“The state is working really hard to operationalize this program as quickly as possible. People are suffering and they want to address that suffering.”

By Leah Romero, Source NM

New Mexico’s Medical Psilocybin Program recently opened up applications for producers of the psychedelic mushroom, marking a significant step toward the therapeutic program becoming fully operational.

“We’re no longer talking about a piece of legislation and some rulemaking. This is real, this is happening and it’s being operationalized right now,” Santa Fe-based psychedelic attorney Victoria Cvitanovic told Source NM.

The program was created last year with the signing of Senate Bill 219, which created the medical psilocybin program, an advisory board and legalized use of the psychedelic in controlled, therapeutic settings. Qualifying conditions currently include major treatment-resistant depression, post traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders and end-of-life care.

The New Mexico Department of Health Center for Medical Cannabis and Psilocybin began accepting applications last week from potential producers to grow the mushrooms for future program participants.

Cvitanovic told Source that the application is intended to ensure the psilocybin “produced for this program in New Mexico is both safe and medically beneficial for patients, as well as that this doesn’t cause safety issues for people in New Mexico generally.”

According to the permit requirements, applicants must provide a state business license; proof of registration with the New Mexico Secretary of State and the Taxation and Revenue Department; facility safety documents; proof of ownership of the facility or a signed statement from the landowner; proof of compliance with city and county zoning requirements; and verification that psilocybin products will only be produced and tested in New Mexico.

“I think it’s notable that the application balances both the safety of the patients who will be receiving the end product and the safety of people who may live in areas of the state where someone is granted a license to produce psilocybin,” Cvitanovic said. “These applications are open to anyone, but they are fairly extensive because of the high stakes of producing a controlled substance, specifically for very limited medical use.”

She said she believes that most applicants will have an agricultural and entrepreneurial background, but likely only a small number of “highly qualified” applications will meet the requirements.

A DOH spokesperson told Source NM in an email that there is currently no deadline for applications and that they will be reviewed in order of submission.

Cvitanovic said she recommends those considering applying to be a producer confer with a lawyer and accountant and get documentation together to submit the most complete and compliant application as possible. However, they should also consider whether their plans are operational if a permit is granted.

SB219 set a deadline of December 31, 2027 for the psilocybin program to be implemented; however, the state committed to expediting the timeline by a year, aiming to open the program to its first patients by the end of 2026.

“The state is working really hard to operationalize this program as quickly as possible,” Cvitanovic said. “People are suffering and they want to address that suffering.”

She added that the program’s rulemaking process is not complete and more permit applications will open up down the line for testing and for qualified clinicians. A “buildout and inspection period” will also likely follow before treatment begins with patients. She encouraged people interested in participating in the program to speak with their behavioral health providers about becoming certified to facilitate the treatment.

“Programs like this are only as strong as the clinicians and therapists and other people who choose to participate in them. This is hard work, and it is not risk free, but it has the ability to change the lives of thousands of New Mexicans who are suffering,” Cvitanovic said.

This story was first published by Source NM.

Photo courtesy of Alan Rockefeller.

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The program is “designed to expand opportunities for marginalized or under-represented individuals to participate in the state’s regulated marijuana industry.”

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent

Missouri received nearly 900 applications for its final round of marijuana microbusiness licenses, with the Missouri Lottery scheduled to draw applicants on September 9 for 77 available licenses.

But unlike the entrepreneurs selected in the program’s first two rounds, this year’s applicants will enter a system reshaped by two years of growing pains and dozens of license revocations.

Jimi Poe, owner of 816 Dispensary in Platte City, was among the first microbusiness licensees selected in 2023. Two years later, he opened Missouri’s first operating microbusiness dispensary.

“It was definitely a long journey,” Poe said during the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation’s latest podcast episode. “It was a journey that round three people are not going to have to go.”

The microbusiness program was established through the 2022 constitutional amendment voters approved to legalize recreational marijuana. It was “designed to expand opportunities for marginalized or under-represented individuals to participate in the state’s regulated marijuana industry,” according to the state’s website.

As part of the DCR Out Loud episode, Poe spoke with Lesley Turek, the division’s chief equity officer, about the evolution of the program since its inception in 2023.

This is the third and final lottery for microbusinesses, where the state will issue at least 29 wholesale and at least 34 dispensary licenses to meet the constitutional requirement of 144 total micro licenses.

Poe was one of the “pioneers” of the microbusiness industry, Turek said, and as of August 18, there are 21 operational microbusiness licenses—five dispensaries and 16 wholesale.

These companies heavily relied on each other to learn and grow their businesses, Poe said, so it’s important for new owners to build relationships right away.

“That’s one of the great benefits of the microbusiness program,” Turek said, “is that it really is a community.”

Turek, who oversees the microbusiness program, also stressed that the winners should also develop a relationship with their compliance officers so they understand the new rules put in place in May. They’re rules cannabis regulators proposed in 2024 after they revoked numerous licenses due to unconstitutional ownership deals.

“I think it’s really important too for licensees,” she said, “both current and future applicants, to understand—any sort of arrangement or agreements that you are trying to get into, include DCR with those so that we can make sure that you’re remaining compliant.”

The new rules governing the microbusiness program provide a deeper explanation of what it means to “majority own and operate” a license, which was a requirement in the 2022 constitutional amendment.

They allow regulators to complete an extensive review of potential ownership arrangements before the licenses are issued, rather than afterwards. And they mandate that regulators communicate directly with majority owners, not consultants, and that applicants take a course on compliance before applying and after receiving the license.

Poe’s journey

When Poe was 20, he said he got slapped with a nonviolent marijuana charge.

“I had a so-called friend get in trouble,” Poe told Turek, “and he wanted to get out of that trouble, so he hooked me up with an undercover cop and told me it was his uncle.”

He ended up selling 12 pounds to the undercover cop and did 14 months in prison.

“I was dating my wife at the time, and I remember telling her that, ‘Hey, do this bit with me, and I promise I’ll never sell marijuana again,’” Poe said. “And I never did until here we are, selling marijuana together in the dispensary under a state license.”

August 4 was the 20th anniversary of the day he got busted.

Now his charge is an important part of his business’ story, and it also made him eligible to apply for a microbusiness.

“I remember when I first won the license, I was like, ‘I’m gonna be the first to open,’” he said. “That was my goal from the time I won the license, and I also wanted to make my mark within the industry. So I felt like I achieved those goals.”

While it took two years instead of the six months he anticipated to open, Poe stressed that it won’t be as hard for these new winners.

“There’s a lot more people that are coming online,” he said, “and there’s a lot more stuff out there than when I first started. There were a lot of gray areas, and people were still trying to figure it out.”

When he opened his doors, “people thought I was crazy,” he said.

He only had nine different strands of what the industry calls “flower,” or dry weed in containers.

Now he has 32 different strains of flower, disposable distillate carts, multiple different dabs and 12 different pre-rolled joints. His menu started as one page and now it’s eight pages long, so “things have grown tremendously,” in a year, he said.

“We’re still lacking on the manufacturer side,” Poe said of the microbusiness community. “The manufacturing and equipment and the know-how, people are still trying to figure that out.”

Turek said before the Missouri Lottery draws the winners, cannabis regulators will vet the applications for basic things, like making sure no one has applied twice and application fees have been paid.

“It does take a little bit of time,” she said, “because if, for example, an application fee doesn’t come through, we give that person a chance to make that payment so that they can go to the lottery.”

Then after the draw, Turek said they’ll be in “full processing mode.”

They will be conducting a full review of the top-drawn applications, making sure that all the business arrangements are compliant with state law and background checks show no disqualifying felonies.

“We’ll start by making a phone call to reach out to the owners and say, ‘Hey, it’s us, DCR. Here’s your specialist with this team,’” Turek said. “Give you specific names to contact and tell you what’s going to happen in the process.”

If that application doesn’t meet state requirements, then the next top-drawn applicant will be processed. This is part of the new rules to prevent numerous license revocations.

Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department for Health and Senior Services that oversees the cannabis division, said the division plans to award microbusiness licenses from Round 3 before the end of 2026.

Currently, there are 46 microbusiness licenses from the Round 1 and 2 that are active but not yet approved to operate.

Poe said that’s partly because owners were nervous to open and unsure if the microbusiness program was going to thrive.

“I’ve been operational for over a year,” he said, “and I’ve proven that we’re going to make it.”

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.

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“Having dependable local access to cannabis means that those who need it most will be able to access it safely and legally.”

By Kate McKellar, Utah News Dispatch

Next week, Utah state officials will begin accepting applications to license a new independent medical cannabis pharmacy to be located in a “medically underserved” or rural area with a population that’s smaller than Salt Lake, Utah, Davis or Weber counties.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food announced in a news release Tuesday the application period will open on August 3, and it will remain open until September 2.

The application is for the second of two independent medical cannabis pharmacies required to open under HB54, a bill passed by the Utah Legislature in 2025 that, among other measures, expanded the number of medical cannabis pharmacies allowed to operate in the state, including in “medically underserved” areas.

It also aimed to create more opportunities for pharmacy operators that aren’t owned by large medical cannabis corporations.

The first independent medical cannabis pharmacy to open under the bill was Boojum in Moab. Before it opened, the nearest medical cannabis pharmacy was in Price, a nearly two-hour drive away.

Before Boojum opened this year, its chief science officer Olivia Kulunder told Moab Sun News “we were awarded this license over a two billion dollar holdings corporation from Chicago.”

“While we might not have over 150 dispensaries to our name, that means we will be pouring everything we have into this one pharmacy,” Kulunder told the outlet at the time.

Kulunder, who grew up in Castle Valley, also said the licensing board cited Boojum’s local connection as a key reason for awarding its license.

“We do know that this distance drives a lot of people to go out of state, which carries legal risks,” Kulander told Moab Sun News. “Having dependable local access to cannabis means that those who need it most will be able to access it safely and legally.”

Now it’s up to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food to decide where the next pharmacy will go.

The independent medical cannabis pharmacy will be required to operate under Utah Department of Agriculture and Food regulations “to ensure patient safety and product quality,” the department said.

To be eligible for the license, applications “must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of medical cannabis regulations, possess the necessary financial resources, and propose a secure and compliant facility,” the department said.

The following requirements must also be met:

• Independence: The new licensee must not own a financial interest in a medical cannabis pharmacy or be owned by an entity that owns any interest in or operates a medical cannabis production establishment that is owned, partially or entirely, or operated by a medical cannabis production establishment.
• Location: The new licensee shall be located in an area designated as medically underserved and in counties with populations smaller than 260,000. Eligible counties include Box Elder, Cache, Iron, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Washington, Beaver, Carbon, Duchesne, Millard, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Wasatch, Emery, Grand, Juab, Kane, Morgan, Piute, Daggett, Garfield, Rich and Wayne counties.
• Facility plan: Each applicant is required to provide a detailed layout and security plan for the proposed pharmacy.
• Operational procedures: Each applicant must provide comprehensive standard operating procedures for dispensing, inventory management, and patient consultation.
• Personnel Qualifications: Each applicant must provide information on key personnel, including pharmacists and technicians, and their qualifications.

After state officials review the applications, they’ll pick one proposed pharmacy to receive the license, which must be issued no later than January 1, 2027.

For more information on how to apply, visit the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s website.

This story was first published by Utah News Dispatch.

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