Oregon Governor Appoints Board to Advise on Psilocybin Services Roll Out
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced members who will serve on the state’s Psilocybin Advisory Board on Tuesday. The board is a diverse group, with backgrounds in medicine, psychology, public health, fungal sciences, health policy, and academic research.
The board will oversee the two-year deliberation period for the regulations that govern Oregon’s legalized services with psilocybin “magic” mushrooms under supervision, set to begin in 2023.
The appointment of an advisory board was required by the Psilocybin Services Act, which went into effect in January 2021. Oregon is the first state to offer legalized psilocybin services.
Psilocybin can be useful in treating certain mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety related to cancer, and certain addictions. “Like many, I was initially skeptical,” said Gov. Brown in the announcement, “but if we can help people suffering…supervised psilocybin therapy is a treatment worthy of further consideration.”
The governor’s announcement pointed to equity as a topic of focus. Still, the ethnic breakdown of the board is roughly in line with the state’s population, which is more than 80% white. Advocates have previously raised concerns about accessibility to psilocybin for communities of color, and hoped for diverse representation on the board. Dr. Rachel Knox, a Black physician and co-founder of the Cannabis Health Equity Movement, will serve on the board. “It is our responsibility to identify all the ways that the psilocybin program and its industry can contribute to the well-being of our Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities,” she said in the announcement.
The board includes a significant contingent of doctors, scientists, and researchers, reflecting the science-based implementation of the act. Physicians on the board include Dr. Todd Korthius and Dr. Atheir Abbas, who are both affiliated with Oregon Health State University. Other appointees include Kevin Fitts, an addictions medicine specialist, and Dr. Jessie Uehling, a fungal sciences professor at Oregon State University.
“We have to review the research,” said Barb Hansen, CEO of the Oregon Hospice and Palliative Care Association, in an email statement. She noted the board will need to ensure access and safety for psilocybin services. Before the act was passed, safety and credentialing of service providers were key areas of pushback from the Oregon Psychiatric Physicians Association, which opposed the measure.
In the coming months, the board will review research on psilocybin services. By June 2022, they are expected to present recommendations for the rules and regulations that will govern the psilocybin services program. Licenses for psilocybin services are expected to begin being issued in January 2023.
The rollout of the Psilocybin Services Act is being overseen by the Oregon Health Authority, which also oversees the state’s medical marijuana program. Licenses for recreational cannabis retailers are overseen by the Oregon Liquor and Control Commission (OLCC). The Psilocybin Advisory Board includes OLCC Deputy Director of Strategy and Policy Nathan Rix.
Rix told West Dose he intends to leverage his prior experience helping establish Oregon’s recreational marijuana program. “Because of [OLCC’s] expertise using the Cannabis Tracking System, we will share that knowledge — tracking marijuana and avoiding federal intervention — with the Oregon Health Authority as it develops a psilocybin tracking system.”
Dr. Angela Carter, a Portland-based naturopathic doctor, was appointed to the board as a harm-reduction specialist, or someone who focuses on steering psilocybin users clear of harmful experiences. Carter said they will focus not only on keeping users physically safe (i.e. ensuring they are in a safe location and not taking conflicting medications), but also psychosocially safe. “I hope to legislate training for facilitators in anti-racism… trauma informed care, working with people with mental health concerns, disability justice, and other crucial elements of providing safe services.”
Carter added the board has the potential to shift “the national story around mental health recovery.” This potential extends to influencing state and national drug laws, policing, incarceration policies. “I’m deeply excited to create this system.”
In the Governor’s Recommended Budget for 2021–2023, $5.6 million was proposed for the implementation of the Psilocybin Services Act. The board’s first meeting will be held on March 31.
