psychedelic Therapy
Vail Daily
Colorado’s Department of Revenue recently finalized rules and regulations for psychedelic-assisted therapy, clearing the way for providers to begin offering this new model of therapeutic care in 2025. The new rules provide requirements for businesses entering the field of psilocybin as healing centers, cultivators and manufacturers.
> Read the Full Article
Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Healing Centers are Coming to Colorado
KGNU
The Natural Medicine Health Act was passed by voters in 2022 giving Coloradans access to supervised psychedelic therapy using decriminalized psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms. Patients will now have the opportunity to seek this treatment at healing centers and under the guidance of licensed facilitators.
> Listen Here
Education About Psychedelics Will Help Colorado Program Succeed, Providers Say
Colorado Newsline
As Colorado prepares to issue psychedelic mushroom licenses, health care professionals who have watched the rulemaking process unfold say education will be key to the program’s success. Colorado’s voter-approved natural medicine program will allow licensed facilitators to conduct therapeutic sessions using psilocybin, the active ingredient found in mushrooms. While much of the process working toward implementation of the program has been similar to Colorado’s legalization of cannabis, the execution of the programs will look entirely different.
> Read the Full Article
Altered States Podcast: Episode 1, The Oregon Experiment
UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics
Psychedelics are now at the center of a global conversation about mental health, religious mysticism, and even how we experience life and death. In Altered States—a new podcast from PRX and the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics—host Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores the stories and debates about who should have access to psychedelics, who should profit from them, how they should be used, regulated, and experienced, and what they might offer to both individuals and society.
> Listen to the Episode
Colorado Sets Rules for Legal Psilocybin
Fox 31 Denver
Rules surrounding the use of psilocybin, or so-called "magic mushrooms," are now in place for Colorado. FOX31's Gabrielle Franklin reports on what the state will and will not allow.
> Watch the Full Story