NM begins work on medical psilocybin program, with new law set to take effect

SANTA FE — New Mexico this week becomes the third state to launch a state-run medical psilocybin program, but don’t expect magic mushrooms to be widely offered any time soon.

State officials have until the end of 2027 to get the program up and running, and it’s expected to take months for the New Mexico Department of Health to assemble a nine-member advisory board and hire new staffers to run the program.

There’s also the matter of adopting new rules governing the cultivation of psychedelic mushrooms, establishing testing standards and outlining transportation methods. A number of public hearings on the issues are scheduled to be held this fall.

Dominick Zurlo, the director of the DOH’s center for medical cannabis and psilocybin, said he’s hopeful patients will be receiving supervised treatment even before the statutory deadline.

“We want to make sure we have the best program possible,” Zurlo told the Journal in a recent interview, while citing patient safety as a top priority.

He also said state officials have already begun looking at the policies and experiences of Colorado and Oregon, which are the two other states that have enacted medical psilocybin programs.

“We’re checking to see what lessons have been already learned by these other states so that we’re not repeating things that other places have seen do not work,” Zurlo said.

State lawmakers approved the creation of a state-run psilocybin program for medical patients during this year’s 60-day legislative session, after emotional testimony from veterans about the life-changing benefits they’d experienced from psilocybin use.

Legislators also earmarked $1 million for start-up costs in this year’s budget bill, which takes effect next month.

The approved psilocybin legislation, which passed with bipartisan support, stipulates that patients with four conditions will be eligible for the program once it officially begins. Those conditions, which will have to be certified by a physician, are depression, substance abuse disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and end-of-life care.

The medical psilocybin bill is one of nearly 100 new laws set to take effect Friday after being approved by legislators. Other new laws include an overhaul of the state’s behavioral health system and changes to New Mexico’s red flag gun law.

‘Years of therapy in one day’

Some New Mexico clinicians have already been involved in psilocybin therapy, following in the steps of Indigenous healers who have used mushrooms in ceremonies for hundreds of years.

Catherine Warnock of Las Cruces watched this year’s legislative debate closely and said she’s hopeful state regulators don’t set prohibitively high license fee costs in New Mexico.

A cancer survivor, Warnock said psilocybin use helped heal her depressive symptoms after being on antidepressants for roughly 30 years.

“It’s like years and years of therapy in one day,” said Warnock, a licensed medical health provider who estimates she has worked with about 150 patients interested in trying psilocybin therapy.

She’s also working on several documentary films and an instructional book about psilocybin.

But Warnock also cautioned it’s important for patients to follow proper safety protocols, including ample preparation time, being supervised during trips and several weeks of integration therapy following use.

She also said she typically rules out any patients with certain medical conditions, including cardiovascular conditions, a history of seizures and diabetes. Pregnant women are also turned away as a precaution.

Once enacted, New Mexico’s psilocybin program will differ from the state’s medical cannabis program in several key ways.

Unlike with medical cannabis that can be purchased in licensed dispensaries and used in patients’ homes, psilocybin treatment must be done in supervised settings. It’s also typically used by patients with much less frequency.

The difference between the two programs is akin to the difference between hospital treatments and prescription medication, said Zurlo.

“It’s not something someone can just buy, take home and utilize themselves,” he added. “You have to do it in those kind of (controlled) settings.”

A mushroom education campaign

Part of the state’s efforts to prepare for implementation of the new law will be related to educating state residents about the benefits of psilocybin use, Zurlo said.

Specifically, he said the Department of Health will be “ramping up” an educational campaign over the next six months or so, along with training for providers.

“It’s not a miracle cure, but this is something that has been shown to be very effective for people with PTSD and other conditions,” Zurlo said.

But Warnock acknowledged the frequent recreational use of magic mushrooms can complicate the push for a medical psilocybin program, saying some people have “bad trips” when they mix mushrooms with other substances or ingest them in unsafe settings.

While research into the medical benefits of psilocybin continues, the National Institute on Drug Abuse warns that magic mushrooms can cause people to temporarily lose their sense of time and space, along with intense emotions ranging from bliss to terror.

At least some of the research on magic mushrooms’ benefits has taken place in New Mexico, as researchers at the University of New Mexico have investigated whether psilocybin can lead to a reduction in alcohol use.