EXCLUSIVE: Becoming Compliant In Today's Legal Psychedelics Markets With Allay Consulting

What can businesses and clients expect of the incoming psychedelic-assisted therapies (PAT) scenario? What are state regulations looking like from a for-profit perspective, and what does it take to provide safe, effective and regulations-compliant treatments?

Around these and other concerns, Benzinga spoke with Kim Stuck, founder and CEO of Allay Consulting and a true believer in plant medicines. The national compliance strategy and services provider was originally conceived for cultivation and manufacturing companies within the hemp and cannabis industries but has, as of 2020, expanded its efforts to clients working with psilocybin.

Stuck sees psilocybin as the game changer within the medical industry, accomplishing surprising things. “It was just a no-brainer: anything we believe is going to help the world and not harm it, we'll get behind.”

Current Markets & Cost-Benefit Math

The lawful scenarios nationwide for PAT to date are local: Oregon and Colorado are the first and second states, respectively, to have decriminalized “natural” substances, with some differences.

Oregon additionally legalized psilocybin within a therapeutic, supervised frame for interested clients without specific diagnosis. Safety measures include introductory and follow-up appointments and the presence of two therapists during administration in “a little more structured” way, Stuck says.

Meanwhile, Colorado's legislation to date relies more on harm reduction and trip-sitting services for consumer safety. This somewhat undefined “bonafide” support enables providers to share psychedelics with clients, which is allowed, “but they have to do it free of charge, and can’t advertise their services in any way.” They could potentially charge for trip-sitting if they find a way around the legislation.

Whereas in both states, although commercial sales are illegal, decriminalization has turned the black market into a gray market, making people feel less restricted selling their mushrooms -trouble likely, prison very unlikely.

From the legal business side, the psychedelics model is not a huge moneymaker: it doesn’t usually involve a huge amount of consumption, and there are licenses required for service centers and trained therapists accompanying during the long-lasting psychedelic trips. 

That said, many people seem to be realizing it might not actually be like a green rush like cannabis. Those who’d stick around, says Stuck, are either the people who really love the plant and want to do it anyway or those going for long-term success and “realizing it's not a get-rich-quick kind of thing.” 

Furthermore, these overhead company prices are passed to clients, and the final figures are showing high up the roof, leaving potential clients and patients out.

State governments could certainly cap prices, making it more accessible for those in need but also potentially inducing business owners out of the game as they might not be able to cover the business’ costs.

On the federal level, the VA or a government office could offer to pay for the services under insurance, once psychedelics are legalized. “It hasn't yet happened, but we're so early on in the process,” Stuck says. “We're not even sure how many people need it and where they would go, as many places aren't open yet. So it's hard to tell what the government's going to do, if the VA will ever cover anything like this or insurance will.” 

See Also: EXCLUSIVE: Reason For Hope On Veteran Group Efforts, Comments To FDA & 2023 Expectations

Next up - How To Become A Compliant Psychedelics Cultivator And Manufacturer Today, By Expert Cannabis Consultant 

Photo courtesy of Kim Stuck.