New Mexico makes psychedelic history

On April 7, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed SB 219 into law, making New Mexico the third state in the country to create a state-regulated psychedelic healing program and the first to do it through the state legislature rather than a voter initiative.

None of this would have happened in New Mexico without the on-the-ground advocates who have been working tirelessly for years to create this new state-regulated pathway to healing. On behalf of the Healing Advocacy Fund, I want to congratulate everyone who worked so hard to get this legislation passed and bring psychedelic healing to New Mexico.

Now the next phase begins! At HAF, our mission is to support the success of state psychedelic therapy programs, and we’re so excited to get to work in a new state. We’re already coordinating closely with New Mexico advocates so that our expertise and lessons learned from Oregon and Colorado can provide a strong launching pad for the program.

If you share our excitement about bringing the transformative potential of psychedelic healing to a new state, please consider making a contribution to HAF’s work.

This landmark new bill illuminates hopeful trends that speak to the strength of our movement today. First, it’s clear that state lawmakers in New Mexico (and likely lawmakers in other states) understand that psychedelic therapy is a promising new tool to address our nation’s mental health crisis, and they are ready to take action.

Second, it demonstrates that support for these kinds of programs continues to grow despite recent setbacks. I believe that with smart and strategic advocates on the ground, we are making real progress for the entire psychedelic field with the state-by-state strategy.

New Mexico’s program has some key differences from Oregon and Colorado. Regulators and a soon-to-be-appointed Medical Psilocybin Advisory Board are about to begin the crucial years-long process to create the rules and regulations that will support the program. As we have seen in Oregon and Colorado, how these rules are crafted and implemented can have tremendous downstream effects—beneficial and harmful—on providers, clients and communities. The Healing Advocacy Fund team will continue to be in conversation with those guiding the process in New Mexico, to ensure that the lessons we’ve learned over the past five years can be incorporated and applied into this new program.

Again, heartfelt congratulations to everyone who made this happen in New Mexico and beyond. Thank you for your dedication to expanding psychedelic healing to people who need it—it is making a real difference.

Taylor West
Executive Director