1. What the law is
Adults 21 and older in Colorado may possess, cultivate and share psilocybin for personal use. Voters set that in motion with Proposition 122 in November 2022, and SB 23-290 built the regulated system around it, effective July 1, 2023. State-licensed healing centers have been operating since June 2025.
Proposition 122, the Natural Medicine Health Act, covers five substances rather than one. Colorado voters passed it in November 2022, taking the criminal penalty off personal possession, use and cultivation of psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline, peyote excepted, for adults 21 and older. The regulated program it directed the state to build reaches only psilocybin and psilocin. Denver had decriminalized possession at city level in May 2019, ahead of the statewide vote.
The regulated side took longer than the vote. Colorado's Natural Medicine Division wrote the rules through 2024 and 2025, issued the first healing center license on March 31, 2025, and the first supervised psilocybin session followed on June 6. By July 31, 2026, 47 centers held licenses, 36 of them micro. The program is still moving: HB 26-1325 took effect on August 12, 2026, opening an ibogaine research pilot, and the division adopted an emergency fee schedule the same day.
2. Trials in Colorado
Interventional psilocybin trials with at least one site in Colorado, as their sponsors filed them with ClinicalTrials.gov, EU CTIS and ISRCTN. Each row links to the registry record, which sets out who may take part.
Recruiting or opening counts trials recruiting now, not yet recruiting, or enrolling by invitation. Closed counts trials terminated, suspended, withdrawn or left unverified by their sponsors.
| Registry ID | Trial | Phase | Sponsor | Status | Start date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07516405 | Safety and Tolerability Trial of Psilocybin in Healthy Older Adults (opens in new tab)Recruiting at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor University of Colorado, Denver | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06512194 | Investigation to Understand and Optimize Psilocybin (opens in new tab)Recruiting at Vail Health Behavioral Health, Edwards | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor Charles Raison | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06430541 | Study of Psilocybin Assisted Psychotherapy to Address Fear of Recurrence (opens in new tab)Recruiting at two sites in Aurora | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor University of Colorado, Denver | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT05398484 | Psilocybin Therapy in Advanced Cancer (opens in new tab)Recruiting at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical campus (CU AMC), Aurora | Phase Phase 2/3 | Sponsor NYU Langone Health | Status Recruiting | Start date |
| NCT07719088 | Psilocybin Effects on Healthy Aging Biomarkers and Purpose in Life (opens in new tab)Site at Vail Health Behavioral Health, Edwards | Phase Phase 1 | Sponsor Charles Raison | Status Not yet recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06605105 | Phase III Long-term Extension Trial to Assess Safety and Efficacy of CYB003 in MDD (EXTEND) (opens in new tab)Sites in Denver and Evergreen | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Enrolling by invitation | Start date |
| NCT06564818 | A Study of a Deuterated Psilocin Analog (CYB003) in Humans With Major Depressive Disorder (opens in new tab)Sites in Denver and Evergreen | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Cybin IRL Limited | Status Active, not recruiting | Start date |
| NCT06230757 | Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression (opens in new tab)Site at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora | Phase Phase 2 | Sponsor University of Colorado, Denver | Status Completed | Start date |
| NCT06308653 | Psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (opens in new tab)Site at Mountain View Clinical Research, Denver | Phase Phase 3 | Sponsor Usona Institute | Status Active, not recruiting | Start date |
ClinicalTrials.gov data courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
3. History
The legal events behind this entry, dated and oldest first. Our own reviews and corrections are listed under Changes to this record.
Denver Initiative 301 passed, decriminalizing psilocybin possession (first U.S. city).
Proposition 122 passed (53.6% yes), legalizing personal use of natural medicines, created regulated access framework.
Natural Medicine Division established under DORA.
Legal status takes effect.
Rulemaking process for healing center licensing, running through 2025.
First licensed healing centers open; licensing continues under DORA.
4. Proposed laws
Bills before the legislature that would change this entry if enacted, linked to their official texts.
Data collection requirements for licensed healing centers.
Colorado General Assembly (opens in new tab) · leg.colorado.gov · bill text and status
5. Common questions
Are mushrooms legal in Colorado?
Yes, within limits. Adults 21 and over may possess, grow and share psilocybin mushrooms for personal use under Proposition 122, which Colorado voters passed in November 2022. Selling them remains a crime, and the only supervised sessions available are at state-licensed healing centers.
Can you buy mushrooms in Colorado?
No. What Proposition 122 legalized was possession, cultivation and sharing. Sale stayed a criminal offense, so there are no dispensaries and no lawful retail source. The one route that involves paying is a supervised session at a state-licensed healing center.
Can you grow mushrooms at home in Colorado?
Yes. Adults 21 and over may cultivate psilocybin at home for personal use, and may share what they grow. Selling it remains a crime, whatever its origin.
What is psilocybin therapy in Colorado, and where do you get it?
SB 23-290 created a licensed supervised-session program, in force since 1 July 2023. Sessions run at state-licensed healing centers, of which 47 held licenses at the 31 July 2026 review, 11 standard and 36 micro. The first session took place on 6 June 2025. No psilocybin medicine has FDA approval, so what the state licenses is the session and no prescription is involved.
Did Colorado legalize mushrooms, or just decriminalize them?
Legalized, for personal use. Proposition 122 removed the criminal penalty for possessing, using, growing and sharing psilocybin for adults 21 and over in November 2022, and SB 23-290 then built a licensed supervised-session program on top of it. Decriminalization reduces a penalty; Colorado went past that to permission.
Is microdosing legal in Colorado?
Colorado's law does not turn on dose. Possessing, growing and sharing psilocybin for personal use is legal for adults 21 and over, and selling it is a crime, whatever the amount involved.
Are magic mushrooms ("shrooms") legal in Colorado?
"Magic mushrooms" and "shrooms" are common names for fungi that contain psilocybin, and this entry states the law on psilocybin itself, which some laws treat separately from the fungus. Psilocybin is legal in Colorado for anyone 21 and over, who may possess it, grow it at home and give it away. Selling it remains a crime, and no other US state allows home cultivation.
Read the law
Proposition 122 (2022); SB 23-290 (Natural Medicine Regulation and Legalization), signed May 23, 2023, effective July 1, 2023; HB 26-1325 (Natural Medicine), signed June 4, 2026, Session Laws chapter 372, effective August 12, 20261
Sources
This entry's status is checked against the primary sources below, and the methodology explains how each entry is graded for confidence.
- 1.SB 23-290 (2023), Natural Medicine Regulation and Legalization. Signed 23 May 2023; effective 1 July 2023.Colorado General Assembly (opens in new tab) · leg.colorado.gov
- 2.Psilocybin legal status by U.S. state, tracker entry for Colorado.Mind Medicine Law (opens in new tab) · mindmedicinelaw.com
This entry is for information only and is not legal or medical advice. Laws change, and enforcement can differ from the letter of the law, so check the current position against the primary sources above before relying on it.
Changes to this record
7 changes on file, the latest on . Show allHide
Every change we have made to this record, dated, corrections included. Nothing changes silently.
Colorado was checked again on 21 September 2026 and nothing has moved. The state's rulemaking on House Bill 26-1325 is still headed for a stakeholder meeting on 30 September and a final hearing on 4 November 2026, and the laws behind the program read as this entry says.
Colorado's Natural Medicine Division has opened rulemaking to carry out House Bill 26-1325, with a stakeholder meeting on 30 September and a final hearing on 4 November 2026, when written comments also close. The proposed topics include temporary premises permits, limited sales licences and testing waivers. The Division also confirms that its emergency rules of 12 August created a limited sales licence for healing centers, and the application form is now available.
Colorado's entry no longer calls healing centers 'in development': state-licensed centers have been operating since 2025.
Colorado's Natural Medicine Division put an emergency fee schedule for the regulated program into effect on 12 Aug 2026, with permanent rulemaking announced for later this year. The legal status of psilocybin in Colorado is unchanged.
Colorado now lists 47 licensed healing centers as of July 31, 2026, per the state's Natural Medicine Division.
Checked, with no change found. About 34 healing centers were licensed at the time of this review, and a statutory trigger dated 1 Jun 2026 opens the question of whether Colorado's program should extend beyond psilocybin.
Colorado enacted HB 26-1325, which adds an ibogaine research pilot to the state natural medicine program. It takes effect August 12, 2026.
Psilocybin Media Group. "Colorado: psilocybin legal status." The Psilocybin Record, accession US-CO-001, version of 21 Sep 2026. https://psilocybinlegalization.com/record/colorado