Denver hosts massive psychedelics conference
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The Psychedelic Science 2025 conference returns to Denver this week to celebrate a culture that's fully emerged from the shadows.
The big picture: Hosting the five-day event in Colorado, where adults can legally use psychedelics recreationally, is a chance to showcase a state that's "living" the kind of policy many advocates want to see, Ismail Lourido Ali tells us.
- Ali is interim co-executive director at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the conference organizer, which has long advocated for legalizing the use of psychedelics.
Why it matters: With psychedelics now firmly mainstream, the conference offers a chance to further legitimize the research, policies, treatment potential and culture behind these substances.
Catch up quick: Colorado started issuing licenses for healing centers and treatment providers for its psychedelic therapy programs this spring after years of planning.
- People 21 and older can use DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin and psilocin recreationally.
By the numbers: More than 7,000 people are expected to attend the event, which boasts 500-plus speakers on topics including therapy, ethics, safety and plant medicine.
Between the lines: While Colorado's industry is slowly growing, legalization efforts appear to be stalling outside the state.
- The FDA last year rejected using ecstasy as an option for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. And California and Massachusetts both saw similar bills legalizing medicinal psychedelic use fail.
- MAPS founder and president Rick Doblin told The Denver Post, "there's been a sobering" over the optimism about the substance's potential since the 2023 conference.
The intrigue: Ali tells us MAPS will host more than 20 state and federal lawmakers from both Colorado and across the country, including some who will participate in a tour of a licensed therapy center in Colorado.
- He says the effort aligns with the organization's role as "mindful stewards" of psychedelic use.
What they're saying: While psychedelics can be beneficial for personal, spiritual and mental health purposes, Ali tells us the organization wants to set realistic expectations.
- "We're not evangelists about psychedelics. We don't think everyone should do them," Ali tells us.
If you go: Psychedelic Science 2025 runs June 16-20 at the Colorado Convention Center.