DENVER — After using psychedelic mushrooms to heal from a stroke, a Denver man is studying to become a psilocybin facilitator so he can help others.
Voters approved the legalization of certain psychedelic mushrooms in November 2022. Colorado is the second state, after Oregon, to launch a psychedelic therapy program.
The state began accepting applications from those wanting to provide psychedelic therapy services on Dec. 31, 2024. Such services can only be administered in "healing centers."
Related coverage:
- Colorado voters decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms
- Colorado prepares to launch psychedelic therapy program
- City and County of Denver researching regulations for psychedelic healing centers coming in 2025
- Colorado issues first psilocybin license to healing center in downtown Denver
Jake McWink suffered a skiing accident in 2019. One week after the accident, he was in Hong Kong when he suffered a stroke at age 29.
Doctors determined that McWink tore part of his vertebral artery during the skiing accident, which led to the stroke.
“It ended up kicking off my whole right side, as well as impacting my speech, and it took a while to get back to the United States. By the time we were able to get back here, there wasn’t necessarily a whole lot the doctors were able to do,” said McWink.
McWink said speech, occupational and physical therapy weren't enough, so he turned to psychedelic mushrooms.
“Each time I did something new after the stroke, or something I had always done, it felt like I had to relearn it from the very beginning. And so psychedelics seemed to help improve that process,” said McWink.
McWink recently finished training to become a licensed psilocybin facilitator, which will allow him to work with clients at a healing center. His journey inspired him to give back to others.
“They did an absolutely exceptional job at blending the kind of ceremonial wisdom with Western knowledge in a very hands-on, practical approach,” said McWink.
State
Colorado issues first psilocybin license to healing center in downtown Denver
According to Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), which licenses and regulates facilitators of natural medicine services, there are two kinds of licenses: a facilitator license and a clinical facilitator license. The facilitator license allows someone without a clinical license to provide psychedelic care, while the clinical facilitator license allows someone who is already licensed to practice medicine or psychotherapy to work with natural medicines, such as psilocybin.
Both licenses require 150 hours of classroom-style training and 80 hours of observation and hands-on training. According to the state, 130 people have received their facilitator license and will eventually be able to work at a healing center.
“I’m training to become a clinically licensed facilitator, and a prerequisite for that is already having a professional clinical degree through the State of Colorado,” said Dr. Brandon Sklar.
Dr. Brandon Sklar is a psychiatrist at Rose NeuroSpa in Lone Tree, which will eventually become Rose Healing Center once the facility gets its license. He’s hoping his healing center will be up and running by summer and will utilize two rooms in the facility to provide psychedelic therapy.
However, not everyone supports such practices.
“My biggest concern is for patient safety,” said Luke Niforatos with the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions. “These products are not FDA-regulated.”
Niforatos believes the required training is not enough.
“They’re going through only 150 hours of training in order to get their license to facilitate psilocybin use here, versus a clinical professional here that we would come to expect, like, a doctor that may spend thousands of hours and eight plus years in school and residency,” said Niforatos.
Tasia Poinsatte, director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, believes psilocybin should only be used in regulated environments.
“It’s naturally occurring in mushrooms, it’s non-toxic and it’s generally seen to be non-addictive, so safe for most people. But that being said, there are certain people that should definitely take precaution and speak to their doctor before using psilocybin,” said Poinsatte.
McWink believes psilocybin changed his life, and he can’t wait to give back.
“I would not be where I am today without it,” said McWink. “I’m thankful to report back that I’m back skiing and I’m taking my life in a more meaningful direction than ever.”
According to the Colorado Department of Revenue's Natural Medicine Division, as of April 25, the state has approved licenses for one standard healing center and four micro centers. An application for a testing facility is pending. Until a testing facility is licensed, healing centers can't obtain the one thing at the heart of their business: the mushrooms.
The Healing Advocacy Fund believes healing centers could open to the public later this month.
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