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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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[CO] Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn't Trying to Hide 1
#28535692 - 11/09/23 01:02 PM (6 months, 5 days ago) |
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Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn't Trying to Hide November 9, 2023 - Westword
"I think, eventually, the state will pattern what they do after me."
"This one, here, PBR, is better for visuals. These are Penis Envy. That's a good mix for both visuals and feelings."
Darren Lyman is going over the various psychedelic mushrooms available at his magic mushroom co-op. Located in a small studio at 800 West Eighth Avenue, just off Santa Fe Drive, Lyman's office serves as a support center for those in need of natural medicine, he says. After calling ahead, you can walk in, show your ID (21 and over only), and then sit down for a visit.
His support includes a chat about the intoxicating effects of psilocybin mushrooms; psilocybin's potential to help treat mental ailments such as anxiety, addiction, depression and traumatic stress; and your intended use for the mushrooms. That session typically costs $30. And the four grams of blue-streaked Penis Envy mushrooms? Well, those are free.
For $10 more per session, his support includes a free bar of chocolate infused with five grams of mushrooms instead. For $160, that support comes with an ounce.
"It's just like how co-op cannabis dispensaries started in California in the '90s," Lyman explains. "They tell me their reasons, and I provide the support."
According to Lyman, he's operating legally under Colorado's new Natural Medicine Health Act, or Proposition 122, the initiative approved by Colorado voters in November 2022 that decriminalized certain psychedelics and legalized medical psilocybin. Under the new laws initiated in response to 122, adults can now cultivate, possess and share psilocybin mushrooms, plants with DMT and mescaline (except for peyote), and cultivate and possess (but not share) ibogaine.
Lyman insists that he's selling services such as his advice, self-authored informational pamphlets about psilocybin use, and activated charcoal capsules — a common way of reducing body absorption of psilocybin when someone has bitten off too much — and not the psilocybin itself. That, he stresses, is free.
"We don't sell products," Lyman says. "It's a co-op. People create their own recipes, and we can implement them into what we do here."
Prop 122's proponents repeatedly stated that the measure would not create a retail aspect for psychedelics, and state regulators have echoed that message. Psilocybin edibles and natural extraction methods will likely be allowed under Colorado's upcoming medical psilocybin guidelines, but only for use in licensed, supervised settings, according to state officials.
The Natural Medicine Health Act and a bill passed in the state legislature intended to tighten up its language created cultivation limits and guidelines, but didn't create any possession limits. Applications for psilocybin production facilities and supervised used sites are expected to be available next year, but operators of such businesses must first be licensed by the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and the Department of Revenue's new Natural Medicine Division (NMD).
So what makes Lyman so confident? Although both Prop 122 and resulting laws allow for commercial psilocybin use to take place only under supervision, Lyman argues that his co-op isn't trying to be a supervised use site. Nor is it a retail outlet, he says.
"It's a dual-zoned property, so it's a private space, also," he says. "Until more restrictions are passed [by lawmakers], this is the same as marijuana was."
Lyman operates openly, advertising in Westword and other outlets; his phone, whose number is included on the ads, receives around three to five calls per day. About twenty people are now members of the co-op, he says, adding that most are seeking support and mushrooms for various mental ailments, such as alcohol addiction and depression.
Lyman eventually wants to add a small commercial kitchen and cultivation area to the studio where other mushroom growers and edibles makers can operate.
Although he's not alone in comparing his operation to the early days of cannabis — the entire NMD is staffed by cannabis regulators, and many rulemaking committee members hail from the pot industry — his path ahead could be bumpy.
Early medical marijuana dispensaries routinely dealt with local, state and federal law enforcement raids and penalties before the U. S. Department of Justice issued a legal memo in 2009 arguing on behalf of tolerating state-legal cannabis businesses. Even that didn't stop run-ins with the law, both deserved and undeserved, for dispensary operators, though. Colorado law enforcement agencies have cracked down in the past on cannabis operations using similar claims of providing free products for monetary donations, as well.
Like much of Colorado's natural medicine community, however, Lyman is currently operating in a decriminalized space, which carries less oversight than a regulated commercial industry. This is an important distinction until future laws say otherwise, he notes.
So far, he hasn't heard any objections from the government. According to NMD executive director Dominique Mendiola, the state anticipates "certain challenges" and activities "we need to keep an eye on or intervene" in, but community outreach and education are preferred. Mendiola, who's spent the better part of a decade regulating Colorado cannabis, says the NMD would rather "not go at it with an enforcement-first approach."
"We lead with education and see where we can support an effective transition of folks who are engaging in some of these areas and where there's an interest to be a part of the regulatory space of this new program," Mendiola explains. "Then there is seeing where we can support and facilitate that process, but also keeping an eye out for more clarity in the law and where can we have a role in informing that by making suggestions to the General Assembly for clarity that's needed to address certain activity that we see and believe may not be intended."
Lyman, who's currently moving full steam ahead on the buildout of his co-op, believes that regulators will be coming to him for advice on rulemaking and regulation drafting in the future. He doesn't see his psilocybin services as a risk, he says, but as a golden-capped opportunity. Once licenses and permits are available at the state and local levels, he will apply for them, he adds, with hopes that the NMD will eventually create a "support center license" for outfits like his.
"Most law enforcement action in these situations ends with lawsuits against the city. I'm operating within the law, and I'm not violating anything," he says. "I think, eventually, the state will pattern what they do after me."
Lyman, 43, is new to psychedelics, having become interested while dabbling in CBD and THC production for his father, who was diagnosed in the mid-2010s with multiple sclerosis. While attending a University of Denver certification course for cannabis work in 2021, Lyman started researching psilocybin. He's now a licensed medical marijuana caregiver and says he would like to launch a CBD edibles business one day, but right now wants to focus on his mushroom goals.
When asked about his bold business move and relatively recent entrance into Colorado's psychedelics space, Lyman admits he is "young at this," but is "willing to learn from anyone." Although he's been criticized by organizations such as BIPOC Psychedelic, a group of colored and indigenous psychedelic proponents, for launching what they believe is a gray-market business for profit, Lyman insists he's in the mushroom trade for the long haul, and wants to continue doing this "even if I don't make any money," he says.
"I look forward to working with future facilitators on individual projects, from microdosing to 5- plus grams," he concludes. I’m excited to help heal the community physically, mentally, and emotionally."
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Bungmurphy
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Re: [CO] Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn't Trying to Hide [Re: veggie] 1
#28540136 - 11/12/23 11:40 AM (6 months, 2 days ago) |
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Prop 122 pretty clearly states:
(8) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED OR INTERPRETED TO PERMIT A PERSON TO GIVE AWAY ANY AMOUNT OF NATURAL MEDICINE AS PART OF A BUSINESS PROMOTION OR OTHER COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY...
He's engaging in commercial activity, selling services/pamphlets, and giving away natural medicine in exchange. Seems this provision was put in to stop the "Buy a $160 sticker, get an ounce" exchange. I don't see the difference here. If anyone could go and receive free medicine from him, no requirements, and there was a "suggested donation", I think it would be okay; but the medicine is explicitly tied to your payment for services/pamphlets. He also doesn't seem to have any bona-fide history of counseling, therapy or long-term history or experience with these substances, so why would you buy his "self-authored" pamphlets? Article clearly states "Lyman, 43, is new to psychedelics". This reminds me of when medical marijuana first entered the scene; there was a guy so excited about it he went on the news talking about the "gold rush" and took time to even show his grow on the news. Then he was arrested and charged with multiple felonies. Also worth mentioning the Monster Mushroom kit in the picture, no liner, uneven substrate...
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MicoPata
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Re: [CO] Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn't Trying to Hide [Re: Bungmurphy]
#28541570 - 11/13/23 02:48 PM (6 months, 1 day ago) |
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I agree. Though I wish him well. We'll see. Might be a genius and found a loophole despite what seems to be an obvious violation, or he might have just out a large target in his back 🤔😬
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MicoPata
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Re: [CO] Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn't Trying to Hide [Re: Bungmurphy]
#28541573 - 11/13/23 02:53 PM (6 months, 1 day ago) |
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I remember another article about an individual that was growing and selling out of his apt when they first passed prop 122 and the feds ended up kicking his door in. I guess this fella sees this as marketing. Guess we'll see what happens.
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B Traven
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Re: [CO] Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn't Trying to Hide [Re: MicoPata]
#28541576 - 11/13/23 02:54 PM (6 months, 1 day ago) |
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Don't know what his motivations are, ultimately, but this guy strikes me as the typical carpetbagger.
"New to psychedelics," but "I think, eventually, the state will pattern what they do after me."
Funny the people that suddenly get the nerve to stick their necks out when the stakes are lower. Where on earth would we be without them?
Or maybe I was just set off by his first quote in the article being a bunch of garbled woo-woo pseudo-science...
-------------------- Beware of advice- even this.
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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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Re: [CO] Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn't Trying to Hide [Re: veggie]
#28571227 - 12/06/23 08:47 AM (5 months, 10 days ago) |
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Update ...
Magic Mushroom Co-Op Catches District Attorney's Attention December 5, 2023 - Westword
"This is a bit of a gray area on the spectrum right now."
A co-op selling support services with a free side of psilocybin mushrooms has caught the attention of the Denver District Attorney, but legal experts admit that current state laws have loopholes that might allow the co-op to escape punishment.
Darren Lyman insists that he is running a support center for those in need of natural medicine inside his studio at 800 West Eighth Avenue. By calling ahead, an adult can set up a visit to chat with Lyman about psilocybin's intoxicating effects and its potential to treat mental ailments such as anxiety, addiction, depression and traumatic stress.
The session typically costs $30, and the four grams of mushrooms that are provided at the end are free, he says. If you pay for more support, you'll get more mushrooms.
Lyman operates his business openly, even advertising in Westword. He argues that he is operating legally under Colorado's new Natural Medicine Health Act, or Proposition 122, the initiative approved by Colorado voters in November 2022 that decriminalized certain psychedelics and legalized medical psilocybin.
Denver DA Beth McCann and a handful of local psychedelics advocates who have pushed natural medicine initiatives in Colorado aren't sold on the co-op's interpretation, however.
"I don’t know what we'd call him. It's interesting to me that he is kind of distributing psilocybin," McCann said during a Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel meeting on November 30. "It's a weird thing, but it seems to be circumventing the regulatory [structure] to me."
Under the new state law, adults can now cultivate, possess and share psilocybin mushrooms, plants with DMT and mescaline (except for peyote), and cultivate and possess (but not share) ibogaine. Applications for psilocybin production facilities and supervised use sites are expected to be available next year or early 2025, but operators of such businesses must first be licensed by the state.
Still, McCann admitted that she needed to learn more about the mushroom co-op before taking action, because "criminal law is pretty vague unless you’re really selling it, so I don’t know."
Lyman insists that he's selling services, including advice, informational pamphlets about psilocybin use, and activated charcoal capsules — a common method of reducing body absorption of psilocybin when someone has bitten off too much — not the psilocybin itself. That, he stresses, is free. In the push for Prop 122, its leading proponents repeatedly stated that the measure would not create a retail aspect for psychedelics, and state officials with Colorado's new Natural Medicine Division (NMD) have echoed that message.
During Denver's psilocybin panel meeting, Healing Advocacy Fund Colorado director Tasia Poinsatte called the co-op “kind of a work-around” of the intention of Colorado's new psychedelics laws. A nonprofit organization that advocated for Prop 122, the Healing Advocacy Fund is now playing a role in the implementation of both Colorado and Oregon's new psychedelic laws.
"I think the city could put out some guidance on what these terms mean," Poinsatte said during the panel meeting. "I think the problem is that people are self-interpreting these provisions, and it would be nice to have some clarification on it."
Earlier in November, the Healing Advocacy Fund had sent out an announcement regarding a Westword story about Lyman, stating that "charging a fee for psilocybin mushrooms and advertising for this activity is not protected under Colorado’s new psychedelics law."
Critics of his co-op "don’t understand how the support center operates," Lyman says. "I don’t sell products. I provide support."
Psilocybin board member Sean McAllister said he agreed with his peers from a philosophical perspective, but added that the legal area in which the co-op operates is "a bit more gray."
According to McAllister, a cannabis and psychedelics attorney, Colorado's natural medicine laws now allow people to share decriminalized psychedelics in the context of spiritual guidance, counseling, community-based healing and other supportive uses. The natural medicine itself must be free, he said, but another provision states that people can charge for bona fide harm-reduction services or support services.
And those services are “currently undefined under the law," McAllister noted.
"There would be a way for somebody to give away medicine for free and charge for bona fide harm-reduction or support services," he said during the meeting. "This is a bit of a gray area on the spectrum right now."
McAllister, Poinsatte and attorney Joshua Kappel, a co-drafter of Prop 122, all said they believe that advertising magic mushroom sales or even implying such sales are likely violations of psychedelics law, but they fall into gray areas, too.
"It's not clear what the penalty is if you're advertising. If I'm a sitter and I want to sit with somebody [after they do psilocybin], and I put that on the back of a Westword, the fact that I was advertising wouldn’t mean I'm selling mushrooms. So it's just not clear what the penalty is for advertising, either," McAllister said.
Psilocybin board members said they're waiting for the Colorado Legislature to pass clarifying bills or future rulemaking within the NMD and Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) that would further define permitted and prohibited retail activity.
"Then there would be an enforcement mechanism," McCann said.
Although psilocybin dispensaries similar to cannabis stores were never the intention of Prop 122, according to the Denver board members, there will likely be commercial production of items such as psilocybin edibles, which are intended to be sold only at licensed facilitation settings.
Colorado law enforcement agencies cracked down on cannabis operations that used similar claims of providing free products for monetary donations after statewide recreational and retail legalization was approved by voters in 2012. With retail legalization, however, came more commercial and criminal definitions, as well as the ability for local governments to ban any form of marijuana businesses.
The psychedelics initiative allows local governments to enact time, place and manner regulations on psilocybin businesses and supervised use sites, but no outright bans are allowed within counties and municipalities.
"The big question for local governments is 'How do we want to zone these businesses, and what does that look like?'" Kappel asked during the meeting. "Is this a therapist office? Is this a retreat? Is this some sort of bed and breakfast, or is this something completely different?"
Created as part of a voter-approved measure in 2019 that decriminalized psilocybin, the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel took a brief hiatus in 2023 after Prop 122 passed. But the panel is expected to take a leading position in Denver's approach to its medical psilocybin rules, with expanded roles for city officials from law enforcement and public health agencies.
The board partnered with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a national nonprofit in psychedelics research, in 2020 to create a harm-reduction training program for Denver first responders in emergency health care, law enforcement and mental health. The program, almost three years in the making, is expected to be ready for distribution before the end of the year.
Going forward, Denver's psilocybin board plans to help create educational materials or work with Denver City Council to create a public awareness campaign about Colorado's quickly changing psychedelics laws.
“I guess that makes sense, given the conversation we just had,” board director and Denver psilocybin activist Kevin Matthews said before ending the meeting.
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WhoManBeing
PsychedelicYogi



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Re: [CO] Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Dispensary Isn't Trying to Hide [Re: veggie]
#28571300 - 12/06/23 09:38 AM (5 months, 9 days ago) |
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This all seems very far behind that of where the state of Oregon is with all the mushroom medicine
-------------------- Hip, hip... WhoRAy!!! Eye was thinking the other day... ahh, thinking never done me no good.
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