In this article
- What the Law Actually Does
- What’s Legal Right Now (2025–June 2026)
- The Licensing System
- What Changes After June 1, 2026
- Personal Use and Decriminalization
- Common Misconceptions
- Local Implementation: What It Looks Like in Practice
- How This Connects to Existing Mental Health Treatment
- Frequently Asked Questions About the Law
- Getting Started
- Related Reading
When Colorado voters passed Proposition 122 in November 2022, Colorado became the second state in the nation to create a regulated pathway for therapeutic psilocybin use. The Natural Medicine Health Act didn’t just decriminalize psilocybin — it established an entire regulatory framework for how these services would be provided, by whom, and under what conditions.
But the law is complex, and misinformation is common. If you’re a Colorado resident considering psilocybin-assisted therapy — or simply trying to understand what the law actually allows — this guide breaks down what you need to know.
What the Law Actually Does
The Natural Medicine Health Act created a regulated system for the supervised therapeutic use of psilocybin and psilocin. The key word is supervised. This is not retail legalization. You cannot walk into a store and buy psilocybin products. The entire model is built around in-person therapeutic experiences at licensed healing centers with trained, licensed facilitators.
The law established the Department of Natural Medicine within the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to oversee licensing, regulation, and enforcement.
What’s Legal Right Now (2025–June 2026)
During this initial phase, “natural medicine” under the act refers exclusively to psilocybin and psilocin — the active compounds found in certain species of mushrooms.
Legal under the regulated framework: Administration of psilocybin by a state-licensed facilitator in a state-licensed healing center, preceded by preparation and followed by integration. Adults 21 and older who pass a safety screening may participate. There is no requirement for a clinical diagnosis — people pursue these services for depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use challenges, end-of-life distress, grief, personal growth, and other reasons.
Not legal: Retail sale of psilocybin products, take-home doses, online sales, unlicensed facilitation, and facilitation outside of licensed healing centers. Personal possession of small amounts has been decriminalized, but the therapeutic framework is the only legal pathway for supervised psilocybin services.
The Licensing System
Colorado’s approach prioritizes safety through a rigorous licensing system:
Facilitators are individuals licensed to administer psilocybin and provide preparation and integration support. They complete approved training programs that cover pharmacology, contraindications, therapeutic techniques, ethics, safety protocols, and cultural competency. Facilitators are licensed through DORA, and you can verify any facilitator’s license through DORA’s online lookup tool.
Clinical facilitators meet the same requirements as facilitators plus additional qualifications to work with participants who have identified mental health conditions. If you’re pursuing psilocybin therapy specifically to address depression, anxiety, PTSD, or another clinical concern, working with a clinical facilitator is recommended.
Healing centers are the licensed physical locations where administration sessions take place. These must meet specific requirements for safety, privacy, staffing, and emergency preparedness. Healing centers are inspected and licensed by the state.
What Changes After June 1, 2026
The law includes a built-in expansion provision. After June 1, 2026, the Department of Natural Medicine has the authority to add other natural medicine substances to the regulated framework. The substances specifically identified in the law include:
DMT (dimethyltryptamine) — a powerful, short-acting psychedelic found in various plants and produced naturally in the human body. DMT experiences are typically much shorter than psilocybin (15–45 minutes when smoked or vaporized, longer with ayahuasca).
Ibogaine — derived from the African iboga plant, ibogaine has shown particular promise for treating substance use disorders, especially opioid dependence. It produces a long experience (12–24 hours) and requires careful medical screening due to cardiac risks.
Mescaline (excluding peyote) — the active compound in San Pedro and Peruvian torch cacti. The exclusion of peyote reflects respect for its sacred role in Native American religious practice.
Whether and when these substances are added will depend on the Department’s rulemaking process, available research, safety considerations, and public input. The expansion is not automatic — it requires affirmative action by the Department.
Personal Use and Decriminalization
Separate from the regulated therapeutic framework, the Natural Medicine Health Act also decriminalized personal possession, use, and cultivation of natural medicine for adults 21 and older. This means that possessing small amounts of psilocybin mushrooms for personal use is not a criminal offense in Colorado.
However, this decriminalization does not create a legal market. There are no licensed retail outlets, and selling psilocybin outside the regulated framework remains illegal. The distinction matters: you can legally possess, but you cannot legally buy or sell outside the therapeutic system.
Common Misconceptions
“Psilocybin is fully legal in Colorado.” Not exactly. It’s decriminalized for personal possession and legal within the regulated therapeutic framework. There is no legal retail market.
“Anyone can offer psilocybin therapy.” No. Only state-licensed facilitators may administer psilocybin in state-licensed healing centers. Unlicensed facilitation is illegal.
“You need a prescription or diagnosis.” No. The regulated framework does not require a prescription, referral, or clinical diagnosis. You do need to pass a safety screening.
“Insurance covers it.” Not currently. Psilocybin-assisted therapy is an out-of-pocket expense. A complete treatment package — including preparation, administration, and integration — is $2,500 at FRTC.
“It’s the same as recreational use.” The therapeutic model is fundamentally different from recreational use. It involves extensive preparation, a structured administration session, and integration — a clinical framework designed to maximize safety and therapeutic benefit.
Local Implementation: What It Looks Like in Practice
Understanding the law is one thing. Knowing what the experience actually looks like is another. In practice, engaging with Colorado’s regulated psilocybin framework involves several concrete steps.
You start by finding a licensed facilitator and scheduling a consultation. During the consultation, the facilitator will explain their approach, answer your questions, and begin evaluating whether psilocybin therapy is appropriate for you. If you both decide to proceed, you’ll schedule preparation sessions — typically one to three meetings where you’ll complete a thorough safety screening, discuss your goals, and prepare for the experience.
The administration session itself takes place in a licensed healing center. You arrive, settle in, ingest the state-regulated psilocybin product, and spend 4–6 hours in the experience with your facilitator present throughout. Afterward, you’ll have time to rest and orient before someone you’ve arranged drives you home.
Integration sessions follow — at least one is typically included, with more recommended. This is where you work with your facilitator to make sense of the experience and connect it to your life. The entire process, from first consultation to final integration session, usually spans several weeks.
How This Connects to Existing Mental Health Treatment
The Natural Medicine Health Act doesn’t exist in a vacuum. For many people, psilocybin-assisted therapy is most effective as part of a broader treatment approach that includes evidence-based modalities like DBT or CBT.
If you’re currently working with a therapist on depression, anxiety, trauma, or other concerns, psilocybin-assisted therapy can deepen and accelerate that work — not replace it. The skills you build in therapy become tools for navigating the psilocybin experience and integrating what it reveals.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Law
Can I grow my own psilocybin mushrooms? The decriminalization provision covers personal cultivation by adults 21 and older. However, you cannot sell what you grow, and using homegrown mushrooms outside the regulated therapeutic framework means you’re operating without the safety infrastructure — screening, professional facilitation, medical oversight — that the therapeutic model provides.
Can I bring psilocybin products from another state? Transporting controlled substances across state lines remains a federal offense regardless of state-level legalization. The regulated framework provides state-tested, quality-controlled products within licensed healing centers.
What about microdosing? The Natural Medicine Health Act’s regulated framework is designed around full therapeutic doses administered in supervised settings. Microdosing — taking sub-perceptual doses for daily functioning — is not part of the regulated model, though it falls under the decriminalization umbrella for personal use.
How is this different from Oregon’s program? Oregon was the first state to create a regulated psilocybin services framework (Measure 109, 2020). While the models share similarities — both require trained facilitators and designated service centers — Colorado’s framework includes the expansion provision for additional substances and the separate decriminalization component for personal use. Oregon’s model covers only psilocybin and does not include decriminalization.
Will employers still test for psilocybin? The Natural Medicine Health Act does not prevent employers from maintaining drug-free workplace policies. Whether your employer tests for psilocybin and how they handle positive results is a matter of company policy, not state law. Federal employees and workers in safety-sensitive positions subject to DOT regulations face additional restrictions.
Getting Started
If you’re considering psilocybin-assisted therapy in Colorado:
Verify your facilitator’s license. Use DORA’s online lookup tool. If someone is offering psilocybin facilitation without a state license, that’s a red flag.
Ask questions during your consultation. A responsible facilitator will welcome questions about their training, their screening process, their approach to preparation and integration, and how they handle difficult experiences.
Talk to your existing providers. If you have a therapist, psychiatrist, or prescriber, coordinate with them. This is especially important if you take medications that may interact with psilocybin.
Understand what you’re signing up for. Psilocybin-assisted therapy is not a quick fix. It’s a three-phase process that requires your active participation in preparation and integration.
FRTC offers psilocybin-assisted therapy as part of our natural medicine services in Denver, Colorado. All services are provided by a state-licensed facilitator in compliance with the Natural Medicine Health Act. Contact us to learn more or call (720) 390-6932.
Related Reading
Psilocybin-assisted therapy in Colorado
FRTC programs related to this article.
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