2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 12 - PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS (§§ 12-1-101 — 12-315-310) › HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS (§§ 12-170-101 — 12-315-310) › Article 170 - NATURAL MEDICINE HEALTH ACT OF 2022 (§§ 12-170-101 — 12-170-117) › Section 12-170-105 - Director powers and duties - prohibition - rules

(1)
In addition to any other powers and duties granted or imposed on the director pursuant to this article 170 or by any other law, the director has the following powers and duties:
(a)
To promulgate rules pursuant to section
12-20-204
concerning the following subjects:
(I)
Requirements for the safe provision of regulated natural medicine, regulated natural medicine product, and natural medicine services to a participant, including:
(A)
Parameters for a preparation session, an administration session, and an integration session, including requirements for providing and verifying the completion of each session; whether any of the sessions may be conducted using telephone or audio-visual communication technology; and any timeliness requirements for when each session must be completed in relation to the other sessions;
(B)
Health and safety warnings that must be provided to a participant before the preparation session, administration session, and integration session begin;
(C)
Educational materials that must be provided to a participant before the preparation session, administration session, and integration session begin;
(D)
A form that a participant, a facilitator, and an authorized representative of the healing center must sign, unless the facilitator is a sole practitioner, then only the participant and facilitator must sign, before the preparation session, administration session, and integration session begin. At a minimum, the form must provide that the participant provided the participant's complete and accurate health information to the facilitator and that the facilitator provided to the participant identified risk factors based upon the participant's provided health information and drug contraindications; participant expectations of the natural medicine services; parameters for physical contact during natural medicine services, the requirement of informed consent permitting physical contact, and the right to withdraw consent for physical contact; and risks of participating in natural medicine services.
(E)
Proper supervision by the facilitator during the administration session and requirements to ensure that the participant has a discharge plan or safe transportation from the healing center;
(F)
Provisions for group administration sessions, including requirements for an administration session that has one or more facilitators performing and supervising the administration session for more than one participant;
(G)
Provisions to permit a facilitator to refuse to provide natural medicine services to a person based upon health and safety risks or circumstances promulgated by rule; and
(H)
The dosage limit of regulated natural medicine or regulated natural medicine product that may be provided to a participant for consumption during an administration session;
(II)
Requirements for the licensing of facilitators, practice of facilitation, and professional conduct of facilitators, including:
(A)
The form and procedures for applying for a new license or renewing or reinstating a license issued pursuant to this article 170;
(B)
The educational and experiential requirements and qualifications for an individual to become a facilitator, including education and training on participant safety, drug interactions, contraindications, mental health and state, physical health and state, social and cultural considerations, preparation, administration, integration, and ethics. The educational requirements must not require a professional license or professional degree other than a facilitator license issued pursuant to this article 170; except that, if there are multiple tiers of facilitator licenses, an advanced tier of facilitator licenses may require another professional license or professional degree.
(C)
Oversight and supervision requirements, including professional responsibility standards and continuing education requirements;
(D)
Establishment of professional standards of conduct to practice facilitation, or a license, registration, permit, or certification pursuant to this article 170;
(E)
Parameters for physical contact with a participant during natural medicine services, including requirements for obtaining signed informed consent for permissible physical contact and permitting a participant to withdraw consent for permissible physical contact with a participant in any manner and at any time;
(F)
Permitting remuneration for the provision of natural medicine services;
(G)
Permitting provision of group administration sessions by one facilitator who is performing and supervising the administration session for more than one participant, and establishing a limit on the total number of participants who may participate in a group administration session that is performed and supervised by one facilitator;
(H)
Record-keeping, privacy, and confidentiality requirements for licensees, registrants, permittees, and certificate holders, including protections preventing disclosure of a prospective participant's or participant's personally identifiable information to the public, third parties, or any government agency, except as allowed for purposes expressly stated pursuant to this article 170, rules promulgated pursuant to this article 170, article
50
of title
44
, rules promulgated pursuant to article
50
of title
44
, or for state or local law enforcement agencies to access records and information for other state or local law enforcement. The information or records related to a participant constitute medical data as described in section
24-72-204 (3)(a)(I)
, and the information or records may only be disclosed to those persons directly involved with an active investigation or proceeding.
(I)
Parameters for a facilitator's permissible and prohibited financial interests in a healing center, license pursuant to this article 170, or license pursuant to article
50
of title
44
; except that a facilitator may not have a financial interest in more than five natural medicine business licenses pursuant to article
50
of title
44
;
(J)
Parameters for a facilitator to provide and supervise natural medicine services at an authorized location that is not a healing center's licensed premises, including a health-care facility or a private residence;
(K)
Standards for advertising and marketing a licensee's services, including: Avoiding the misappropriation and exploitation of the federally recognized American tribes and Indigenous people, communities, cultures, and religions; avoiding the excessive commercialization of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine services; prohibiting advertising and marketing of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine services directed to individuals who are under twenty-one years of age; and other parameters determined necessary by the director;
(L)
The approval of educational programs in the state intended to prepare individuals for licensure under this article 170, including approving curricula, conducting surveys, and establishing standards for the educational programs; denial of, approval of, and withdrawal of approval from an educational program for failure to meet required standards established by this article 170 or rules adopted by the director; establishment of standards to determine whether institutions outside this state are deemed to have acceptable educational programs and whether graduates of institutions outside this state are deemed to be graduates of approved educational programs for the purpose of licensure under this article 170; and determination of when accreditation of an education program by another state may serve as a basis for approval of licensure;
(M)
The approval of facilitator education and training programs pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section;
(III)
Any rules necessary to differentiate between the types of regulated natural medicine or regulated natural medicine product provided for participant consumption during an administration session based on qualities, traditional uses, and safety profile;
(IV)
Any rules determined necessary by the director related to the powers or duties granted or imposed on the director pursuant to this article 170 or by any other law; and
(V)
Any other matters determined necessary by the director to implement or administer this article 170;
(b)
Beginning on or before December 31, 2024, to review applications in the form and manner determined by the director for new licenses, registrations, permits, or certificates after payment of the required fee and to grant or deny licenses, registrations, permits, or certificates as provided in this article 170 or a rule promulgated pursuant to this article 170. The division shall prioritize reviewing applications from applicants who have established residency in Colorado.
(c)
To establish licenses, registrations, permits, or certificates determined necessary by the director to implement or administer this article 170, and to establish eligibility requirements and privileges under the licenses, registrations, permits, or certificates;
(d)
To establish, when financially feasible, procedures, policies, and programs to ensure this article 170 and rules promulgated pursuant to this article 170 are equitable and inclusive and promote the licensing, registration, and permitting of, and provision of natural medicine and natural medicine product to, persons from communities that have been disproportionately harmed by high rates of arrest for controlled substances, persons who face barriers to health-care access, persons who have traditional, tribal, or Indigenous history with natural medicine or natural medicine product, or to persons who are veterans. The director may consult the board when considering procedures, policies, and programs pursuant to this subsection (1)(d).
(e)
To conduct investigations and hearings, gather evidence, and pursue disciplinary actions pursuant to sections
12-20-403
,
12-20-404
, and
24-4-105
, and this article 170, with respect to licenses, registrations, permits, or certificates when the director has reasonable cause to believe that a person is violating this article 170 or a rule promulgated pursuant to this article 170, in all matters relating to the exercise and performance of the powers and duties vested in the director;
(f)
To take disciplinary or other action as authorized in section
12-20-404
or limit the scope of practice of an applicant, licensee, registrant, permittee, or certificate holder upon proof of a violation of this article 170 or a rule promulgated pursuant to this article 170;
(g)
To issue cease-and-desist orders under the circumstances and in accordance with the procedures specified in section
12-20-405
;
(h)
(I)
[Repealed by 2024 amendment]
(II)
To apply to any court of competent jurisdiction to temporarily restrain or preliminarily or permanently enjoin the act in question of an individual who or entity that is not licensed, registered, permitted, or certified pursuant to this article 170 and to enforce compliance with this article 170 or a rule promulgated pursuant to this article 170 whenever it appears to the director upon sufficient evidence satisfactory to the director that an individual or entity has been or is committing an act prohibited by this article 170 or a rule promulgated pursuant to this article 170, and the act:
(A)
Threatens public health or safety; or
(B)
Constitutes an unlawful act for which the individual or entity does not hold the required license, registration, permit, or certificate pursuant to this article 170 or a rule promulgated pursuant to this article 170;
(i)
To maintain and update an online list that is accessible to the public of licensees, registrants, permittees, and certificate holders that includes whether the licensee, registrant, permittee, or certificate holder has had its license, registration, permit, or certificate limited, suspended, or revoked in accordance with a disciplinary action pursuant to this article 170;
(j)
In coordination with the state licensing authority pursuant to section
44-50-202 (1)(k)
, annually publish a publicly available report concerning the implementation and administration of this article 170 and article
50
of title
44
. The report must use relevant data, as determined by the director and the state licensing authority, and must not disclose the identity of any participant or include any information that could disclose the identity of a participant.
(k)
Perform other functions and duties necessary to administer this article 170.
(2)
The director shall consult the board when considering and promulgating rules pursuant to this article 170.
(3)
The division has authority to collect available and relevant data necessary to perform functions and duties necessary to administer this article 170.
(4)
The director or a division employee with regulatory oversight responsibilities for licensees, permittees, registrants, or certificate holders pursuant to this article 170 shall not work for, represent, provide consulting services to, or otherwise derive pecuniary gain from a licensee, permittee, registrant, or certificate holder that is regulated pursuant to this article 170 or any other business established for the primary purpose of providing services to the natural medicine industry for a period of six months after the employee's last day of employment with the division.
(5)
(a)
The director may approve a facilitator education and training program and adopt rules pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section.
(b)
A person seeking approval of an education and training program to prepare individuals for licensure as a facilitator shall apply to the director and submit evidence that the proposed education and training program complies with this article 170 and rules adopted by the director pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section.
(c)
To be approved pursuant to this subsection (5), an education and training program must include all items required by subsection (1)(a)(II)(B) of this section, including a curriculum and materials that will provide a basic level of both knowledge and demonstrable skills for each individual completing the program and any additional content required pursuant to rules adopted by the director pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section.
(6)
The director or the director's designee may inspect and survey each approved facilitator education and training program at the director's discretion.
(7)
(a)
The division shall create a process to review the director's denial of an education and training program. The process established pursuant to this subsection (7) must require the director or the director's designee, division counsel, and the chair of the natural medicine advisory board or the chair's designee to review applications prior to a denial being issued by the director.
(b)
If the applicant is denied approval after the review process created pursuant to subsection (7)(a) of this section, the director shall document the grounds for denial and submit that documentation to the applicant.
(8)
The division shall regularly review the natural medicine program, including the approval process for facilitator education and training programs. The division shall include the review in the annual reporting required in subsection (1)(j) of this section.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 452,§ 3, eff. 6/6/2024.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 249,§ 4, eff. 7/1/2023.
Added by 2022 Ballot Proposition 122, passed by voters in 11/8/2020 election, eff. upon official proclamation by governor, 12/27/2022.