LAKEWOOD – Dec. 4, 2024 – The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Natural Medicine Division (Division) has completed its rulemaking for the state’s new Natural Medicine program and will begin accepting license applications on Dec. 31, 2024.
The NMD’s final rules are now in effect and will guide the licensing and regulation of natural medicine healing centers, cultivations, manufacturers, testing facilities, and their owners and employees. The Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) will license and regulate facilitators of natural medicine services.
The program’s Initial Application and License Compliance Fees were adopted Oct. 25 and will take effect Dec. 31, 2024. Based on stakeholder feedback, the Division intentionally kept fees lower in the first year of the regulated program to lower barriers to entry and incentivize participation.
"As a new Division, we are grateful for what we have learned from the diverse perspectives of stakeholders who participated in our listening sessions and rulemaking meetings,” said Dominique Mendiola, senior director of the Colorado Natural Medicine Division. “We are only the second state in the nation to legalize natural medicine – after Oregon – so we are committed to standing up a regulatory framework that reflects both the will of the voters and the direction of the Colorado General Assembly through proactive collaboration with stakeholders.”
As the Division prepares to accept applications at the end of the year, most of the Division staff, including the leadership team, will serve both the Natural Medicine Division and the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED). These staffing decisions will provide relief to each agency’s budget, keep costs lower for license fees and applications, and create lean, efficient regulatory agencies.
More information about the natural medicine license application process will be posted soon on the NMD website.
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About the Natural Medicine Division
The establishment of the Natural Medicine Division follows the enactment of SB23-290, which entrusted the Department of Revenue with the responsibility to regulate and license various aspects of natural medicine operations in Colorado. The Division collaborates closely with the Division of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and the Natural Medicine Advisory Board, facilitated by DORA, to develop rules and processes.