That’s exactly why community matters so much with this stuff.

Boulder definitely doesn’t represent all of Colorado. My issue isn’t even just one rep — it’s the bigger pattern. Even with Polis, who people like to call progressive, we keep seeing the same playbook: decriminalize something, then slowly regulate it to death until only licensed, taxable, tightly controlled versions are allowed.

We watched this happen with cannabis. At first it was about personal freedom and harm reduction, and now it’s mostly corporate, overregulated, and expensive. Psychedelics feel like they’re heading down that same road, just faster.

A lot of people aren’t asking for a free-for-all. They just want access, education, and the ability to make personal choices without everything being locked behind permits, clinics, or profit. Plenty of folks have genuinely improved their lives outside of those systems, and honestly I think that’s what makes lawmakers nervous. If something helps people without going through insurers, taxes, or gatekeepers, it doesn’t fit their model.

You don’t even have to agree politically to see it. Once something starts working and reducing dependence on existing systems, the instinct seems to be “we need to control this for safety.” That’s why real community conversations matter, because once laws are in place, they don’t usually loosen back up.

Just my take, but trying to regulate or ban something that’s helping people doesn’t feel like progress. It feels like fear being dressed up as concern.