Colorado Gov. Announces Pardons for Psychedelics Possession

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) announced last week that he was pardoning some people who were convicted of possessing certain psychedelic substances, CBS News reports. The pardons go to individuals who were convicted by the state for possessing psilocybin or psilocin,

The governor announced the pardons Wednesday while speaking at the Psychedelic Science 2025 conference at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. The week-long conference investigates and celebrates psychedelics in the context of mental health, medicine, and consciousness.

“This is a step forward for the individuals — they’ll now have this cleared from their records,” the governor said in the report.

“Colorado has been a national leader in breaking through outdated laws around cannabis, and now we are doing the same for natural medicine. This action eliminates past state-level convictions for psilocybin and psilocin possession that would be legal today. With these pardons, we are fulfilling the will of Colorado voters and moving away from ineffective drug policy and encouraging local municipalities to follow suit.” — Gov. Polis, in a press release

Colorado voters approved language in 2023 to decriminalize the low-level possession of natural psychedelics like psilocybin or psilocin, the two chemicals most associated with psychedelic mushrooms.

While speaking two years ago at the Psychedelic Science 2023, Gov. Polis stated then that he intended to issue pardons for all criminal convictions in the state related to psychedelics.

Previously, the governor has issued thousands of pardons for cannabis possession convictions.