2023 Wrapped: 600+ Clients Served
Last week, the psychedelic community came together for a celebration around the progress we’ve made on safe and affordable psychedelic access. As the Portland Tribune put it, “a brain trust of the movement” gathered for Horizons Northwest in downtown Portland. New ideas were cultivated, lessons were shared, and connections new and old were plentiful.
The first day was dedicated to Oregon’s program, reviewing the first year of the program, from license applications opening to the passage of Senate Bill 303, which enshrined data collection into the Oregon program, and of course, licensed manufacturers, labs, facilitators and service centers receiving licenses to serve the community. Now, this small but mighty program has been able to build a solid foundation of healing that has served over 600 clients to date. We know that in short order, this number will surpass the number of those who’ve undergone FDA clinical trials, and the nascent Oregon psilocybin community will be leading the way nationally for access to psilocybin therapy. What an honor and a privilege it is to be a part of this work, and to get to see so many people invested in psychedelic healing.
The day before the Horizon’s conference officially kicked off, we also convened a meeting of psychedelic community stakeholders from across the state and around the country to explore the potential viability of psilocybin impact pilots. It’s not a secret that the cost of psilocybin services are out of reach for the majority of people who stand to benefit. If we can agree on that fact, the question then becomes what are we going to do to change it? The impact pilots are meant to achieve a few goals:
Provide immediate and direct access to communities who might otherwise not have access services any time soon,
Provide mechanisms for real world research for safety and efficacy, and
Combined with the outcomes from the pilots, we can share these stories and research from these pilots that incentivize expanding philanthropic support, and creating new funding pipelines for the state of Oregon to invest in psilocybin services.
Our meeting last week explored the viability of these pilots, and we will continue to keep you informed on our progress as we work to expand safe and affordable access for all who need it.
With that said, we know that our work has just begun, and as the only organization dedicated to building a bridge of learning for state-regulated models from Oregon and Colorado, we have a lot of work left to do as we improve safe and affordable access here in Oregon, and inform other states looking to create pathways to access. We are just getting started!
In the new year, we’ll have a whole new slate of work to share, with new possibilities for collaboration and partnership. I look forward to bringing you along and engaging this community along the way. For now, we’ll rest and recover, as we take the winter to regain our strength for the work ahead.
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
HAF at Horizons Northwest
Left: Nate Howard of InnerTrek Guidance, Sam Chapman of Healing Advocacy Fund, and Becca Martinez of Alma Institute preparing to go on stage at the Horizon’s conference to talk about the future of psilocybin access.
Middle: Heidi Pendergast, Healing Advocacy Fund’s Oregon Director, speaking about the Oregon program and how to improve safety and access.
Right: A group of state and national stakeholders and HAF staff gathered for a day-long summit to discuss the viability of, and map out the future of Psilocybin Impact Pilots in Oregon.
New Service Center Opens in Beaverton: Fractal Soul
“We are an Oregon Health Authority licensed Psilocybin Service Center with a focus on welcoming into Community the lonely, the isolated, the struggling, the hurting, the voiceless, and those with curiosity around identity, purpose and expanded consciousness. We welcome all humans on an authentic path of self-healing and exploration. We honor both psychological and spiritual/mystical intentions in sitting with psilocybin, an ancient earth medicine and sacrament.”
> Learn More
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
Genevieve and Steve Jurvetson Support Veteran Access
Thanks to donors, including Genevieve and Steve Jurvetson, a 6-week long Veteran pilot program was launched this year. Gen and Steve generously supported and helped launch the Veterans Impact Pilot on November 17th in Bend, Oregon.
"In recognizing the profound moral obligation to support our Veterans, we were thrilled to partner with Bendable, HAF and Heroic Hearts, to initiate the first legal, group psilocybin retreat for our Veterans here in the United States! This groundbreaking endeavor in Oregon, coinciding with Veteran's Day, represents a beacon of hope and healing for those who have bravely served our nation. We are in deep gratitude for the tremendous group effort to get this initiative launched, and look forward to Oregon becoming a destination for Veteran retreats." - Genevieve and Steve Jurvetson
Make Your Tax-Deductible Donation Today
UPDATES
Up to Date Numbers on Oregon Psilocybin Services Program Licensing
The following information has been compiled through the OHA’s Psilocybin Services website.
These numbers are updated on a weekly basis and are subject to change. Last updated 12/04/23.
Resources
Join the Movement! Mobilize the Psychedelic Revival in Your Hometown
From Helix Consulting, Mobilize the Movement is an 8-week psychedelic policy reform masterclass designed to educate, connect and empower the grassroots movement. The time is ripe to go from awareness and support for psychedelic healing to taking direct action on Main Street.
Join Kevin Matthews, co-Chief Proponent of the historic Natural Medicine Health Act, to learn the essentials of local policy reform and help shape the future of psychedelic advocacy nationwide. You are the driving force behind this revival and this is the moment to channel your passion and knowledge into creating lasting change by changing local laws. By enrolling in Mobilize the Movement, you'll gain the fundamental tools and training to confidently organize and lead an effort to decriminalize psychedelics in your hometown and lay a strong foundation for the shift in perception required to expand access and create new opportunities where you live.
> Learn more
IN THE NEWS
Oregon's Psilocybin Industry is Gaining Strength
Portland Tribune
The brain trust of the movement to use psilocybin to treat stubborn ailments such as depression, PTSD and addiction attended for a three-day conference in Portland starting Friday, Dec. 1. Bureaucrats, doctors and underground guides have spent 2023 figuring out how to set up businesses to treat those hungry for an alternative medicine, while setting up guardrails against abuse.
> Read the article
Subtle Winds Offers Grant to Train Marginalized Communities in Psilocybin Therapy
KPIC
Subtle Winds, a state-approved training program for psilocybin facilitators in Eugene, is offering a grant for students from historically marginalized communities and low-income individuals to come and receive their training.
> Read the article
Starting to Happen: Psilocybin Treatment Center Opens in Downtown Portland
Business Tribune
A new psilocybin treatment center has opened in close-in Portland. InnerTrek’s Center for Psilocybin Services is in the Fair-Haired Dumbbell, a multicolored building at the east end of the Burnside Bridge with views of downtown and Big Pink.
InnerTrek is already taking a few clients, but the owners expect to open the doors in January to the 1,000-plus people who have expressed interest in trying the psychedelic properties of “magic mushrooms.” Co-owners and partners Tom Eckert and Rachel Aidan invited media to tour the facility on Tuesday morning, Nov. 21. The space is light-filled, thanks to the Dumbbell’s scattered windows, and decorated with fabric screens, living plants and murals of trees and mushrooms.
> Read the article
Oregon’s Legal Psilocybin Clinics Draw Hundreds – Mostly from Out of State
Capital Chronicle
One South Carolina woman who flew to Oregon last month told the Capital Chronicle she feels energized by her experiences with psilocybin. The woman described her trip on the condition of anonymity because she feared risking her career.
“I’m a huge advocate for this. It completely changed the direction of my life and my family,” she said.
She said she felt the physical sensation of her trauma and burdens leaving her body after taking the drug, like packing 30 years of therapy into a few hours. It was also intense and disorienting, she said, but worth the fear and financial cost.
> Read the article
Magic Mushroom Co-Op Catches District Attorney’s Attention
Westword
A co-op selling support services with a free side of psilocybin mushrooms has caught the attention of the Denver District Attorney, but legal experts admit that current state laws have loopholes that might allow the co-op to escape punishment.
> Read the article