Healing Advocacy Fund

? We’re Sponsoring Psychedelic Culture 2025! ? Chacruna has been hosting groundbreaking psychedelic conferences since 2015, and this year, Psychedelic Culture 2025 continues that legacy. This two-day in-person event will feature three simultaneous tracks covering Indigenous reciprocity, psychedelic justice, law & policy, women & queer voices, Global South perspectives, and more. Expect deep discussions, music, meditation, and ceremonial spaces. Join HAF Colorado Director Tasia Poinsatte at Brava Theater in San Francisco for an unforgettable experience! Learn more and register: https://lnkd.in/deSMYy5Q

Josh Hardman may be the first person to describe my writing as "short" and "simple" -- but I'll take it! :) Enjoyed writing this description of Colorado's psilocybin program, where I really tried to boil it all down (notably, something that licensed manufacturers in CO won't be able to do just yet ..... Read on to find out why ??) [Joshua Kappel deserves a big shoutout here because these rules would look very different without his diligent analysis as policy advisor with HAF, making sure we thought through every detail not once but 50 times, advocating for important changes along the way]

From KVNF: "In 2022 Colorado voters approved Proposition 122 legalizing the use and possession of 5 different psychedelics. Just this January it became legal for facilitators to provide psilocybin to paying clients. There is so much to cover that this week on Local Motion we have a two part series and we are going all the way down the rabbit hole as we explore the burgeoning world of legal psychedelics in Colorado. In this first (of two) episodes we explore the Natural Medicine Health Act of Colorado and the state of the science studying the effects of these substances. In Part 2, we explore the why, the how, and how these substances are effecting peoples lives today." Listen to the program to learn more about Colorado's natural medicine program, and the work being done to connect folks to psychedelic healing: https://lnkd.in/gKBV_BwU

Are you considering applying for a natural medicine business license in Colorado, or have you already applied? If so, it’s important to start asking the hard questions about liability insurance, 280E and tax implications of federal illegality, banking options, local zoning, and other considerations. Join Healing Advocacy Fund for a free webinar on March 6th to dive into the nuts and bolts of starting a business in this new state-regulated program. Register today! https://lnkd.in/gi5eKTwT

From Colorado Public Radio: "Early research indicates that the psilocybin found in psychedelic mushrooms could be beneficial in treating mental-health conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, addiction and perhaps even previous traumas such as abuse or assault. But how does it work? To put it simply, it’s still too early to tell but scientists in labs around the world are attempting to find out. Dr. Scott Thompson is a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He’s studied psilocybin and is currently part of the research team led by Dr. Andrew Novick., an MD in the Department of Psychiatry at CU Anschutz, looking into how psilocybin-assisted therapy could help people with treatment-resistant depression." Read, or listen, to the full story: https://lnkd.in/gamVrV5M

In just over a year and a half since its launch, Oregon's psilocybin services program has provided life-changing hope and healing to over 8,500 clients facing treatment resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction—conditions that traditional treatments have often failed to address. House Bill 2387, the Psilocybin Services Program Improvement Bill, offers a path forward to strengthen the program’s foundation, improve client safety, and better integrate psilocybin services into Oregon’s healthcare and behavioral health systems. But now, a $3.5 million budget shortfall threatens to undermine the program's ability to provide equitable access to care, which would double licensing fees. Use our letter writing tool to reach out to your lawmakers and urge them to support HB 2387 and funding for this program this legislative session. Oregonians - write your lawmakers: https://lnkd.in/gazvX9yD

From the Denver Post: "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." We couldn't be more excited about Colorado's program launch this spring! Learn more and read the full article from the Denver Post: https://lnkd.in/ga6V63vp

Anyone who is curious what psychedelic therapy might look and feel like in Colorado's natural medicine program should listen to this interview with Dr. Scott Shannon, psychiatrist and founder of the Wholeness Center in Fort Collins. "We're caught in a mental health crisis of epic proportions. It's more than a crisis, we're in an epidemic [...] We have as many as 40% of people that are treatment-resistant in terms of our current tools with antidepressants. [...] So we need other tools. And I think so often our current tools are suppressive -- they just sort of manage and keep things a little bit at bay, but people are still very immersed in their misery. With psychedelics, we have this ability for a transformative tool that really evokes the internal world, and brings it up and values and honors peoples' ability to heal. I think that has been lost from much of modern psychiatry."

The Healing Advocacy Fund (HAF) is dedicated to ensuring integrated, whole-person psychedelic healing through safe and legal state-regulated programs. We believe that psychedelic care is strengthened when it’s integrated with talk therapy, which is as much a part of the treatment as the medicine itself. HAF was created in 2020, after Oregon voters approved the first state-regulated psychedelic therapy program in the country. In 2022, HAF began work in Colorado following the passage of a similar ballot measure. Today, HAF works across both states, ensuring that regulatory structures and rules governing the programs promote safety and access for clients. We also work with psychedelic therapy providers and businesses, supporting their work with clients. We believe the best model for expansion of psychedelic healing in the United States is in the development of carefully-designed state programs that work in tandem with established mental health and addiction services. This path offers the best opportunity to scale and integrate the significant benefits of psychedelic therapy over time. You can read about the HAF's work to support the safety and effectiveness of the world’s first state-regulated psychedelic therapy programs in Oregon and Colorado by reading our 2024 Impact Report: https://lnkd.in/gFpTM6j5

"The launch of psychedelic therapy centers in Colorado to treat mental health conditions including PTSD has created an unusual clash, pitting conservative leaders in Colorado Springs against some of the city's 90,000 veterans." Late last year, I spent two days in Colorado Springs testifying alongside local advocates in support of access to psilocybin therapy. It was frustrating to witness 6 of the 9 members of city council appear to write off the testimony of their constituents who powerfully and bravely shared their stories of pain, loss, hope, healing and recovery. I am thankful for the journalists who are shining a light on this. https://lnkd.in/gE8-NDGa