A Colorado man says he fell four stories from a hotel window after a counselor served him psilocybin tea during a therapy session and then left him alone, according to the lawsuit he filed this week.
Jacob Ramirez claims counselor Rachel McGuire left the “therapy session” in the hotel room while he was under the influence of psilocybin, commonly known as “magic mushrooms,” before he fell from a fourth-floor window onto concrete outside a Hilton Hotel in Colorado Springs last May, as reported by the Denver Post. Ramirez miraculously survived but suffered severe head and chest injuries, racking up more than $2 million in medical bills.
Ramirez is suing his counselor and her husband, Sheldon McGuire, along with their therapy companies, A Sparrow’s Way and Restoration Counseling.
The lawsuit alleges medical and direct negligence, claiming McGuire was not licensed to administer psilocybin therapy and that her husband referred Ramirez to her despite that fact.
“I think it clearly lends itself to somebody who is not used to taking these types of medications being left alone and freaking out,” Ramirez’s attorney Jared Mazzei said.
“It’s two parts,” Mazzei added. “There is whether she was even licensed, which she wasn’t — and the other part is did she even, at the very least, follow the procedures that you learn when you are obtaining your license, one of them being to actually stay with the patient the entire time, for this exact reason.”
Mazzei said that Ramirez endured blunt force trauma to his head, has no memory of the event, and experiences daily pain from his injuries.
At the center of the chaotic legal battle is psilocybin, a psychedelic that Colorado voters chose to decriminalize in 2022 under the Natural Medicine Health Act. Under state law, the drug can be grown, consumed, and shared for personal use or can be utilized by healing centers for therapy.
Colorado’s experiment is drawing interest from other states, including North Carolina, where Republican state Rep. Allen Chesser and Republican state Sen. Robert Brinson are backing legislation to fund research into psychedelic substances, including psilocybin.
Brinson, who is the lead sponsor of the Healing through Evidence-based Access to Lifesaving Care (HEAL) Act, called the bill a “real investment” into “mental health innovation, research, and access,” particularly for those who have experienced trauma.
He believes “momentum is building” for legalizing psychedelics.
“These aren’t fringe ideas,” said Chesser. “They are on the path to becoming approved medicines.”
Massachusetts lawmakers this week approved a five-year pilot program that would allow licensed mental health clinics to offer supervised psychedelic-assisted therapy, despite voters rejecting a broader legalization measure just two years ago. The proposal still requires Senate approval and the governor’s signature. It would help fund, facilitate, and expand research on “psychedelic-assisted therapies.”
Critics, however, are warning against the potential harms and unexpected risks that come with drug legalization. Organizations like the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions and Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) are among the few.
“Colorado was sold a miracle. Instead, we’re getting a warning label,” cautioned Kevin Sabet, who is president and CEO of both groups.
“This lawsuit is a reminder that psychedelic mushrooms are not the harmless cure-all proponents promised. If states like North Carolina are considering going down this road, Colorado should serve as the cautionary tale — not the blueprint,” he added.
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