Naropa University’s Center for Psychedelic Studies is breaking off from the university to become an independent psychedelic clinic in Boulder.

Naropa’s Center for Psychedelic Studies has provided education and training for people wanting to train in psychedelic-assisted therapy since 2020. Now, the program is leaving the university due to federal regulations. The new psychedelic clinic will be called the Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts, and it will be independent from Naropa.

“I feel excited about it. I do feel like we’re on the frontier, we’re pioneering something,” Memoru cofounder Sara Lewis said, adding, “There are not many examples out there of legal psychedelic clinics. We’re doing something new but we’re drawing on our experience of having been working in mental health and working in education and training. It’s something we all as cofounders have experience in, but we’re certainly starting something new by creating this legal psychedelic clinic and training institute.”

Psychedelics are drugs that change people’s moods, thoughts and perceptions of reality. Examples include MDMA, ketamine and psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms. Research is exploring how psychedelics can help people medicinally, including treating mental health conditions.

Some psychedelics, like MDMA and psilocybin, are legal for clinical use in Colorado but are not approved federally by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Because universities like Naropa are bound by federal regulations, it can educate about psychedelics but it cannot operate clinics that actively use the substances. At the same time, Naropa is an approved psychedelic training program in the state of Colorado, and state regulations require hands-on training that includes hours working in the administration of psilocybin.

“For people to really begin to know how to work with clients, they need to actually learn how to work with the medicine in a way that’s not theoretical,” Lewis said.

The conflicting state and federal regulations prompted Naropa to separate from its Center for Psychedelic Studies, a move the university was anticipating it would have to make.

“It’s been a challenge for us in that there’s been no templates, there’s no blueprints out there,” Lewis said. “Naropa really is the first university to have to contend with this issue. If and when other states legalize psilocybin and want to do training, there will be the same limitations on working within a university setting. I really hope that changes.”

The new Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts will focus on clinical care, training and research. It hopes to serve people in the Boulder community who are interested in psychedelic therapies to help with mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, end-of-life care, grief and postpartum depression. It will also welcome people seeking self-growth or other personal, emotional work.

“The psychedelic work, it’s not just about treating mental illness, it’s also very connected to well-being and flourishing,” Lewis said. “That’s an exciting thing to be able to focus on.”

Lewis hopes that someday, once federal regulations are approved, the Memoru Center will have a full range of psychedelics to work with and could make decisions about developing the best treatment plan with a variety of options.

“By having a legal, regulated clinic, I think it’s going to open the possibility for many more people to begin working with psychedelics than might currently have access,” she said.

Naropa’s state certification to offer psilocybin training has been transferred to Memoru, which will now offer education and clinical training. All staff from Naropa’s Center for Psychedelic Studies and operations have moved to the new clinic.

“Universities often act as business incubators to bring academic ideas into real-world practice,” Naropa President Charles Lief said in a release. “The Naropa Center for Psychedelic Studies was incubated within the university, and with its tremendous growth over the last several years, the idea was that the program would evolve to full independence to continue and fulfill its mission outside of Naropa.”

The Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy and Psilocybin Facilitator Training certificates previously offered by Naropa will now be offered by Memoru. The new center anticipates opening in the spring and has its first training class in the fall. In the coming weeks and months, it will look for a location for the clinic and pursue fundraising efforts. Lewis said the Memoru team is engaged with philanthropists and potential investors to fund start-up costs. Once operational, Memoru will become a for-profit entity funded through revenue from the program.

Naropa will continue offering a psychedelic studies minor and a psychedelic concentration in the university’s chaplaincy program.

For more information, visit memoru.com.