No less than 1,000 feet between schools and psychedelic treatment centers, Pitkin County Public Health recommends

In a 4-1 vote on Thursday, the Pitkin County Board of Health voted to recommend a 1,000-foot limit on the operation of psychedelic treatment centers to high schools and middle schools as well as no limit on distance to childcare facilities. 

The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners asked for the Board of Health’s recommendation before considering what zoning regulation they would like to enact in Pitkin County. 

The Natural Medicine Regulation And Legalization bill enacted in May of 2023 laid the groundwork for the legalization of psychedelic mushrooms and the operation of psychedelic treatment centers. The law made a recommendation on the minimum distance such treatment centers would need to be from schools and residential childcare facilities but left open the ability to tweak or eliminate those distances to local municipalities. 

The recommendation made in the bill was 1,000 feet from schools and childcare facilities. Since its enactment, some municipalities have altered it, including Boulder and Colorado Springs. 

Boulder relaxed the restriction, limiting psychedelic treatment centers from operating within 500 feet of schools and placing no limit on the distance it must operate from childcare facilities. 

Colorado Springs went the opposite direction, limiting operation of psychedelic treatment centers from operating within one mile of schools and childcare centers, severely limiting where such centers can operate. 

The Pitkin Board of Health took inspiration from Boulder for their recommendation of a 1,000-foot limit on proximity to schools with no limit on proximity to childcare facilities. 

“I’ll make a motion that the Pitkin County Board of Health recommends the City of Boulder approach,” said Board of Health member Sam Rose. “Which is at least 500 feet from any middle, junior high school. But everything else be allowed.”

It was later amended back to the 1,000-foot limit before the vote was held. Board member Dr. Christa Gieszl was the only vote against the motion, with Board member Greg Poschman abstaining due to his position on the Pitkin County Commission that will ultimately make a decision on how to regulate these health centers. 

Among the concerns that the board members discussed was the possibility that being nearby centers that distribute drugs increases the chances that people will use them. 

One study cited during the discussion found that proximity to tobacco sales was a factor in user’s ability to quit using the substance. 

“Participants living in a short walking distance, they chose 500 meters, which is 1,500 feet of the closest tobacco retail outlet, were less likely to maintain continuous abstinence from smoking six months following a quit attempt than those who live further from the closest tobacco retail outlets,” said Dr. Kim Levin, medical officer on the Board of Health.

Some board members, however, mentioned that the treatment centers differ from places distributing tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana because you cannot purchase psilocybin for use outside of those centers. 

The lone dissenting voice from Gieszl emphasized the lack of available data on which this recommendation was being made. She acknowledged that there are benefits to this type of treatment but raised several concerns about permitting the operation of these centers in proximity to schools and childcare centers. 

“What if people are trying to break into places to get substances?” she asked. “What happens to the neighborhood around there? Does petty crime increase? There’s all sorts of different topics that need to be considered in this, as well.”

Despite the recommendation passing, the Board of County Commissioners will still have final say on how the county decides to regulate these treatment centers’ proximity to schools and childcare centers.