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Oregon Psilocybin Rules Set To Be Finalized in December

The Oregon Health Authority’s Oregon Psilocybin Services Section is currently working on finalizing a regulatory framework to manage psilocybin legalization. The Psilocybin Board is currently our partner. These rules should be available by December 31, 2022. Licence applications will open starting January 2, 2023.

Angie Allbee is the Section Manager at Oregon Psilocybin Services. It took two years to achieve regulation of psilocybin. “Ballot Measure 109, otherwise known as the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, was passed by Oregon voters in November of 2020,” Allbee told KGW8. “What it did was create a licensing and regulatory framework for the production of psilocybin products and the provision of psilocybin services in Oregon. It is open to anyone aged 21 and older who would like to have psilocybin service. It does not need a prescription or a referral from a provider.”

These laws will be unique in this country and may serve as an example for others.

Allbee clarified that under these rules, patients can’t just take home psilocybin as medication, but they will consume it in a controlled environment while being monitored by licensed practitioners. “Psilocybin products will be sold to the clients, and that’s where the psilocybin services, the actual journey takes place,” Allbee said.

The support for psilocybin services in Oregon has been integral to the work of psychotherapist Tom Eckert. Eckert has been a long-standing psilocybin advocate. KGW8 stated that his late wife and he have been fighting for access to psilocybin services since 2015.

Eckert said that each person’s experience is different. “Most of the action is internal and that can be different for different folks because we come to this experience with our own stuff,” said Eckert. “So that’s kind of the neat thing about psilocybin and the experience of psilocybin as a therapeutic agent, it kind of goes where it needs to go.”

Eckert believes the key to the overall success of this program is the ability of specialists to treat each patient’s individual needs. “I’ve always thought that the beating heart of this whole program is the practitioners, the facilitators,” Eckert said, “We need competent, trained practitioners to really understand this specific modality.”

While these details are being finalized, some cities in Oregon do not wish to permit psilocybin service. In July, the Clackamas County Commissioners approved a temporary ban on psilocybin. Linn County voters will have an opportunity to approve a ban later in this year.

 On a larger scale, “Right to Try Clarification Act” was recently introduced by Sen. Cory Booker and Rand Paul. The Controlled Substances Act’s restrictions would be lifted for MDMA and pilocybin if the phase 1 clinical trial is complete. If this is implemented, it would provide terminally ill patients with the option to access these medications for medical treatment. “As a physician, I know how important Right to Try is for patients facing a life-threatening condition,” Paul said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the federal bureaucracy continues to block patients seeking to use Schedule I drugs under Right to Try. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan legislation with Sen. Booker that will get government out of the way and give doctors more resources to help patients.”

Psilocybin is rapidly becoming accepted as an alternative medical treatment to cannabis. Multiple studies show that psilocybin is an effective anti-depressant. Another study from July claims that it can boost “mood and health.” Another study based on South Africa in June found that it was especially effective in women with HIV and depression.

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