Portland city officials are considering an ordinance that would direct police to deprioritize calls regarding psychedelic mushrooms.
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The Portland City Council is considering an ordinance to amend the city code and officially designate the personal use, possession, and cultivation of psychedelic mushrooms and other natural entheogenic plants as a low law enforcement priority. [1, 2]
Key Details of the Ordinance
- Target Activity: Non-commercial personal use, possession, cultivation, gifting, and free ceremonies involving natural psychedelics and fungi. [1, 2]
- Exclusions: Law enforcement will maintain full enforcement against illegal sales, trafficking, commercial exploitation, driving while impaired, and any behavior posing a risk to community safety. [1]
- Resource Optimization: The goal is to focus limited public safety and behavioral health resources on high-risk, harmful substances. [1]
- Advisory Commission: The policy establishes the Portland Psychedelics Advisory Commission (PPAC) to issue evidence-based recommendations on harm reduction, public safety, and state-level policy alignment. [1]
Context and Next Steps
- Advocacy: The Portland Psychedelics Society Action Fund heavily lobbied city officials and spearheaded the initiative, initially drafting it as the “Portland Safety and Health Act”. [1, 2]
- State Framework: While Oregon previously legalized regulated therapeutic psilocybin via Measure 109, this city ordinance aims to codify local police practices to protect personal, non-commercial use from criminal stigma. [1, 2]
- Timeline: The proposal is currently under review, and Portland’s Community and Public Safety Committee is scheduled to discuss the ordinance further at its upcoming meeting on June 16, 2026, at City Hall. [1]
