This story is part of The Trip, a CPR News series on Colorado’s new psychedelic movement. Read more here.
A Colorado House bill that would create an exception for psilocybin in the state’s drug classifications passed its first hearing Tuesday. The measure would only go into effect if the FDA approves synthetic psilocybin for medical use.
The panel voted to advance the trigger bill, officially titled FDA-approved Crystalline Polymorph Psilocybin Use, 12-1.
Currently, psilocybin is considered either a Class One or Class Two controlled substance under Colorado law. This bill would remove that classification for synthesized psilocybin, if a compound does get approved by the FDA.
Psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, was legalized by Colorado voters in 2022. But according to two of the bill's sponsors, Reps. Anthony Hartsook (R) and Health and Human Services Committee Chair Kyle Brown (D), this proposal only applies to a synthetic version of the drug for medical use.
“This bill is about a prescription level medication that's a derivative,” Hartsook said at the hearing. “You can think of how morphine is used, you can think of how ketamine is used.”
Hartsook said that the overall goal of the bill was to provide another tool for healthcare providers to use all across the state for people with PTSD and that treatment would take place in a controlled environment.
However, no one’s quite sure how far along the FDA is in approving synthetic psilocybin. The drug was given a “Breakthrough Therapy designation” which speeds up the development and review of drugs intended to treat a serious condition. That designation is based on preliminary clinical evidence that shows a drug may offer significant improvement over therapies that are already available.
“The FDA has a very strong and rigorous process that they need to go through in order to determine something to be safe and effective for the treatment of a particular disease,” Brown said during the hearing. “So in the event that the FDA goes through all of the science and thinks that this is the appropriate treatment, this bill will make sure that this particular drug is available through the treatment methodologies that we have approved in Colorado.”
If the bill passes — and the FDA does eventually give its approval — Compass Pathways, a biotech company that focuses on developing mental health treatments, will be the leading provider of synthesized psilocybin as they currently hold the patent.
Tess Butler, senior manager of advocacy and state government policy at Compass Pathways spoke at the hearing in support of the bill.
According to Butler, treatment-resistant depression, which her company hopes could be addressed by synthetic psilocybin, appears in approximately one third of patients being treated for major depressive disorder. In those cases, someone has tried at least two other medications with no improvement.
A single witness testified in opposition to the bill, raising concerns about the state of the industry. Jimmy Smrz pointed to financial risks taxpayers may face if a company has total monopoly over synthesized psilocybin.
“HB 25-1063 is going to cause problems to an already fragile financial model by giving a competitive advantage to one company, to Compass Pathways,” Smrz said. “The substantial portion of these licensing fees are going to come from local businesses and entrepreneurs who are now setting up and sinking costs into growing the magic mushrooms.”
The bill received only one “no” vote in the hearing.
GOP Rep. Brandi Bradley said that, as a healthcare worker, she still wants to see the statistical evidence that psilocybin is successful in treating depression and PTSD.
“I’ll be your biggest advocate, if you give me those numbers. This is why rushing through legislation makes me very anxious,” Bradley said.
The bill now goes to a vote of the entire House. If it passes that chamber, it will head to the Senate.
