Colorado lawmakers have introduced a bill that would empower the governor to grant pardons to people who’ve been convicted of psychedelics-related offenses, while revising rules for the state’s psychedelics legalization law.
Sen. Matt Ball (D) and Rep. Lisa Feret (D) filed the legislation on Tuesday, proposing reforms to authorize Gov. Jared Polis (D) or future governors to grant mass clemency for people with convictions for low-level possession of substances such as psilocybin, ibogaine and DMT that have since been legalized for adults under state law.
In 2023, Polis called on lawmakers to take steps allowing him to issue mass pardons for people with prior psychedelics convictions as the voter-approved legalization policy was being implemented.
The governor said at the time that he needed the legislature to act to provide him with pardon authority, “so anybody who has something on their criminal record that is now legal can have that expunged and doesn’t hold them back from future employment opportunities.”
In addition to granting the governor that authority, the newly introduced measure would also require the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Department of Revenue (DOR) and Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to “collect information and data related to the use of natural medicine and natural medicine products.”
That would include data on law enforcement activities, adverse health events, consumer protection claims and behavioral impacts related to psychedelics.
“Subject to available appropriations, CDPHE shall also collect relevant data and information related to the use of natural medicine from facilitators and healing centers,” the bill says. “CDPHE is required to create and maintain a database of the information collected.”
The legislation, which is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Health & Human Services Committee on Wednesday, further amends rules around licensing and ownership of psychedelic healing centers. For example, it removes a requirement for fingerprint background checks for owners and employees of licensed facilities, making it so they would only be subject to a name-based criminal background check.
Hellbound and Down 