Stepping Into the Work: A Note from Healing Advocacy Fund’s New Mexico Director of Strategic Support

On June 20, the Medical Psilocybin Act became law in New Mexico, inviting us to join Oregon and Colorado in exploring new frontiers of healing. This victory was made possible by years of work from advocates, lawmakers, healthcare providers, and community leaders. It is also just the beginning.

New Mexico’s approach to regulated psilocybin access is distinct. Our program is built as a medically integrated model, designed to support eventual insurance coverage for psychedelic therapy. Much more than in Oregon or Colorado, most critical program details are yet to be determined. These decisions will be shaped through an intensive rulemaking process over the next two years, and how we make those choices will define the kind of care system we build.

The law is different, and so is New Mexico.

We are a state shaped by deep cultural resilience and by the ongoing legacies of colonization. We have some of the highest rates of child poverty, police violence, substance use disorder, drug overdose deaths, and suicide in the country—and we also have some of the richest traditions of care, connection, and healing practices. These truths live side by side.

With the new law comes an opportunity to imagine a different kind of system, one that doesn’t replicate the harms of the past, but creates real space for healing. It’s an opportunity, and also a responsibility.

How we implement this program will matter. It will matter for those seeking safe, affordable access to care. It will matter for traditional practitioners and communities with long-standing relationships to plant medicines. It will matter for Indigenous people whose knowledge must be respected—not extracted. It will matter for people navigating trauma, addiction, and grief in a system that has not always made room for them.

The months ahead will lay the foundation for the system we build. Right now, the Department of Health is reviewing applicants for an advisory board, which will work closely with the agency to guide the rulemaking process and, ultimately, shape the statewide program. With this first step, the real work begins. 

Each additional step along the way will present choices that define what this program becomes. As the new Healing Advocacy Fund Director of Strategic Support in New Mexico, I am here to help steward this process with humility, curiosity, and care. With the benefit of Healing Advocacy Fund's experience in Oregon and Colorado, I’m looking forward to bringing the lessons learned from other state-regulated psychedelic programs to help inform a model that meets New Mexico’s unique needs and values. As a lifelong resident of New Mexico, I’m here to listen, to learn, and to help build something rooted in our shared commitments to safety, equity, and accessibility. 

Those values won’t always be in perfect alignment. There will be tensions and tradeoffs. But New Mexico is the kind of place where we can hold those complexities and make something meaningful. I’m hopeful for what’s ahead, and grateful to be in this work with you.

Denali Wilson is the New Mexico Director of Strategic Support for Healing Advocacy Fund, and the newest member of our staff. A lifelong resident of New Mexico, she is a lawyer and policy advocate based in her hometown of Las Cruces.