Colorado senators approved a bill to establish a regulatory framework under an initiative that was passed by voters.
In a 5-2 vote, the Senate Finance Committee approved the bill from Senate President Steve Fenberg, with some amendments, on Thursday. It was then sent to the Appropriations Committee.
The bill aims to establish regulations for the psychedelics law voters approved at the ballot box last year. It focuses primarily on the rules for the use of the substances in licensed centers under the supervision of facilitators. has received mixed feedback from stakeholders and advocates to date, including in the hours of testimony given at Thursday’s public hearing.
In the ballot measure it was proposed that a regulatory advisory board be created to make recommendations for more comprehensive legislation to cover such access . However, as the process continues the Senate President filed a separate law this week to set rules.
The bill aims to establish policies for “healing centres” where adults over 21 could receive psychedelic treatments, tighten rules on cultivation, and set up licensing requirements. It also outlines state agency regulatory duties and penalties for unapproved activities.
The members of the committee approved two amendments at a Thursday hearing. The first amendment clarifies that federally recognized American Tribes are involved in various provisions of the bill. This includes a section establishing an Indigenous Working Group.
The second amendment addresses a substantive concern. It removes language that originally prohibited people from being paid for performing “a bona fide spiritual, culturally-traditional, or religious ceremony” using psychedelics.
Some people viewed the lack of protections for remunerations as being exclusionary and setting up the state to have a psychedelics-based corporate model, where only those with facilitator licenses would be able to financially benefit from this law.
The amendment also clarified that living plants can be displayed, grown and owned for “ornamental” purposes. According to the sponsor, this is an important revision in order to prevent people from being inadvertently criminalized because they have a “cactus on their window.”
The amendment also made a number other technical changes.
Fenberg explained that “as is often the case, after a proposition has been passed, we visit the people who are implementing it in January, and we learn that some things need to be done through the legislative process before it can actually become law.”
The senator said, “The North Star of this 80+ page bill…has been to implement what the voters wanted, to respect the law that was passed by the voters at the ballot box, to provide consumer protection, and do it in a safe, successful way, while also ensuring that we do everything in line with what Proposition 122 aimed to achieve.”
Fenberg acknowledged that “there are competing interests and viewpoints on this topic” and that various provisions are causing concern among stakeholders. He said that “we do not want to be overly commercialized, and commodify something that is sacred and important for Indigenous culture that others do not understand and could potentially have negative effects on those communities.”
The bill as amended contains the following key elements:
The bill would continue the policy that was approved by voters in the ballot measure, which allows adults over 21 to possess psilocybin (and other drugs such as ibogaine), mescaline, DMT, and psilocyn without restriction.
A $100 fine would be imposed on anyone who is caught using psychedelics in public or underage.
Adults would only be allowed to grow natural psychedelics in a private home, within an enclosed area that was not larger than 12 by 12 feet. This is unless the locality has a policy that allows for larger grows. A $1,000 fine would be imposed on anyone who cultivates beyond the limits.
People with previous convictions for psychedelic activities would be eligible for sealing their records.
The Department of Revenue’s new Division of Natural Medicine would be responsible for regulating therapeutic programs and issuing licenses to cultivators, manufacturers and testing facilities, as well as healing centers. This is a difference to the original initiative which gave the primary responsibilities of the Department of Regulatory Agencies.
DORA would create a federally recognized American Tribes and Indigenous Community Working Group, which was not included in the ballot initiative. This group will identify and address any unintended effects of the reform.
The law clarifies that the use of synthetic psychedelics is not allowed. Possession of psychedelics containing “hazardous substances” such as solvents is a Class 2 crime.
The bill allows for the addition of additional psychedelics to healing centers. Initially, only psilocybin or psilocyn can be used at these facilities. The bill is different from the ballot measure because regulators can authorize supervised use at healing centers at any time. They don’t have to wait until June 1, 2026 as they would for DMT and mescaline.
Four categories of licenses would exist: Healing centers, cultivation sites, product manufacturers, and testing facilities.
The bill retains the provisions of the ballot measure to prevent localities from prohibiting healing centers. However, it says that they can enact regulations governing when, where and how they operate.
The date by which regulators must begin accepting and reviewing applications for licenses will be moved from September 30th, 2024 to December 31st, 2024.
In a partial solution to the federal 280E provisions, licensed psychedelic businesses can deduct their expenses from state taxes.
Marijuana Moment tracks more than 1,000 cannabis and drug policy bills that have been introduced in state legislatures, and Congress. Patreon supporters who pledge at least $25/month gain access to our interactive charts, maps and hearing calendar.
Discover more about our marijuana bills tracker. Become a Patreon supporter to gain access.
—
After the testimony, the sponsor stated that he expects to file additional amendments once the bill is brought up for second reading in order to reflect some of the “good arguments” raised at the Hearing.
The findings section of the bill notes that, “although natural medicine may have tremendous potential for treating mental health conditions, healing and spiritual growth, it must be balanced against the potential health and safety hazards that it might pose to consumers, as well as cultural harms that it might cause to indigenous and traditional groups that are connected to natural medicine.”
It states that “considerable harm could occur to indigenous peoples, communities, cultures and religions, if natural medicines are overly commodified and commercialized in a way that erases important cultural and religious context.”
The deadline for passing the bill through the legislature is in two weeks.
Early reactions to the bill have been mixed. Some supporters of the basic framework are in favor, while others oppose it because they believe that the regulations are excessive.
Fenberg argued that the bill did not recriminalize activities that were decriminalized by Proposition 122, although he admitted that “there are people who feel that it does.”
He said, “I’m looking forward to hearing specifics about the bill and what is making people feel this way. We can then address that.”
The Senate President said that he feels “we have struck the right balance” with the implementation legislation.
He said, “I believe we are implementing 122 in its spirit.” “I believe we are doing it in a reasonable way to protect consumers and provide clarity for people–not only for regular citizens, but also for the law enforcement and regulators on this journey.”
Washington State’s Bill to Protect Job Applicants from Anti-Marijuana Discrimination is headed for the Governor’s desk
The article Colorado Senators approve Psychedelics Regulating Bill with Amendments in Committee first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
