Oregon Capital Chronicle
Voters in more than a dozen Oregon cities, including in the Portland area, voted to ban the regulated sales and use of psilocybin mushrooms.
Anti-psilocybin measures were on the ballots in 16 cities and unincorporated Clackamas County, and are passing in coastal communities to urban Portland and central and southern Oregon by 55% to 70% of the vote.
Bans against psilocybin businesses are passing in Brookings, Rogue River, Sutherlin, Redmond, Lebanon, Jefferson, Sheridan, Amity, Hubbard, Mount Angel, Estacada, Oregon City, Lake Oswego, Seaside and Warrenton. Redmond’s measure would enact a two-year moratorium on psilocybin businesses.
There was one notable outlier. The measure to ban psilocybin could fail in Nehalem, a small community in Tillamook County, according to initial returns. But it is failing by only three votes. The unofficial results on Wednesday were close: 80 voters oppose the ban and 77 voters support.
Comment was not immediately available from psilocybin opponents. Supporters of the drug expressed disappointment with the results Wednesday.
“I think it’s really unfortunate that local communities, often rural communities continue to prevent access to psilocybin services, especially given that we’ve seen over 7,000 people go through the Oregon program, and there’s been so many stories of healing and benefit for those who have done it,” said Sam Chapman, a longtime psilocybin advocate who is policy and development director for the Microdosing Collective, a nonprofit supporting use of the drug in small doses.
Chapman played a big role in getting Oregonians to approve licensed psilocybin treatment centers, facilitators and manufacturers with the passage of Measure 109 four years ago by 56% of the vote. The measure required the Oregon Health Authority to start a program to allow providers to administer psilocybin mushrooms and fungi products to people 21 or older.
To date, the health authority has licensed about 1,000 staff, including 350 facilitators who work directly with clinics while they’re on the hallucinogen. The agency has also licensed 30 psilocybin centers – from the Portland area to Eugene to Ashland and beyond – along with a dozen manufacturers and one lab.
Chapman said these centers give the state another “tool in the toolbox” to treat mental illness, especially depression, anxiety and PTSD, especially for veterans.
“We’re actually seeing the proof of concept for the people who are going through Oregon’s service centers now,” Chapman said. “I think the mental health crisis in rural communities is especially unique in that these rural communities are struggling not just for mental health but economically as well.”
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More than a dozen Oregon communities vote to ban psilocybin businesses
