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Denver has been a cultural epicenter for psychedelics since becoming the first city to effectively decriminalize “magic mushrooms” in 2019. Now it aims to be a hub for science related to psychedelic substances with the opening of a university research center.
On Monday, the University of Colorado announced the creation of the CU Denver Center for Psychedelic Research, which will study the health applications of drugs such as psilocybin as well as the social impacts of legalization and decriminalization in the state. Its mission is to improve “the quality of life of people by studying the possible benefits psychedelic drugs may have in treating a range of mental, emotional, neurologic, and other health conditions,” per the announcement.
With this new center, the University of Colorado joins the ranks of Johns Hopkins University, The University of California, New York University, Ohio State University, and others with research facilities dedicated to investigating psychedelics.
For centuries, indigenous cultures have used certain plants ceremoniously, but momentum has only recently been building to adopt them for medicinal purposes in the United States. Enthusiasm in the 1950s and ‘60s led to robust research into drugs like LSD (acid), and the effects of psychedelics. Though much of that enthusiasm was quashed by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, studies and trials have rebounded, leading many researchers to proclaim the arrival of a “psychedelic renaissance.”
Small-scale studies have shown promising results for psilocybin’s ability to treat severe depression, existential distress, nicotine and alcohol addiction, among other ailments. CU Denver is currently conducting what it bills as one of the largest studies on the therapeutic use of psilocybin for individuals facing the end of life. The study’s co-principal investigator, psychology professor Jim Grigsby, serves as executive director and chief science officer of the new psychedelic research center.
“Preliminary research here, and elsewhere, suggests that psychedelics may induce or enhance neural plasticity and neurogenesis in certain parts of the brain,” Grigsby said in a statement. “They are thought to have powerful anti-inflammatory effects, which might make them effective as therapies for neurological conditions such as stroke or certain neurodegenerative diseases. We have a lot of work to do, but there is so much potential that it’s an exciting time.”
In addition to mental and physical health, the CU Denver Center for Psychedelic Research will evaluate the societal and economic implications of Colorado’s relevant new laws.
In 2022, voters approved a measure that both legalized the therapeutic use of psilocybin in state-regulated facilities and decriminalized five different drugs derived from plants and fungi. Regulators are now preparing for a brand-new industry around psychedelic-assisted therapy, which is expected to come online in 2025.
CU Denver’s research center plans to explore how new state law is applied, the ethical and public health implications, and equitable structures to develop insurance coverage and payment policies for these novel treatments, the announcement stated. Faculty will also develop an educational curriculum for folks who want to work with psychedelics in a clinical setting.
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