Mushrooms Decriminalized In CO — Can You ...

Mushrooms Decriminalized In CO — Can You Get Rich On The Mushroom Gold Rush?

Nov 22, 2022

Mushrooms Decriminalized — Can You Get Rich On The Mushroom Gold Rush?

Let’s talk mushrooms, the magic kind.

It’s certainly no question that mushrooms have gained HUGE popularity over the past couple years. I’m sure you know at least one person who is into mushroom cultivation. With the passing of initiative 301 in 2019 and the now passed 122 decriminalizing mushrooms statewide in Colorado, even more people are entering the exciting world of mushrooms and an entirely new industry is emerging in the natural medicine realm that could be a direction you may be considering.

PE6 grown from an “All-In-One” bag. Photo provided by The Denver Spore Company.

A lot of Coloradians might remember the marijuana gold rush and probably know of someone who hit it big during that exciting time.

Both cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms hold medicinal and recreational interest and the psychedelic mushroom scene could seem to be following the same decriminalization efforts that cannabis experienced, but there are some key differences in play here that I want you to know. These potential differentials between cannabis and psilocybin need to be acknowledged for you to make your best informed steps moving forward if you want to play a part in the new mushroom game.

Over the past year, I’ve been approached by many excited people enticed by the idea of another gold rush similar to when marijuana was decriminalized. When the inception of the weed industry spawned, cannabis growers could literally show up at the back of marijuana dispensaries with backpacks filled with pounds of vegetative green to be emptied and traded for cash money.

Sound thrilling?

Could there be a similar opportunity within the psychedelic and natural medicine realm?

The weed revolution made a lot of people who were in the right position a LOT of money, quick. This fast income would likely be laundered through LLCs, invested, carefully and responsibly spent over the following years, or blown like an idiot hitting the lottery. Humor aside though, it gave many underprivileged people the opportunity (ethics and legality aside) to experience and see what fast money could be. A true “get rich quick”, at least for that moment in time, for those who were skilled and smart enough to successfully operate small scale marijuana grows.

The stories I hear from people who scored in marijuana legalization are incredible. Their success and what they went on to do is truly inspiring. For those that leveraged their position in the marijuana industry, it gave a chance for a rise in socioeconomical status for those that may otherwise have not had the chance.

But will this sort of rush of opportunity happen again?

The answer is yes, but it won’t be the same.

With the decriminalization of magic mushrooms from proposition 122, we will see another bump of excitement and interest similar to the beginning phases of the marijuana industry, but with some differences. These differentials should be carefully considered by all the opportunists looking for a chance, or another chance, to make money on the inception of a new industry: Magic Mushrooms.

Below I’ve listed four key points you should consider before jumping in.

1. Psilocybin Is Not Going Rec, It’s Going Med.

Under Initiative 122, psilocybin containing mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis only) will be able to be administered by licensed facilitators in regulated and approved natural medicine healing centers. What this means is that you will be able to grow for personal consumption, but selling is and will remain illegal, at least for the time being. How the healing centers will obtain the mushrooms for their integrative therapy treatments has yet to be disclosed.

  • An example of something similar to natural medicine healing centers might be ketamine treatment centers. It has been suggested that the medicinal mushrooms may need to be grown by the actual facilitator and that outside purchase of these mushrooms would still be illegal. This information hasn’t been verified, but we should know the specifics in the coming months.

  • These healing centers are likely to incorporate an integrative therapy approach which will be pricey so the ability to afford legal mushroom therapy might encourage people to grow their own mushrooms rather than utilize these centers.

  • The mushrooms themselves may not be allowed to be taken home with the patient which will lower the amount needed by the centers.

Take from this that the number of mushrooms needed won’t be as much as we had presumed, but that people in Colorado may be more interested in growing their own fungi.

The goals for the natural healing centers will be to utilize psilocybin mushrooms with psychotherapy. Their profit won’t be much from the mushrooms which are extremely cheap to produce, but from the professional therapy that comes with going to these centers. The facilitators will only be interested in being supplied mushrooms with what they expect to administer at the location and this will certainly be regulated.

We aren’t sure yet how regulation will work..

Will the licensed administrator that is working for the healing center be the one who can purchase from a licensed mushroom grower, or will they be required to grow their own medicine to give?

This is the question I have been digging into because as a current culinary mushroom farmer, I would like to grow Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms for healing centers, but I don’t have the ability to go back to school to get an entheogenic therapist degree or whatever requirements are needed to actually work for a healing center to administer my own mushrooms.

That’s not to say it isn’t possible to be a part of the new healing center businesses, but we need more information before we can create a business plan and operation banking off providing for these places.

2. The rush could be short lived.

The window of opportunity for small scale home growers will be shorter than marijuana. I’m talking a few months to weeks before the cost per pound drops dramatically. This is because large mushrooms farms simply need to switch one of their grow rooms from culinary mushroom species to specifically Cubensis mushrooms. Because growing magic mushrooms are very similar to any other mushroom, there are already established mushroom farm facilities that can do the switch over very quickly and easily.

If growing bulk mushrooms to get in early with these healing centers is your plan, know that you will want take note to:

  • Create a solid network of potential buyers in the industry

  • Keep up with Natural Medicine Colorado and the current 22-month implementation process for therapeutic access

  • Be first in line for whatever certifications and frameworks that are established

This is because you will have a lot of competition when it comes to simply pumping out mushrooms. Like any business, dotting your i’s, crossing your t’s, and networking with others in the business to gain rapport and trust will be essential.

3. Magic Mushrooms May Not Be As Popular As Marijuana.

If you’ve ever taken a “macrodose” of mushrooms you’ll know that tripping isn’t something that most people do frequently. One big psychedelic experience leaves the user with plenty to internalize and feel over the course of months post-use. On the other side of the drug, microdosing is definitely a new potential that will create extra demand, but the amount needed isn’t a ton for a casual person. A half ounce of quality mushrooms can set a regular consumer for at least six months if not a year.

Also selling magic mushrooms is still illegal on the federal and local level, so there’s that. You’d be a drug dealer. Please don’t do illegal things.

So to recap:

  • You don’t need a lot of mushrooms to last a consumer a long time

  • Microdosing and integrative therapy treatments offers new opportunity

  • It’s not as casual of a drug as marijuana and sales will be regulated through natural medicine healing centers only.

4. Find your niche.

Do you have passion? Do you love mushrooms and their healing potential for the world? Is jumping in on a growing industry with new discoveries being uncovered daily excite you like nothing else? I hope you feel a confident yes in your heart to these because if you do then you can be successful in this industry.

…but, you will need to figure out how you can fit in.

This is because competition is high and there are going to be many people joining the industry. I’ve seen at least ten mushroom farms pop up and disappear in the last year and that’s just on the culinary side of things. Differentiation and specialization of a particular path will be necessary if you expect to be in this for the long term. To do this you may want to consider:

  • Why are you doing this?

  • How can you provide value to the consumers in this industry that isn’t already being done?

  • Why do you love mushrooms?

If you’re like me then mushrooms filled a spot in my heart that before was filled with self-destructive habits. When I got rid of the bad things in my life, mycology came in to replace them. I found that helping others through teaching workshops and getting people ‘into’ growing mushrooms gave me a sense of purpose which makes me happier than anything else. Helping others helped me. I have mushrooms to thank for that.

So find your niche, find what makes you and mushrooms compatible, and just go out and start doing it. It’s a rewarding industry that’s evolving and changing daily; it’s changing more now than ever before so the time is now.

Mush Love,

-Charlie

Hi there,

My name is Charlie and I love learning and writing about mushrooms. I specialize in finding the best ways of growing mushrooms easily and sharing what I’ve learned. If you want to get started growing mushrooms, I’m here to help. The more people we get growing mushrooms, the better the world can be.

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Mush Love,

-Charlie

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