Boulder opens three psilocybin healing centers
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Boulder has at least three psilocybin healing centers as Colorado begins licensing its first psychedelic therapy programs.
Why it matters: How Boulder, and Colorado as a state, navigates psychedelic therapy licensing could serve as a national model for a fledgling practice.
State of play: According to a report by Boulder Reporting Lab, the city of Boulder has at least three licensed psilocybin healing centers: Happy Rebel Healing, Chariot Psilocybin Healing Center and Psychedelic Growth.
- Boulder City Council approved rules in January allowing businesses to establish "healing centers" where psilocybin can be consumed legally in supervised settings.
- It's no surprise Boulder already has several facilities: Naropa University was a trailblazer in the field, and at one point had a Center for Psychedelic Studies and an undergraduate minor in psychedelics.
Context: Coloradans voted to legalize regulated access to psilocybin in 2022, and license applications for healing centers and facilitators opened last December.
- The federal government has warmed in recent years to the idea of using psychedelic drugs for medical treatment.
Yes, but: Psilocybin remains a Schedule I drug federally, making doing business with banks and other financial institutions tricky.
- The Denver Post reported last year that Colorado businesses were wary of reports out of Oregon, the only other state that allows psychedelic therapy, that costs have been prohibitive.
- Those expenses are reflected in prices for Boulder customers: Happy Rebel Healing charges about $2,800 for a session, Chariot charges $1,500-$3,000, and Psychedelic Growth charges $3,400 for its psilocybin sessions.
Threat level: Happy Rebel Healing told Boulder Reporting Lab that none of its patients have had negative incidents.
- Oregon logged fewer than 20 adverse reactions out of more than 3,000 sessions it studied this year.
What they're saying: "It feels guaranteed that when you start a new business, there's going to be a learning curve," Teresa Crossland, a psychotherapist and co-owner of Happy Rebel Healing, told Boulder Reporting Lab.
- "You're going to make mistakes, how could you not? But this business, the stakes feel a little high. You don't want to make mistakes that are going to harm a person or harm the movement."