As Colorado becomes the second state to legalize psychedelic therapy this week, a clash is playing out in Colorado Springs, where conservative leaders are restricting the treatment over objections from some of the city’s 90,000 veterans, who have become flagbearers for psychedelic therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
Colorado residents voted to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the chemical compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, in a 2022 ballot measure, launching two years of rule making before it could be used to treat conditions such as depression and PTSD.
This week, companies and people will be able to apply for licenses to administer the mind-altering drug, though treatment will probably not be available for some months as applications are processed.
Colorado joined Oregon in legalizing psilocybin therapy, though the drug remains illegal in most other states and federally. Over the last year, a growing number of Oregon cities have voted to ban psilocybin. While Colorado metros cannot ban the treatment under state law, several conservative cities have worked to pre-emptively restrict what are known as “healing centers”.
At a city council meeting in Colorado Springs this month, members were set to vote on extending the state prohibition on healing centers from 1,000ft (305 meters) to 1 mile (1.6 km) from certain locations, such as schools. From the lectern, veterans implored them not to.
“We have an opportunity to support veterans, and it’s a really easy one to say ‘Yes’ to,” said Lane Belone, a special forces veteran who said he has benefited from his own psychedelic experiences. Belone argued that the restrictions in effect limit the number of centers and would mean longer waiting lists for the treatment.
Veterans have pulled in some conservative support for psychedelic therapy – managing to set it apart from other politically charged drug policies such as legalizing marijuana.
That distinction was made clear by the council member David Leinweber, who said at the council meeting that marijuana was “literally killing our kids” and that he supported greater access to psilocybin therapy.
Psilocybin is far more restricted in Colorado than marijuana, which the state legalized in 2014. Psilocybin is decriminalized but there will not be recreational dispensaries for the substance, which will be largely confined to licensed businesses and therapy sessions with licensed facilitators.
Patients will have to go through a risk assessment, preliminary meetings, then follow-up sessions and remain with a facilitator while under the drug’s influence. The psilocybin will also be tested, and the companies that grow them regulated by a state agency.
Still, allowing broader access to the treatment has not been easy for most of the city council members, including three who are veterans. Colorado Springs is home to several military installations, including the US air force academy, and local leaders have touted it as an ideal community for retired service members.
“I will never sit up here and criticize a veteran for wanting to find a medical treatment to fix or to help with the issues that they carry,” said Randy Helms, the council president, a veteran himself.
Still, he continued: “Do I think that it’s helpful to not just veterans but to individuals? Probably so. Do I think it still needs to be tested under strict requirements? Yes.”
The Colorado Springs city council passed the proposed restrictions.
Research has shown promise for psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA, also known as molly, in helping people with conditions such as alcoholism, depression and PTSD, but the scientific field remains in its relatively early stages.
The Food and Drug Administration has not approved psilocybin to treat mental health conditions and, in August, rejected the psychedelic MDMA to treat PTSD – a concern brought up by some Colorado Springs city council members. A number of clinical trials are still under way for both drugs.
Some researchers, advocacy groups and veterans worry that waiting on slow-moving bureaucracy – namely the FDA – carries risks as people continue to struggle with mental illnesses. Advocates argue that psychedelic therapy offers an option to those for whom talk therapy alone and antidepressants have not helped.
“This is a crisis that we are in, and this is a tool that we can add to our toolbox,” said Taylor West, executive director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, which advocates for psychedelic therapy.
Others expressed concern over moving too fast. “I’m very positive about the potential value, but I’m very concerned that we’ve gotten too far ahead of our skis,” said Jeffrey Lieberman, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, who’s been involved in studies of psychedelic drugs’ therapeutic efficacy.
The risks, said Lieberman, include customers being misled and paying out of pocket for expensive treatments. He also said there were cases where the drugs can exacerbate some extreme mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia.
In Oregon, where the treatments started in June 2023, costs can reach $2,000 for one session. Of the over 16,000 doses administered in the state, staff have only called 911 or taken a patient to the hospital five times.
Belone said he had carried his military experience long after leaving the special forces. It started when he first heard artillery sirens wailing in a US base in Iraq, his breath catching with fear for a few thudding moments.
That fear kept him on edge when he returned stateside and found himself always keeping his back to the wall, looking for exits to the room he was in, never quite able to give himself fully to the music at a concert.
A psychedelic experience with psilocybin, said Belone, helped him connect the fear that attached to him in the war zone to the ceaseless anxiety at home. It didn’t solve everything overnight, he said, but it allowed him to better identify when that humming fear was getting in the way of a joyful life.
