Colorado's groundbreaking experiment with psychedelic decriminalization may be entering a new chapter, and not everyone is happy about it.
On June 4th of this year, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1325 into law; this legislation was primarily framed and promoted as expanding access to ibogaine research through a state-backed pilot program and garnered broad public support on this front. While much of the public attention focused on the bill's ibogaine research provisions, the legislation also revised portions of Colorado's natural medicine laws. Critics argue those changes received little public discussion before the bill became law.
Among the loudest voices opposing those changes is Denver mushroom cultivator and community organizer Jacob Marlega, who has launched a citizen referendum effort seeking to place the issue back before Colorado voters.
"We're not challenging the Ibogaine research," Marlega explained during yesterday’s interview with Mycopreneur. "We're challenging the changes that were made to Colorado's decriminalization model."
Jacob Marlega, Founder of the Voted to Share initiative
From Sharing to Supervised Consumption
Colorado voters approved Proposition 122 in 2022, creating one of the nation's most permissive frameworks for personal use of certain natural psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms.
For the past several years, many businesses and community organizations have operated under an interpretation of the law that allowed them to provide educational consultations, harm reduction services, and integration support while gifting natural medicine rather than selling it directly.
According to Marlega, HB26-1325 substantially alters that model without meaningful public discussion of the proposed changes before the bill became law.
He points to language modifying the legal definition of "personal use," arguing that the new wording effectively requires natural medicine to be consumed under supervision rather than allowing individuals to receive it and take it home.
If that interpretation proves accurate, Colorado's psychedelic landscape could become far more dependent on the state's licensed healing centers and facilitators.
"The only way for many people to access doses," Marlega said, "will be to consume them under supervision."
Supporters of the bill have argued that the revisions clarify how personal-use protections interact with Colorado's regulated natural medicine program, reduce legal ambiguity, and strengthen consumer protections within the licensed system. Critics, however, worry that limiting personal access may have unintended consequences.
Anthony Sabia, founder of Shroomski Magazine, is concerned that the changes to the model will directly impact his business of publishing and event production in the Colorado mushroom space. In particular, he singled out the clause that prohibits advertising. The bill stipulates that state law prohibits marketing natural medicine, products, or paid harm-reduction facilitation services to the public.
“How can the state charge $7000 for a business license — and in some cases, multiple $7000 licenses for one business — and they turn around and say you can’t advertise in any way, shape, or form?” asks Sabia.
“Over-regulation by the state of Colorado absolutely was the demise of the cannabis industry — and that was an industry that had all kinds of revenue going through it. It’s not the same with psychedelics, there’s not the same consumption rate. So the massive state overreach we’re seeing with this change in the framework is going to kill off businesses at every level rather than help grow the industry.”
He also points out that Colorado has become the epicenter of psychedelic industry events over the last four years thanks in large part to the previously existing voter-approved decriminalization model. The new legislation prohibits vendor booths at events.
“Not being able to have a vendor table or a vendor booth under this model feels like it’s trying to single-handedly wipe out the live event economy in psychedelic space.”
Concerns About Access
One of the primary criticisms raised by opponents of the newly instated decriminalization model centers on affordability.
Colorado's licensed natural medicine system requires participants to complete preparation sessions, administration sessions, and integration services under licensed facilitators. While advocates view this as an important safety framework, the process can be expensive and time-intensive, with regulated psilocybin mushroom therapy costing anywhere from $800 on the low end to $3000 or higher for a single session.
Marlega argues that many experienced consumers have little interest in supervised administration and instead prefer using psilocybin in their own homes or with trusted friends and family.
Rather than encouraging people into the regulated system, he believes the restrictions could simply drive consumers elsewhere.
"If people can't access accurately labeled, lab-tested products through existing community networks," he said, "many will just return to the underground market."
Colorado's informal psychedelic community has spent the past several years building voluntary standards around cultivation, potency testing, product labeling, and consumer education—developments that largely occurred without direct government regulation.
Critics fear those consumer protections could erode if legitimate operators leave the space.
A Grassroots Political Fight
Marlega's response has been unusually ambitious.
After discovering the legislative changes only after the bill had largely completed the legislative process, he began navigating Colorado's referendum system in hopes of challenging the law before voters.
The ‘how the sausage is made’ politicking is an entirely new and unfamiliar arena to Marlega and many others who are impacted by the changes, making his crusade anything but easy and straightforward.
Colorado referendum campaigns require roughly 125,000 valid signatures from registered voters within an extremely limited timeframe.
Professional signature gathering campaigns often cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
Marlega's campaign, by contrast, is operating almost entirely through volunteers.
"We're basically trying to build a statewide organization in about eight weeks," he said.
The campaign has focused heavily on grassroots outreach through podcasts, local media, community organizations, and volunteer organizers willing to collect signatures across Colorado.
More Than Just Mushrooms
Although much of the discussion centers on psilocybin, the legal changes affect Colorado's broader natural medicine framework, including other substances covered under Proposition 122.
For many observers, the debate also raises broader questions about psychedelic policy nationwide.
Colorado became one of the first states to attempt balancing personal freedom with a licensed therapeutic model. Other states—including New Mexico and several jurisdictions considering psychedelic reform—are closely watching how Colorado's experiment unfolds.
The outcome could influence future legislation far beyond the state's borders.
The Bigger Debate
Beyond the legal language lies a philosophical question: what should legal access to psychedelics actually look like?
Should access primarily occur through licensed therapeutic settings supervised by trained facilitators?
Or should adults retain broader freedom to responsibly cultivate, share, and use natural medicines outside of clinical environments?
Those questions increasingly define the next phase of psychedelic policy.
Even if Marlega's referendum effort ultimately falls short, he believes the campaign has already sparked an important conversation.
"We need a model that works for consumers, businesses, and public safety," he said. "Those things don't have to be in conflict."
As Colorado continues refining one of the country's most closely watched psychedelic programs, the debate illustrates that legalization is rarely the final destination. More often, it marks the beginning of an ongoing negotiation over access, regulation, and the future of natural medicine.
