A bipartisan group of 30 current and former elected officials have banded together to speak out against Proposition 122, the “natural medicine” ballot measure seeking to decriminalize the hallucinogenic compounds found in certain strains of mushrooms.

Under Proposition 122, so-called “magic mushrooms” — more specifically the hallucinogenic compounds psilocybin and psilocin — would become legally accessible to individuals 21 years or older and administered mostly at state licensed healing centers, under rules to be promulgated by the state Department of Regulatory Agencies. 

The measure would also allow growing mushrooms for personal use and consuming them without legal penalty. A home grower, under the measure, could also give away the product to those 21 years of age or older so long as it’s not being sold. In the home, the measure would require plants or fungi to be kept secure from those under 21 years of age. 

Signatories for the letter from the elected officials released Thursday include former Gov. Bill Owens; Attorney General Phil Weiser and his Republican opponent, John Kellner, district attorney for the 18th Judicial District; former AG and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers; Denver Mayor Michael Hancock; Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman; eight current members of the Colorado House and Senate and from both parties; three former U.S. attorneys; the current district attorneys for Boulder, Fort Collins, Adams and Broomfield counties; and a variety of local elected officials. 

The letter points to the lack of an “opt out” provision for local communities.

“This is at odds with Colorado’s long and important tradition of local control,” the letter states. 

Rick Ridder, who spoke to Colorado Politics in August on behalf of Natural Medicine Colorado, said mushrooms cannot be purchased solely for use, only as part of a treatment plan and obtained from healing centers or other supervised facilities. 

Ridder described the process this way, which he emphasized is meant to protect kids from obtaining the substances: Someone goes to a trained facilitator for consultation and set goals for treatment. On the second trip, the adult would partake of the fungi, and a third trip would be required for the patient to meet with the facilitator for treatment evaluation.

Prop 122 would eliminate criminal prosecution for personal use and possession, while those with previous criminal records tied to “natural medicines” could petition courts to seal their records at no charge. However, those substances remain Schedule 1 drugs under Drug Enforcement Agency rules. 

The use of “natural medicines” would not disqualify a person from medical care or medical insurance, including for organ transplants.

Prop 122 would also ban local jurisdictions from enacting regulations more restrictive than the measure.

Oregon was the first state where voters approved the use of psilocybin in healing centers in 2020, but that initiative doesn’t go into effect until 2023. Colorado’s measure is more expansive; in Oregon, psilocybin cannot be grown or even used in the home and local jurisdictions can ban its use as well as the service centers through voter initiatives. Several Oregon counties have measures on the November 2022 ballot to do just that.