Psychedelics In Colorado: Gov Ratifies Bill, Report Shows No Increase In Public Health Harms

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) recently signed into law a measure creating a regulatory structure for the legal use of psychedelics, reported Marijuana Moment.

The bill, SB23-290 sets up regulations for the voter-approved Prop. 122 decriminalizing natural psychedelics and legalizing their use in licensed healing centers. See key points here.

The new law notes that the potential of psychedelics to treat mental health conditions and spiritual growth should be “appropriately balanced” with the potential health and safety risks to consumers and the potential cultural harms to indigenous communities.  

Legal Psychedelics And Public Impact

Meanwhile, the Frederick Research advocacy group recently published a report on psychedelics’ legalization and its impact on public safety and health.

The document takes preliminary data on personal possession of psychedelics and has found statewide legalization “is (so far) not a threat to public health or safety.”

Less than 3% of the state’s drug-related crimes have involved hallucinogens for the past three years, with no noticeable increase since legalization last November; and psychedelics make up less than 1% of hospital events -vs. alcohol’s 54.1%, opioids’ 10.8%, and cannabis’ 10.7%.

Potential discrepancies in reported crime following legalization were seemingly offset by looking into DUI offenses, which again showed no changes in those related to psychedelics (counting for 3.9% of total DUIs in 2022, and 2.44% in 2023 so far.)

The researchers came up with a new model bill (see draft) toward legalizing retail sales of psychedelics through a personal license, similar to a medical marijuana card, but for recreational use. With support from policymakers and voters, a legalization campaign would be bound for 2024-2025.

The report’s author Greg Ferenstein says Colorado’s experience is similar to the Netherlands, where largely unregulated retail sales and therapy services of psilocybin have been legal for years and represent less than 3% of ambulance calls and a small fraction of crimes.

The question, he says, is whether Colorado would be different from places where psychedelics are widely accessible. “So far, the state is no exception to the general trend of public health threats from legal psychedelics,” Ferenstein concluded.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Serrgey75, rybart and fizkes on Shutterstock.