When Colorado voters passed Proposition 122 in November 2022, decriminalizing a handful of psychedelics — psilocybin mushrooms included — joyful celebration erupted at Plant Magic Café. The campaign headquarters for the initiative and holistic wellness hub known as HeartQuarters, along with its upstairs 501(c)(3) education resource center Denver HeartQuarters, is pioneering the plant medicine movement, offering a unique blend of nourishment for both body and soul.

Photos courtesy of Plant Magic Cafe

Denver HeartQuarters is housed in a historic 1888 building that opens with public portal Plant Magic Café and hosts offices for a 501(c)(3) educational resource center and a sanctuary for multiple entheogenic sacrament-based churches, from ayahuasca to mushrooms to wachuma.

Downstairs, the uptown Denver mansion serves adaptogenic lattes showcasing non-psychoactive mushroom coffee infusions (think chaga, lion’s mane and reishi) alongside ceremonial-grade cacao sourced directly from a medicine family farm in Guatemala and Colorado-sourced breakfast treats. Upstairs, the historic Cranmer Sterling building hosts the Sanctuary of the Sovereign Heart, a local ayahuasca church, and other religiously protected organizations that work with sacramental plant medicines.

Denver HeartQuarters co-founders Meaghan Richmond and Taylor Amason are harnessing the Prop. 122 momentum, creating a community space that not only educates and informs but also celebrates the profound benefits of plant-based therapies.

“We open the doors to partner churches, so they can exercise their constitutionally protected religious rights,” Amason says. “We’re helping people to connect with these churches and their plant medicine sacraments in a responsible way in a safe, educational space.”

As the old stories around psychedelic use fall away and research on potential mental health benefits are coming into
mainstream light, Amason and Richmond are seeing waves of new, multi-generational visitors seeking information on everything from micro-dose regimens to functional mushrooms for gut health and brain maintenance.

“We’ve seen a bunch of baby boomers who were hiding their former use from their now-grown kids, but the stigma has been lifted, and now they’re out in the open, looking to psychedelics to treat Alzheimer’s, depression and offer natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals,” Amason says. “People are leaving Denver HeartQuarters feeling informed and less anxious or uneasy about psychedelics being a part of society moving forward.”

Plant Magic Café hosts a full calendar of holistic events and intentional ceremony circles spanning cacao, mapacho, kambo, breathwork, Magic School, yoga classes and other healing modalities. The come-as-you-are space is comforting and nonjudgmental, welcoming seasoned practitioners and those just stepping into their wellness journey.

As the psychedelic community continues to flourish, havens like Plant Magic Café will play a crucial role as sanctuaries, fostering community, understanding and healing. With its unique blend of history, modern wellness and community spirit, Plant Magic Café is proudly leading the way in Denver’s holistic wellness revolution.

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Discover the magic:
925 E. 17th Ave., Denver, CO
theheartquarters.org
plantmagiccafe.com

Originally published in Winter + Spring 2023-24 issue of Well.