The Colorado Secretary of State's Office reported that it obtained over 225,000 signatures for the inclusion of Initiative 58 on the next ballot, representing more than 111 percent of the campaign's required signature target and thereby placing it on the November 8, 2022 voting session. The "Natural Medicine Health Act" proposes to broaden Colorado's mental health approach by allowing adults 21 and older to own, use, cultivate, and give psilocybin, ibogaine, and mescaline (excluding peyote-derived), DMT, and psilocin within a legal framework with no amount limit.
There would be no recreational sales component, which means that anyone selling them unauthorized would still be breaking the law. Adults would be permitted to share. The bill would allow licensed "healing centers" to provide psilocybin and psilocin for therapeutic use to people over 21 until June 2026. Following that, the advisory board formed in collaboration with the Department of Regulatory Agencies could vote to legalize the regulated use of DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline.
Furthermore, the Act would provide for sealing earlier conviction records for people who have served their time. The court will automatically clear the record if the district attorney does not object to the petition.
Kevin Matthews, a designated representative of the initiative, said, "These medicines hold such promise for people struggling with PTSD, depression, and other mental health challenges. As we deal with a growing mental health crisis in our state, we need new tools to help Coloradans heal, and these are research-backed therapies that can work even where other treatments have failed."
State Governor Jared Polis, for his part, recently confirmed that campaigners are seeking to get a drug policy reform on the ballot and that he personally supports the decriminalization of the substances. Polis just approved legislation legalizing MDMA prescriptions in Colorado if the federal government allows it. Aside from the recently added initiative to the November ballot, a separate signature-gathering campaign is underway: Initiative 61, led by Decriminalize Nature Colorado and launched in January 2022, intends to decriminalize psilocybin, psilocyn, DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline.
According to the legislation, adults 21 and older would be allowed to acquire, cultivate, and share these drugs. However, selling any of the psychedelics would be illegal.
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