The Department of Health's proposed program rule under the Medical Psilocybin Act: what it would require, what drew objections at the October 2, 2026 hearing, and what remains proposed.
New Mexico's proposed medical psilocybin program rules would set enrollment standards for patients and operating standards for certifying clinicians, practitioners, facilitators, healing centers and educational programs. The New Mexico Department of Health proposed them as a new rule, 7.35.3 NMAC, and held a public hearing on October 2, 2026. The rule has not been adopted.
According to Marijuana Moment, four provisions drew objections at that hearing. They are a certifying-clinician gateway, written property-owner permission for in-home care, a state review of up to 30 days for patient applications, and staffing ratios for sessions.
Proposed 7.35.3 NMAC would set standards for patient enrollment and for certifying clinicians, practitioners, facilitators, healing centers and other approved locations, and educational programs, according to the Department of Health's hearing notice. The notice lists patient application requirements and an administrative review process for denied initial patient applications. For each of the other groups, it lists application, operating, data submittal and prohibition requirements.
Certifying clinicians, practitioners and facilitators would face educational requirements, practicum requirements and mentoring requirements under the notice. The rule would also cover reciprocal enrollment and recognition. Educational programs would be subject to curriculum and didactic requirements, Department evaluation, and review by third-party evaluators.
Healing centers would carry emergency planning and adverse health event reporting duties. The notice also lists protocols for the storage and handling of psilocybin products, plus prohibitions and limitations. It also lists denial, suspension, revocation and discipline, with an appeals hearing process.
Mind Medicine Law reviewed the hearing notice and one press report, and did not review the full text of the proposed rule. The four provisions that drew objections are described below as Marijuana Moment reported them.
Marijuana Moment reports that patients would need a prescriber's signature and a recent in-person exam, a provision reported as a certifying clinician gateway. Written property-owner permission would be required for in-home care for patients and for healing centers in leased commercial buildings.
It also reports that patients would face identification cards, controlled substance registration and a state review of up to 30 days. Individual sessions would require both a practitioner and a facilitator. Group sessions would require five staff for eight patients.
The Department of Health noticed its public hearing on 7.35.3 NMAC for Friday, October 2, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in the Harold Runnels Building auditorium, 1190 St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe. The notice offered a live web video conference and a telephone option. Comment could be given in person, by video, by phone or in writing.
Marijuana Moment described a two-hour hybrid rulemaking hearing presided over by Hearing Officer Craig Erickson and agency General Counsel Mr. Woodward. The report counts about 80 written comments and hours of oral testimony.
Two objections were quoted in the report. Denali Wilson of Healing Advocacy Fund New Mexico said: "The certifying clinician requirement...goes beyond what was anticipated in the statute." Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces), the primary sponsor of the bill the rules implement, said: "I am totally opposed to the landlord sign-off for homebound patients."
Others reported as objecting included peer facilitator Chris Peskuski, Paul Walton of Firefighters for Plant Medicine, Dr. Lida Fatemi of the UNM School of Medicine, and psilocybin advisory board chair Ian Dunn. Brett Phelps of the Psychedelic Bar Association's New Mexico Working Group was also reported as objecting. So were Disability Rights New Mexico, the Psychedelic Mental Health Access Alliance and the Rudick Law Group.
End-of-life advocates objected as well, according to the report, including Dr. Larry Leeman and board members of End of Life Options New Mexico. Several clinical educators praised its training, supervision and workforce standards.
The certifying clinician gateway, as Marijuana Moment reported it, would require a patient to have a prescriber's signature and a recent in-person exam. Critics said the statute requires only that a licensed provider confirm a qualifying condition. Wilson's quoted objection was aimed at this requirement.
The landlord consent provision would require written property-owner permission for in-home care for patients and for healing centers in leased commercial buildings. The report says this provision drew the strongest objections. Steinborn's statement opposing landlord sign-off for homebound patients addressed it directly.
The patient review provision would allow the state up to 30 days to review a patient application, alongside identification cards and controlled substance registration. Steinborn asked for a review of a week or two instead.
The staffing provision would require both a practitioner and a facilitator for each individual session. Group sessions would need five staff for eight patients. Critics said the ratios double costs and undermine the cost savings of group therapy.
None of these four provisions is final. A proposed rule can change before adoption.
The same hearing covered proposed amendments to three sections of 7.35.2 NMAC. The amendment to 7.35.2.7 NMAC would revise definitions, and the amendment to 7.35.2.10(G) NMAC would revise general producer requirements. The amendment to 7.35.2.24 NMAC would revise requirements for the transportation of psilocybin.
The hearing notice states that the purpose of the new rule and the amendments is to implement the Medical Psilocybin Act, sections 26-2D-1 through 26-2D-11 of the NMSA 1978.
Marijuana Moment reports that the department recently issued the state's first medical psilocybin producer permit to Sacred Alto Spores.
The Department of Health accelerated the program's launch to December 2026, according to Marijuana Moment, which calls that well ahead of the statutory deadline. The report does not state the statutory date itself.
As of October 19, 2026, Mind Medicine Law found no notice that 7.35.3 NMAC had been adopted, and no adoption date is known.
In March 2026, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a budget with $630,000 for the Medical Psilocybin Treatment Equity Fund and $300,000 for UNM end-of-life anxiety research.
Sixteen organizations asked House Appropriations and Finance Committee Chair Nathan P. Small to add $500,000 to the Treatment Equity Fund and $500,000 for UNM palliative research. They also asked to extend $1.5 million in previously appropriated funds through fiscal year 2027. The report does not state the outcome of that request.
Psilocybin remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and New Mexico's state program does not change federal law. The program is a state medical program under the Medical Psilocybin Act, and Marijuana Moment reports that the rules implement 2025 Senate Bill 219 (SB 219).
The rules described above are proposed. A proposed rule can change before adoption, so any provision summarized here may read differently in the final text.
See the legal status by state tool and the Oregon psilocybin guide. Background on the substance is in the psilocybin guide, and other state measures are listed in the law section. To read the hearing notice itself, open the Department of Health's rule page for 7.35.3 NMAC.
We found no notice that the rule had been adopted as of October 19, 2026; it is proposed. Marijuana Moment reports that the Department of Health accelerated the program's launch to December 2026.
7.35.3 NMAC is a proposed New Mexico Department of Health rule for the New Mexico Medical Psilocybin Program. It would set standards for patient enrollment and for certifying clinicians, practitioners, facilitators, healing centers and other approved locations, and educational programs. It has not been adopted.
Under the proposal as reported by Marijuana Moment, written property-owner permission would be required for in-home care for patients and for healing centers in leased commercial buildings. The report says the provision drew the strongest objections, including from Sen. Jeff Steinborn. The rule is proposed, so the provision could change before adoption.
Up to 30 days, under the proposal as Marijuana Moment reported it. Sen. Jeff Steinborn asked for a review of a week or two instead. The rule is still proposed, so the review period could change.
No. Psilocybin remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. New Mexico's state medical program does not change federal law.
No adoption date is known. Mind Medicine Law found no notice that 7.35.3 NMAC had been adopted as of October 19, 2026. Marijuana Moment reports that the department accelerated the program's launch to December 2026.
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