When Will Psilocybin Be Available in Oregon and What’s the Hold-Up?

In late 2020, Oregon made headlines as the first state to legalize psilocybin for therapy use, and decriminalize possession of small amounts of psychedelics (alongside all other drugs). Since then, psychedelic advocates have clung to the hope that Oregon’s ruling could pave the way for other states to legalize psychedelic-assisted therapy throughout the U.S.

But despite a flurry of initial reaction pieces, national media coverage subsided, and there’s been little insight into the legalization process since.

Now prospective patients and industry pros are wondering, what’s the hold-up? When will Oregonians be able to access psychedelic-assisted therapy? And what might the program roll-out look like?

Psychedelic Spotlight did a little digging, and here’s what we’ve discovered:

What is Measure 109 and What Happened After it Passed?

Oregon voters approved Measure 109 in November 2020, which allows for the “manufacture, delivery, and administration of psilocybin at supervised, licensed facilities,” according to the ballot text. The initiative also imposes a two-year “development period” during which the state government should determine and set regulations for implementation.

Shortly after the measure passed, Gov. Kate Brown appointed the Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) Advisory Board, housed under the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). Since then, the OHA has worked closely with board members to define rules and regulations around M109 and the use of psilocybin products and services in general.

The board recently released draft rules for the program and, according to Oregon Live, plans to adopt those regulations and begin accepting applications for training programs by June. The OHA has until December 31, 2022, to finalize the framework, paving the way for licensure in early 2023. The timeline for when residents will be able to benefit from psilocybin services, however, is still murky.

What Will the Psilocybin Program Roll-Out Look Like?

As Oregon policymakers have recently discovered, it’s not always easy to be first. With no existing state legislation to draw from, OPS has been tasked with gauging community interest and developing requirements from scratch for manufacturers, facilitators, testing labs, and administrators. The advisory board is also charged with determining an application review and licensing process.

While we still don’t know much about when the state will officially implement the program, the draft rules the OPS released earlier this month paint a picture of what we can expect during roll-out:

• While several different species of mushrooms are known to produce psilocybin, manufacturers will only be able to cultivate Psilocybe cubensis, or “cubes” — likely due to the species’ long history of safe use.
• Manufacturers are prohibited from marketing to children or including products in the shapes of animals or characters, which could be misconstrued as marketing to…