The Boulder City Council has approved new rules allowing businesses to establish “healing centers” where psilocybin can be consumed legally in supervised settings. The ordinance, passed on Jan. 9, also allows licensed cultivation facilities to grow and harvest psilocybin.
Councilmembers passed the ordinance as an emergency measure, meaning it took effect immediately, as the state is already accepting applications for licenses.
Healing centers, classified as “medical offices,” will be allowed by right in most mixed-use, business and downtown zones but are prohibited in low-density, single-family neighborhoods. In other residential areas, these facilities will require special review.
The rules stem from a 2022 Colorado ballot measure creating the Natural Medicine Health Act, which decriminalized psilocybin cultivation and personal use for adults over 21. Boulder, like other municipalities, can impose modest zoning restrictions but cannot prohibit healing centers outright.
Compared to some other jurisdictions, Boulder’s rules are relatively lenient. For instance, Colorado Springs is considering effectively banning such facilities. Parker, meanwhile, has restricted their operating hours. Boulder’s ordinance imposes no limits on hours of operation.
Councilmembers also waived the state’s 1,000-foot distance requirement from certain schools and childcare facilities. However, they narrowly approved a 500-foot setback from middle and high schools, citing concerns about recreational psilocybin use by kids.
“My hope is that we start slightly cautiously and then see how it goes,” Councilmember Tina Marquis said during a Dec. 19 city council meeting.
Likewise, Councilmember Mark Wallach said it would be challenging to impose stricter regulations later after healing centers are established.
“Our first responsibility is not to promote a particular business, it’s to protect kids,” Wallach said during the meeting.
Other councilmembers opposed the setbacks, arguing they lacked evidence and could drive up costs for healing centers.
“I would be most interested in decreasing the regulatory barriers that are going to increase the cost of services,” Councilmember Nicole Speer said. “I don’t think there’s going to be that many of these in our community anyway.”
Councilmember Taishya Adams said she wanted to be cautious about comparing the impacts of recreational use of psilocybin to regulated and supervised use at a healing center.
“I too care about children,” Adams said. “I want them to have parents and caregivers who are not having to deal with anxiety and PTSD.”
Colorado law prohibits the sale of psychedelic mushrooms to the general public. But healing centers can obtain mushrooms from licensed cultivation facilities where psilocybin can be grown and harvested. The ordinance classifies these facilities as “light manufacturing” in the zoning code, meaning cultivation facilities could only be located in industrial areas of the city, such as East Boulder.
The passage of the ballot measure came as psychedelics began entering mainstream psychiatry as potential treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. Indigenous people have long used psilocybin in spiritual and healing practices.
City officials said they plan to monitor for impacts of the healing centers in 2025 to determine if additional regulations are needed.