A bipartisan group of Colorado state legislators, many of them veterans, is seeking to include an ibogaine pilot program in the state’s $46.8 billion budget. House Bill 26-1325 would create a pilot program to research ibogaine’s potential to treat mental health conditions and substance abuse, with a price tag of $150,000. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has backed the effort, having said previously he wanted ibogaine treatment in healing centers “as efficiently as possible.”
Colorado House Minority Leader Jarvis Caldwell, R-El Paso County, a veteran himself, explained his support: “As a veteran myself, I have a lot of friends and former colleagues in the military who have dealt with mental health issues, have dealt with PTSD. They’ve tried different treatments and sometimes those treatments work, and sometimes they don’t. I really believe in an all-of-the-above approach.” Veterans face higher rates of mental illness and are more than twice as likely to die by suicide than the general U.S. population, according to RAND.
The ibogaine legislation gained momentum following President Trump’s April executive order aimed at loosening regulations around psychedelic drugs. According to Americans for Ibogaine, legislation has been introduced in 19 states across the political spectrum since the beginning of 2025. Currently, ibogaine is classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law, meaning the FDA finds it has no medicinal benefit and a high potential for abuse.
The legislation is currently stalled in Colorado’s Appropriations Committee amid a state budget deficit of $1.5 billion. Caldwell said, “We’re trying to work with the governor’s office to find the $150,000 in order to get this through the Appropriations Committee.” Support from veterans groups has bolstered the effort—the Disabled American Veterans national organization has endorsed the bill. A 2022 report by the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment found that ibogaine can treat opioid addiction. However, ibogaine treatment has faced scrutiny, with a 2021 death in Colorado attributed to the substance resulting in a prison sentence for the distributor.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://blackchronicle.com/healthcare/colorado-legislators-back-psychedelic-drug-research/