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For Psychedelics, The Pharmaceutical And Natural Medicine Pathways Are Both Legitimate—And Compatible (Op-Ed)

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1 month ago

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“The way of medicine and the way of natural medicine are not competing rivers, they are tributaries of the same watershed.”

By Shannon Hughes, Elemental Psychedelics via Colorado Newsline

The two signings, for 48 hours, have just changed how psychedelic medicine comes to America.

on April 18, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to speed up the federal review of psychedelic drugs due to serious mental illness. these days The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued national priority bonds for three commissioners—Compass Pathways for psilocybin-assisted therapy in treatment-resistant depression, American Institute for psilocybin in major depressive disorder, and Otsuka for methylone (a relative of MDMA) in PTSD. These vouchers can compress what is normally a 10- to 12-month FDA review process into less than a month or two.

On April 20, with less fanfare, Governor Jared Polis (D) signed the bill into law in the Colorado Senate 26-31. The bill specifies that the moment the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reschedules an FDA-approved Schedule I drug, it automatically follows Colorado law. Pharmaceutical psilocybin will be legal in Colorado pending federal approval.

I am hopeful about this. Patients with treatment-resistant depression have been waiting a long time. So veterans with PTSD. Practitioners who have been carefully preparing for this work for years have also done so.

I’m worried too. Not about what’s coming, but about what we might accidentally release the rush to receive.

SB-31 specifically deals with natural medicine and marijuana, leaving the scope of Colorado’s Proposition 122, which was approved by voters. natural medicine program with healing centers run by its facilitators– Completely intact. He cares more about that tidiness than it looks. Most states pursuing a psychedelic policy are choosing only one path, choosing between prescription medicine and community-based facilitators, as if the two are incompatible. Colorado is choosing both.

This is rarer than people think, and more honest about how healing actually works.

The pharmaceutical path and the natural medicine path are not competing rivers. They are tributaries of the same slope.

Different people need different doors. A patient with treatment-resistant depression needs a gateway for insurance to cover psilocybin-assisted therapy. Anyone in the community who wants to grieve a loss or find their way back through ceremony needs another.

Both are valid. The question facing Colorado now is not which path wins, but whether we can sustain both with integrity as the federal pace quickens.

Here’s what I worry the temptation will be: now that medicalized access is coming, some may think that the job of expanding community access is done. Healing centers, licensing of facilitators, the painstaking, slow work of implementing Prop 122—all of that may be de-prioritised, the thinking goes, as patients will soon be able to get psilocybin from a doctor and a pharmacy.

This would be a profound mistake. Medicalized access and community access respond to different needs, draw from different lineages of knowledge, and respond to different types of suffering. To collapse the two is to misunderstand what these drugs are asking of us. The work of reform and opening access is not done. Colorado voters chose a broader path with Prop. 122.

So here is what I would ask at this particular time.

To Colorado legislators and regulators: Stick with the voters. 122 Prop. The careful work of implementation: licensing of facilitators, regulation of healing centers, training standards, fair access and ongoing regulating how ibogaine will be introduced and whether or not-it is precisely the work that makes a wider path real. Finance it. The workers Defend against the gravitational pull of a federal model that threatens to absorb everything in its orbit because of its pace and resources.

To my colleagues who will soon be prescribing or administering these drugs: Please, let’s not treat psilocybin-assisted therapy as the next SSRI. A one- to two-month FDA review does not give practitioners a month or two to be ready. A real willingness to skillfully hold non-ordinary states of consciousness, to care for settings and settings, to support subsequent integration takes much longer than a ticking clock. Prepare well, and train before you prescribe, not after.

To Coloradoans: next year regulation of natural medicine Prop. 122 will shape what you actually give in your community. Public input is important here. show me

To other states looking at Colorado: A wider path is possible. Federal acceleration does not require community-based access to be granted. It makes protection more urgent, not less.

Medicines are coming, faster than we expected. The question is whether we will meet them with the depth and attention that this moment demands of us, and whether we will keep faith with the wider path that the people of Colorado have already chosen.

We can hold both. But only if we choose.

Dr. Shannon Hughes is the co-founder and program director of Elemental Psychedelics, a Colorado-based women-led training organization for psychedelic practitioners. He served as a consultant to the Qualifications, Training and Licensing Subcommittee of the Colorado Naturopathic Medicine Advisory Board and founded the Colorado nonprofit The Nowak Society.

This article was first published by Colorado Newsline.

user photo Mark Groeneveld.

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Massachusetts CCC pauses license applications

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6 hours ago

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June 17, 2026

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The Cannabis Control Commission, the government body that oversees the marijuana business in the state of Massachusetts (USA), has decided to temporarily stop accepting new license applications for growing marijuana, both indoors and outdoors. This hiatus officially began on June 16, 2026.

Anyone planning to apply for a new marijuana cultivation license after June 16, 2026 will not be able to do so while this suspension is in effect. The Commission will not accept such requests during this period.

There are two groups that can continue normally. First, anyone who submitted an application before June 16, 2026, will continue to review and process applications as usual. Second, applicants for specific programs designed to help communities historically affected by drug laws, known as the Social Equity Program and the Economic Empowerment Program, are exempt from this suspension if they apply for a smaller-scale “Microenterprise” license.

The suspension will be in effect for 120 days from June 16, 2026, which is currently scheduled to be lifted around mid-October 2026. However, the Commission has the power to terminate earlier or extend further, depending on market conditions.

Source: Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission










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Federal Marijuana Rescheduling ‘Does Not Appear To Apply’ To Washington Businesses, State Officials Say

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7 hours ago

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June 17, 2026

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Marijuana regulators in Washington say the Trump administration’s move to re-regulate cannabis at the federal level “doesn’t appear to apply” to the state’s businesses.

US Department of Justice in April He issued an order that immediately reclassified the state’s licensed medical cannabisas well as marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under Schedule I through Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). A trial scheduled for this month will take place consider marijuana III.

“Washington does not issue licenses to producers, processors or retailers of medical cannabis,” the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) said in guidelines released Tuesday. “Instead, Washington has a single recreational market and within that market producers/processors can manufacture (DOH) compliant products, and certain retailers can sell DOH-compliant products to adult patients and all designated providers.”

“Therefore, Washington cannabis licensees do not appear to qualify as ‘state medical marijuana licensees’ and therefore may not be eligible for registration under the final Rule,” the agency said, referring to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Registration process for legal marijuana businesses in the state to take advantage of the federal benefits that come with the reform.

That said, the LCB “does not take a position if licensees decide to apply for federal registration,” the guidance continues. “If a licensee is seeking federal registration, we would be interested in learning about their experience and federal decisions.”

However, “based on our analysis, the federal reorganization in its current form does not appear to apply to cannabis licensees in Washington, primarily because of the legal framework governing recreational cannabis,” the LCB said.

The agency emphasized, however, that while it has consulted with the Cannabis Regulatory Association, the National Governors Association and industry stakeholders, its current opinion does not represent Washington’s formal opinion and “may not be our final interpretation as information is evolving and the decision may not rest with the state.”

“We await additional guidance from the federal agencies involved, new or updated federal agency processes and/or other federal procedures,” he said. he saidreferring to the next administrative hearing and Ongoing litigation calls into question the rescheduling of cannabis.

“The LCB recognizes that there are many cannabis growers, processors, and retailers actively involved in the production and sale of medical cannabis in Washington. These businesses may or may not be eligible to use the 280e tax deduction, and may also register with the DEA III. Ultimately, they have no input into whether their licensees meet the criteria for “state medical marijuana licensees,” as that determination can be made unilaterally by the DOJ within the meaning of the Final Rule. to reasonably interpret and determine that Washington cannabis licensees qualify as “state medical marijuana licensees.”

The US Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said they plan to issued new tax guidelines for the marijuana industry after reprogramming. The reform will benefit state-licensed marijuana businesses by allowing them to take federal tax deductions that are currently prohibited under IRS Code Section III, known as Section 280E.

In California, regulators recently approved emergency rule changes to the state’s marijuana licensing process. to make it easier for companies to receive benefits In line with the Trump administration’s latest move to federally regulate medical cannabis.

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How New Zealand showed up in London’s cannabis industry

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1 day ago

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June 16, 2026

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The medical cannabis market is expected to grow from $47 billion to $149 billion by 2031, and New Zealand has a real role to play in that story. And thanks in large part to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), the government’s international business development agency, Puro is starting to play.

At Cannabis Europa 2026 London, NZTE hosted an evening event at the City Arts Bar with Puro, New Zealand companies Bluelab, Rua Bioscience and CannFX. Puro called it The NZ Room.

Beyond all things Kiwiana – including Puro brand kiwifruit, Kiwi’d – the room was filled with some pretty amazing people: Ivy League scientists, company founders, patients, advocates, industry players, government officials, Maori tribal leaders and a tough Scotsman. All in the same space with the same true passion for where this industry is going.

It was one of those rooms where conversations went well when they had to end. That’s usually a sign of something well done.

Made possible by NZTE
For Puro, the NZTE relationship has been formative. With ongoing support, Puro has entered the Australian market with 47 unique product SKUs and signed a £7 million supply agreement with UK distributor IPS Pharma.

NZTE understands the potential of the New Zealand cannabis industry. The willingness to support this nascent industry and put New Zealand in the spotlight at events like Cannabis Europa is very significant. New Zealand is a small country and the country’s credibility in international markets is built from relationship to relationship, room by room. NZTE helps build those rooms.

© Cigar

what’s next
For the first time, patients in the UK have access to medicinal cannabis grown in New Zealand. That’s the direct result of years of work by Puro’s team, but it’s not worth much if you can’t connect with buyers globally. Creating international relationships that events like Cannabis Europa make this possible.

“We are grateful for the extensive support from the New Zealand Government that drives our progress, including the Ministry of Primary Industries’ support for our genetic breeding, product innovation and market access goals. This collective effort from agencies such as the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, NZTE and the New Zealand Export Credit Bureau ensures that Mail that started in London will continue to grow in Puro’s international goals,” he said. a statement

For more information:
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www.puro.co.nz

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