An Overview of the Natural Medicine Health Act: Colorado’s Psychedelic Legalization & Decriminalization
On November 8th, 2022 Colorado yet again made drug policy history by passing Proposition 122. Also known as the Natural Medicine Health Act (NMHA), Amendment 58, and Article 170, this measure establishes hybrid legalization and decriminalization of certain Psychedelic Medicines within the State. Read the full text of the NMHA here.
To understand the measure, it is important to understand the difference between legalization and decriminalization. Legalization, by its nature, creates a regulatory framework around the commodification and use of a given substance; such as Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis. Decriminalization, on the other hand, is simply the removal of criminal penalties for the possession and personal use of a substance without establishing commercial services. The NMHA is an example of a policy that does both.
Under the NMHA personal use, possession, and growth of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, mescaline (excluding peyote), psilocybin and psilocin no longer carry the risk of fines or incarceration for persons 21 years of age or older. See §12-170-109 (2022). This is the Decriminalization aspect of the measure, it is already in effect.
The NMHA also establishes a “Regulated Natural Medicine Access Program” and a “Natural Medicine Advisory Board” under the existing Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). See §12-170-104 & §12-170-105. These entities will oversee the construction of a complete system by which people 21 and over will be able to receive preparation, administration, and integration sessions provided by licensed facilitators within officially sanctioned healing centers and other venues. This legalization aspect will not functionally go into effect until 2024. Retail stores dispensing psychedelics are not currently and will never be allowed under the NMHA. Please see the below timeline for the rollout of the various components of the NMHA.
NMHA Timeline
January 31, 2023: Appointment of the Natural Medicine Advisory Board.
January 1, 2024: Rules established for Facilitator qualifications, education, and training. Training program approval begins.
September 30, 2024: Healing Center rules adopted and applications for licensure begin to be accepted.
Until June 1, 2026: “Natural Medicine” only includes psilocybin and psilocin. After this date healing centers and facilitators may work with additional medicines only if recommended by the Natural Medicine Advisory Board.
What Are “Natural Medicines”?
In section §12-170-103(8) of the act, “Natural Medicine” is defined to include “DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE; IBOGAINE; MESCALINE (EXCLUDING LOPHOPHORA WILLIAMSII (“PEYOTE”)); PSILOCYBIN; OR PSILOCYN” (2022).
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a series of naturally occurring psychoactive substances found in a wide variety of both plant and animal species. Most often, the term colloquially refers to NN-DMT. This form of DMT is commonly found in plants such as Psychotria viridis, the species most often used in traditional Ayahuasca brews. Other forms of DMT do exist; such as the 5-MeO-DMT found in the Bufo alvarius toad, the synthetically derived 4-AcO-DMT, and the rare 5-Br-DMT found in certain sea sponge species. Interestingly, nowhere in the NMHA does it specify the form of DMT being referred to.
Ibogaine “is a psychoactive alkaloid naturally occurring in the West African shrub iboga” that has been used ceremonially by practitioners of the Bwiti religion and studied by MAPS for its demonstrated utility in the treatment of opioid addiction. It has an especially long peak duration of between 18 and 36 hours (2022).
Mescaline is unique among this list in that it is the only substance belonging to the category of Phenethylamines. Though other species containing the psychoactive do exist, Mescaline is most commonly sourced from two species of cactus; San Pedro (Echinopsis pachanoi) of the Andes Mountain region and Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) of the Southern United States. It’s use in these regions can be traced back at least 5,000 years (Abbot, 2019). BPeyote itself was excluded from the NMHA because of its preexisting designation as both a federally protected sacrament of the Native American Church and a threatened species.
Psilocybin and Psilocin are naturally occurring psychedelic compounds found in certain species of mushrooms, commonly known as "magic mushrooms." These compounds are chemically similar to serotonin.. Recent research has suggested that these compounds have therapeutic potential for a range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
What Does This Mean for the Practitioner's Path?
Rules for Facilitator qualifications, education, and training will not be fully defined and adopted until January 1st, 2024, however, the language of the measure reveals some basic features of the framework to be constructed.
Facilitator Licenses will not require a professional degree to obtain but will be tiered to reflect varying levels of training and competency.
Certain training requirements may be waived based on previous relevant experience.
There shall be no unreasonable financial obstacles to licensure as a facilitator.
Group administration sessions will be allowed.
There will be professional oversight and supervision including continuing education, complaint, review, and disciplinary procedures for facilitators.
Please see §12-170-104 for detailed information on the Regulated Natural Medicine Access Program.
References & Resources
NATURAL MEDICINE HEALTH ACT of 2022. § 170 et seq. (2022). https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/initiatives/2021-2022%2520%252358.pdf
EROWID: Documenting the Complex Relationships Between Humans & Psychoactives (1995-2020). Retrieved: December 2022. https://erowid.org/psychoactives/psychoactives.shtml
Ibogaine. MAPS (1986-2022). Retrieved: December 2022. https://maps.org/ibogaine/
Shulgin, A & A. (1991). PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story https://erowid.org/library/books_online/pihkal/pihkal096.shtml
Abbot, A. (2019) Altered minds: mescaline’s complicated history. Nature.com. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01571-2