Checking in on Oregon’s regulated psilocybin industry

Think Out Loud

It’s been a year since the first licensed psilocybin service centers in Oregon opened – facilities where people 21 and older can legally ingest psychedelic mushrooms in a supervised, therapeutic setting. Oregon became the first state in the nation to approve and regulate the use of psilocybin through a legal framework set up and administered by the Oregon Health Authority. The agency has currently awarded licenses to 28 psilocybin service centers which continue to face regulatory and economic headwinds.
According to recent reporting in the Capital Chronicle, entrepreneurs are struggling with getting customers through the door, given state restrictions around using social media to advertise and waning interest since the market opened last year. The Oregon Health Authority is also threatening to revoke approval for a school in Ashland that is claiming religious exemption from state rules around the training of facilitators who supervise clients during their psychedelic trips. In March, OPB reported on the closure of the Synthesis Institute, a psilocybin training program that declared bankruptcy after charging students thousands of dollars for its curriculum. Joining us to talk about the state of the legal psilocybin industry in Oregon is freelance journalist Grant Stringer.