DENVER, CO – The Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) released the following statement from Co-Founder and Executive Vice President, Luke Niforatos, in response to Colorado’s official announcement that its psychedelics program is now “fully launched for operations.”
“With today’s announcement, Colorado has gone from leading the nation in youth mental health crises to becoming the epicenter of America’s next addiction crisis. The launch of a state-run psychedelics program is a win for well-funded industry lobbyists selling another false promise to vulnerable communities, not a victory for science or medicine.
“Colorado’s public officials must reckon with the fact that they’re endorsing a drug infrastructure that could worsen Colorado’s mental health crisis. When it comes to psychedelics, Colorado is not a model to follow. It’s a cautionary tale, and other states should take note.
“Psychedelics like psilocybin remain Schedule I drugs under federal law for good reason. We know they pose serious risks to mental health, including psychosis, persistent hallucinations, and even suicide. There is no FDA approval, no long-term safety data, and no responsible justification for normalizing hallucinogens at the state level.
“We’ve seen this playbook before with marijuana legalization: dangerous substances repackaged as medicine, pushed onto states before any serious safety or regulatory infrastructure exists, and marketed as a cure-all for everything from PTSD to depression. But the science simply doesn’t support this. In fact, leading psychiatric associations still warn that there is inadequate evidence to endorse psychedelics for mental health treatment.
“States like Colorado continue to push this social experiment, funded and pushed by the same special interests that once sold the public on ‘safe’ marijuana, using voters as guinea pigs.
“We know where this leads. Since decriminalizing psilocybin, Colorado has seen an uptick in poison control calls, psychotic episodes, and community-level confusion around what’s legal and what’s not. Now, with the state formalizing psychedelic ‘healing centers,’ it’s children and families who will pay the price.
“This is not mental health care. This is commercialization dressed up as compassion. And as with marijuana, the harms will take years to fully understand, long after industry profits have been made and communities rendered unrecognizable.”
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