Comment on First psilocybin therapy center applications roll in as Colorado prepares for industry launch this spring

Psychedelic therapy is set to launch in Colorado this spring, with the state considering licenses for healing centers, psilocybin mushroom cultivations, a product manufacturer and a testing lab. Regulators recently began accepting applications from those interested in getting in on the ground floor of the state’s nascent industry, and while it’s too soon to know how widespread businesses offering psilocybin-assisted therapy will be in Colorado, the applicant pool so far indicates interest is concentrated along the Front Range. Healing centers — the facilities where people go to receive psychedelic-assisted therapy — are being proposed in Denver, Aurora, Centennial and Lakewood, according to state data. While the therapeutic use of psychedelics has long happened underground, clinical research into psilocybin’s potential to treat ailments like major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder has fueled greater acceptance of it in the mainstream.