By Applications Now Open
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. This development marks a significant step toward the therapeutic program becoming fully operational. The state is working really hard to operationalize this program as quickly as possible.
People are suffering and they want to address that suffering.
Santa Fe-based psychedelic attorney Victoria Cvitanovic told Source NM, “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.” 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.
Strict Permit Requirements
Qualifying conditions currently include major treatment-resistant depression, post traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders and end-of-life care. The medical mushroom program requires psilocybin to be administered to patients by a New Mexico-licensed healthcare provider in an approved clinical setting. Applicants must provide a state business license and proof of registration with the New Mexico Secretary of State.
They must also register with the Taxation and Revenue Department.
Facility safety documents are required for all submissions. Applicants must prove ownership of the facility or provide a signed statement from the landowner. Proof of compliance with city and county zoning requirements is mandatory.
Verification that psilocybin products will only be produced and tested in New Mexico is also required.
Timeline and Next Steps
Senate Bill 219 specified a deadline of Dec.
Department spokesperson David Barre confirmed in an email that the state now plans to have the program running by December 2026. The deadline “has moved forward because there has been a lot of interest for the program, and in order to serve patients who are in need, it was determined to start the implementation on this earlier timeframe,” Barre wrote.
Once the board is in place, members will begin to establish rules for licensing providers and requirements for psilocybin producers. “It’s anticipated that the first patients are going to receive their doses in March of 2028,” Cvitanovic said, however the timeline could be faster if the board is established and quickly begins their work, she added. “But we’ve seen in other states, these programs take more time to launch than you think.
We have to develop a supply chain here within the state for the products.”
