According to Willamette Weekly, nearly three years after voters in the state approved a ballot measure to legalize it, “Oregon Psilocybin Services is nowhere near paying its own way,” despite promises from its backers that “Oregonians would get access to a life-changing compound in a safe, legal setting, and, after a two-year startup period, it wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime.”

The outlet noted that advocates of the 2020 ballot proposal, Measure 109, asserted that the licensing fees paid “by mushroom growers, testing labs, trip facilitators and service centers would cover the costs of a new bureaucracy within the Oregon Health Authority.”

That has been far from the case.

“Fee revenue is anemic because too few people are seeking the various licenses (“Stuffed Mushrooms,” WW, May 24). Just four manufacturers, two testing labs, and eight service centers have been licensed. All three types of entities pay a one-time fee of $500 and then $10,000 a year to operate. Many more facilitators have been approved (88), but they pay only $150 up front and then $2,000 annually,” Willamette Weekly reported in a story published on Wednesday. 

“So far this year, Psilocybin Services has raised just $318,419 in fees, OHA says. That’s in line with estimates by WW. Tallying the number of permits issued and multiplying by all the fees, we came up with a total of $342,425 since the program began licensing participants on Jan. 2.”

“Backers of Measure 109 said the program would cost far more—$3.1 million a year—to run. To fill at least part of that gap, Oregon lawmakers appropriated $3.1 million from the taxpayer-supported general fund for the two-year period that started July 1. OHA is betting that shroom fee revenue will pick up as the biennium proceeds, making up the rest of the shortfall,” the outlet continued.

Measure 109 passed in 2020 by a fairly narrow vote, with 50% of Oregon voters approving and 44% voting against. It made Oregon the first state in the country to legalize psilocybin. 

In the spring, Oregon Psilocybin Services, a regulatory arm of the Oregon Health Authority, announced that it had awarded the state’s first license for a psilocybin service center in Eugene. 

Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) Section Manager Angie Allbee called it “a historic moment as psilocybin services will soon become available in Oregon, and we appreciate the strong commitment to client safety and access as service center doors prepare to open.” 

At the time of the announcement, Oregon Psilocybin Services offered a refresher on how the program will work.

“Under the statewide model, clients 21 years of age or older may access psilocybin services. While they won’t need prescriptions or referrals from healthcare providers, clients must first complete a preparation session with a licensed facilitator. If they meet the criteria to move forward, they may participate in an administration session at a licensed service center, where they may consume psilocybin products in the presence of a trained and licensed facilitator,” the agency explained. “Afterwards, clients may choose to join optional integration sessions, which offer opportunities to be connected to community resources and peer support networks for additional support. Once licensed, service centers can employ and/or contract with licensed facilitators who are trained in providing preparation, administration, and integration sessions to clients. Service centers will sell psilocybin products that were produced by licensed manufacturers and tested by licensed laboratories. To date, OPS has issued three manufacturer licenses, one laboratory license, five facilitator licenses, and 84 worker permits. OPS expects to issue more licenses and worker permits in the coming months.”

The state finalized the rules for the psilocybin program at the end of last year.

Albee and André Ourso, the administrator of the Center for Health Protection in Oregon, said at the time that Oregon Psilocybin Services “received over 200 written comments and six hours of comments shared in the public hearings during the November 2022 public comment period.”

“These comments helped to further refine and improve the rules, which have now been adopted as final. The final rules are a starting place for the nation’s first regulatory framework for psilocybin services, and we will continue to evaluate and evolve this work as we move into the future,” they said.

In response to this week’s report by Willamette Weekly, Oregon Health Authority spokesman Afiq Hisham urged patience.

“It takes time to build a new section in state government and to become 100% fee-based, specifically because ORS 475A is the nation’s first regulatory framework for psilocybin services and required an intensive two-year development period,” Hisham told Willamette Weekly.

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A Portland herbal shop is openly selling psilocybin mushrooms, drawing lines of people waiting more than two hours to get their hands on varieties of psychedelic fungi including Penis Envy and Knobby Tops. 

In November 2020, Oregon voters approved Measure 109, a ballot proposition to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin by therapists licensed by the Oregon Health Authority. The successful ballot measure is currently undergoing a two-year implementation period, with the OHA currently drafting regulations to govern the production, distribution and administration of psilocybin for medicinal purposes. 

Another ballot proposition passed that year, Measure 110, decriminalized possession of small amounts of all drugs including psilocybin, but did not legalize the production or sale of controlled substances. Under federal law, psilocybin mushrooms continue to be a prohibited Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

Despite the fact that the OHA has yet to issue any licenses to psilocybin providers, the herbal products retailer Shroom House in Portland has apparently begun selling its namesake fungi. Last week, a local television news station reported that the shop’s owner had admitted to selling psilocybin mushrooms after a former employee contacted the outlet about the possibility of illegal sales and distribution occurring at the facility.

“I was led to believe by management at Shroom House that this was the first medically licensed and sanctioned place to buy psychedelics in the state of Oregon,” Kace Colwell told KOIN 6. “They’re breaking all sorts of laws over there.”

Application Required From Potential Customers

To purchase psilocybin mushrooms at Shroom House, customers are required to provide two forms of identification and fill out an application to become a member of the Shroom House Society, according to a report from Willamette Week. Applicants must be at least 21 years old and complete a questionnaire that asks about anxiety and depression, among other mental health conditions. A reporter from the weekly publication was able to purchase psilocybin mushrooms within about five minutes of submitting an application. 

“Please use the products purchased from the Society in a responsible manner,” the application notes. “While larger doses of psilocybin mushrooms are psychedelic and will definitely impair driving, microdoses should not affect your ability to drive or perform other tasks.”

Shroom House reportedly has a variety of mushrooms to choose from, including Knobby Tops, Penis Envy, and Albino Golden Teacher, Willamette Week noted in its report. Seven grams of psychedelic fungi will set you back from $85 to $95.

OHA spokeswoman Erica Heartquist confirmed that no licenses for psilocybin providers have yet been issued. Sam Chapman, executive director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, a nonprofit advocating for the equitable implementation of Measure 109, stressed the importance of adhering to the guidelines detailed in the successful ballot measure.

“Retail sales of psilocybin are not legal under Oregon law. Nothing in Measure 109 or any other law allows the sale of psilocybin mushrooms today or in the future,” Chapman said in a statement quoted by Business Insider. “Many Oregonians stand to benefit from the healing properties of psilocybin, including those suffering from depression, anxiety and addiction, but the therapy must be delivered safely.”

But the lack of government approval is not stopping potential shoppers from lining up, in some cases for reportedly more than two hours, to join the Shroom House Society and begin purchasing psilocybin mushrooms. Customer Cassie Cadence said she waited in line for “like an hour.”

“But it’s worth it to me because I kind of feel like I’m kind of a part of history right now, which I think is really cool,” Cadence added. “Because I’ve been an advocate for mushrooms, psychedelics and that kind of freedom.”

Patron Randi King said he heard about Shroom House when a “friend of mine sent me an article.” 

“I told my wife, and she was like, ‘What are we waiting for? Let’s go get some,’” King said.

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Local leaders in Linn County, Oregon are advancing a proposal that would ban psilocybin therapy centers authorized by a statewide ballot measure legalizing the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms. Under a proposal adopted by the Linn County Board of Commissioners last week, a ballot measure banning psilocybin production, manufacturing, and therapy facilities will appear before voters in the November 2022 general election.

In 2020, Oregon voters approved Measure 109, Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, a bill that legalized the therapeutic use of psilocybin. State officials are currently drafting regulations to enact the legislation, which authorizes centers where trained facilitators dispense psilocybin for therapeutic purposes.

Under Measure 109, local jurisdictions such as counties, cities, and towns were given the authority to regulate psilocybin therapy centers or refer a decision on the issue to voters in the community. On June 21, the three-member board of commissioners voted to put a measure banning the psilocybin therapy centers in Linn County before voters in this year’s general election.

“My fear is of young people taking mushrooms and going out and doing things that may cost them their life,” Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist told the Albany Democrat-Herald.

“I just think it’s appropriate to refer this measure to the voters in Linn County and allow them to have a say in this, particularly because they did not vote to support this measure in the first place,” he added.

Commissioner Will Tucker said that he is concerned that first responders will not be able to reach the scene quickly enough if a patient receiving psilocybin therapy in the remote county in central Oregon has a medical emergency.

“I have people who are miles and miles from a service like a grocery store,” he told Filter.

Tucker noted that if passed, the ballot measure would only apply to the unincorporated areas of Linn County. The proposal would not affect the incorporated cities and towns in the county including the largest city, Albany, although local officials there are considering a similar ban on psilocybin therapy centers. 

“I would love to see it done carefully and in controlled ways,” Tucker said. “My son suffers PTSD; an Iraq War sniper, he has 100 percent disability … If there’s a way his mental health can be affected by marijuana or other drugs including mushrooms, I’d be all for it.”

Few Counties Moving To Ban Psilocybin Therapy Centers

Evan Segura, president of the Portland Psychedelic Society, says that it does not appear that counties taking steps to ban psilocybin therapy is becoming a trend. But at least one county along the Idaho border, Malheur County, has proposed a ban. He noted that the jurisdiction is already the home to several cannabis dispensaries that draw customers from neighboring states that have not yet legalized cannabis.

“I think these counties are anticipating there will be a huge wave of interest from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, jumping over the state border to access psilocybin services,” Segura said. “These conservative counties are just not interested in being guinea pigs for this program, and I’m sure there’s a lot of drug-war prohibitionist hysteria that’s causing fear for them.”

Statewide, Oregon voters approved Measure 109 in the 2020 general election with 56% of ballots cast in favor of the initiative and 44% against. But in rural Linn County, only 45% of the electorate voted in favor of psilocybin therapy centers while 55% opposed the ballot measure. Statewide, 21 of 36 Oregon voted against Measure 109, although the initiative’s success in more populous counties secured its passage.

Linn County Commissioner Sherrie Sprenger said she does not believe Measure 109 will achieve the stated goal of curbing the illicit market for psilocybin, an argument made for legalizing cannabis that she characterizes as “naive and ill-informed.”

“The situation many rural folks in Oregon find themselves in frequently is this idea that our voice wasn’t heard and our voice wasn’t taken into consideration,” Sprenger said. “Sometimes we feel like the metropolitan areas, i.e. Portland and Eugene, make decisions for the rest of us. Local voters need to have a say in their own community.”

Segura said that many of those opposed to psilocybin therapy centers are concerned that someone will get behind the wheel of an automobile immediately after an all-day session, particularly those who might not have the means to afford overnight accommodations. But he does not see a significant risk in the argument.

“I think that situation is extremely rare,” Segura said. “I think if people can afford the session, they can afford a hotel, if not just stay at a service center that provides lodging. I think there’s minimal risk of someone going to do psilocybin then getting in their car and driving away.”

“We don’t ever hear of stories of people eating mushrooms and then doing something dangerous,” Segura added. “We would hear more of it if it happened more often.”

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