Psilocybin and Natural Medicine Support Services

With the historic victory and an important step in the psychedelic reclamation, in November 2022, Colorado voters passed Proposition 122, aka the Natural Medicine Health Act (NMHA,), This effectively and immediately legalized the personal use, possession, growing , transport, and uncompensated sharing of psilocybin mushrooms, psilocin, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline (Hauchuma, aka San Pedro, but not peyote), and ibogaine for individuals aged 21 and older. 

​

The passage of the NMHA allows Entheos Aspen to legally offer support services to individuals and groups engaged in the use of psilocybin mushrooms and other natural medicines under the personal use provision of the NMHA. Entheos Aspen only works with individuals who choose to take these medicines within the context of intentional use for the purposes of healing and personal or spiritual growth. These services include preparation and integration coaching, guidance, bona fide support services, and bona fide harm reduction services. 

​

We also offer these same bona fide services to groups that wish to utilize these healing natural medicines collectively, in a retreat setting.

​

Under the NMHA, Entheos Aspen is not able to sell psilocybin or any other natural medicines, nor can we recommend that you use them. The sale of these natural medicines is strictly prohibited per the NMHA.

​

The NMHA included two parts, the personal use provision discussed above and a seperate state regulated access model which will allow licensed psilocybin healing centers to operate in Colorado where individuals can have a psilocybin session and work with a licensed facilitator. A state appointed board is still working on the requirements of those regulations and they are anticipated to be finalized later in 2024 and will hopefully go into effect in 2025, after which point psilocybin-assisted therapy will be legally available in our state  Entheos Aspen has the intention to become a licensed healing center and is confident that the training program hours completed already exceed the standards and requirements for the Colorado facilitator licensure.

 

Psilocybin Current Research and Historical Use

​

Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research was the first institution in the United States to receive regulatory approval to research psilocybin and psilocin, the active ingredients in psychedelic mushrooms, in 2000. Their landmark study in 2006 showing the benefit and safety of psilocybin has been credited with spurring worldwide interest in psychedelic research. Since that time, they have published 150 peer-reviewed studies in scientific journals and are the leading psychedelic researchers in the US. They have studied the use of psilocybin in conditions such as major depressive disorder (MDD), existential distress related to life-threatening illness, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), substance use disorders, eating disorders, and other challenging conditions, as well as use in healthy volunteers.

 

Some key findings:

• 2020 publication of the first randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of psilocybin for major depressive disorder showed that 71% of participants had a clinically significant response and 51% of participants were in remission one month later. 

• 2016 publication on the palliative effects of psilocybin in cancer patients is the largest and most rigorous study to date showing that psilocybin provides large and sustained decreases in anxiety and depression in patients diagnosed with life-threatening cancer. 

• 2014 and 2017 publications on using psilocybin for smoking cessation demonstrated that 80% of participants were free of tobacco use 6 months after their session, as compared to less than 35% of participants who used the current medications that were considered most effective.

• 2006 and 2008 publications on administering a single high-dose psilocybin session to psychedelic naive participants found that 67% of participants rated the experience among the top 5 most meaningful experiences of their lives and led to positive changes in mood, behavior, and attitudes for 14 months or longer. Further, 64% of participants stated that the experience increased their life satisfaction and well-being.

​

Based on the outcome of Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated psilocybin a "breakthrough therapy" in 2019 for major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression. This means psilocybin may be a significant improvement over current FDA-approved therapies. Additionally, randomized controlled clinical trials and peer-reviewed medical literature suggest that psilocybin may improve symptoms of depression, anxiety, end-of-life distress, various forms of trauma, and problematic substance use. However, it is important to state that currently, this therapy is not yet FDA-approved and is still Schedule I at the federal level.

 

Other institutions investigating psilocybin include Heffter Research Institute, NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine, Usona Institute, Imperial College of London Centre for Psychedelic Research, Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine. 

 

However, before psilocybin mushrooms were ever being researched by well-respected academic institutions, they were being used for medicinal, ritual, and spiritual reasons for thousands of years. In fact, evidence of psychedelic mushroom use was found illustrated on a mural in Australia that Archeologists date back to 10,000 BCE. Indigenous cultures throughout the world have safely used psilocybin-containing mushrooms for ceremonial healing, as part of ancient and sacred traditions.

 

Psilocybin mushrooms have not only been used for healing illnesses but have also been used by healthy individuals in what has been referred to as the betterment of well people. Countless anecdotal reports and limited research has pointed to psilocybin being a powerful tool for self-improvement, increasing well-being, improving mood, overcoming patterns, gaining insight, problem-solving, enhancing creativity, optimizing potential, spiritual connection, and mystical or unity experiences. While it has been difficult to measure the evidence for these indications due to it being a Schedule I substance federally and the restrictions on research, that will hopefully change in the coming years. 

​