BBC Features Client Journey through Oregon Psilocybin Program
We are three months into 2024, and over 2100 clients have now been served by the Oregon Psilocybin Services Program. We are celebrating this milestone among many others, including a proposed regulatory structure in Colorado that strengthens safety and access for psilocybin therapy clients. Our work is having ripple effects across the country. From California to Massachusetts, we are seeing the general public, regulators, bipartisan groups of elected officials, and communities galvanizing around local access to psilocybin therapy, in recognition that the current healthcare options aren't enough, and that psilocybin therapy has the potential to change lives. A recent study published in the American Journal of Bioethics: Neuroscience even showed 9 out of 10 Americans approve of psilocybin’s use in a controlled, licensed setting to treat specific conditions or promote general well-being.
Just this week, Oregon’s program was spotlighted in the BBC’s “People Fixing the World” radio program, as they interviewed the owners of one of the first service centers to open, Vital Reset, which is based in Hood River. In a 20+ minute piece, the story showcased the Oregon program, the state-regulated therapy process, and commentary from experts, including San Francisco-based researcher, Robin Carhart-Harris. Additionally, the BBC followed a client’s experience at Vital Reset, Amanda, who was psychedelic naive, and who had struggled with treatment-resistant depression, for which her medication began at age 14.
During her session, Amanda reports, “I saw in my mind’s eye, my soul, and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And my depression, which I thought was going to be shown to me in this huge scary way, was presented as two sides of the same coin. It felt more like medicine than any medicine I’ve had.”
Three months later, Amanda explained her experience: “I’m so glad I did it, I feel like I’ve seen behind the veil… did it take away my depression, can I be without regular antidepressants for the moment? No. Not to say that I won’t in the future. For the first time, I have hope.”
In 2024, we remain committed to protect and expand access in Oregon and Colorado, and nationally, while focusing on educating our partners, decision makers, and the public about these programs and the potential of psilocybin therapy. We are excited to support expanding access for those deeply in need of services – it’s estimated that by the end of this year, over 5,000 clients will have received services in Oregon alone.
Onward,
Sam Chapman
Executive Director
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
Have You Seen HAF's Client Education Guide?
The Oregon Psilocybin Services Client Guide is an introduction to Oregon’s state-regulated psilocybin services program. It has been compiled by the Healing Advocacy Fund (HAF) in partnership with members of our Safety Committee, a group of wide ranging subject matter experts that advise our organization, and additional experts and stakeholders. This guide has been designed for individuals interested in accessing psilocybin services. It contains information on the basics of the Oregon program, understanding the limits of psilocybin usage and adverse events, mental health, family history, and medical considerations, resources to find and assess service centers and facilitators, and more.
Thanks to Seth Mehr, MD, and Director of Health and Safety at InnerTrek, for his thoughts on how important it is to choose a service center and facilitator carefully.
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 3/25/24.
Stakeholders Celebrate Progress and Suggest Changes in Colorado's First Set of Draft Rules
On March 8, members of the public in Colorado had their first opportunity to provide feedback on a set of draft rules for Colorado’s natural medicine program shared by the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). Stakeholders highlighted several positive elements, including dual licensure to support participant safety and integrated care, a comprehensive set of minimum training requirements, and inclusion of accelerated training pathways recognizing those with significant prior training and experience.
HAF submitted written comments suggesting a few important changes to the rules to support safety and access. Importantly, HAF aligned with a group of providers affiliated with UCHealth in advocating for a required screening tool, rather than attempting to codify conditions in rule that would determine what facilitator a participant could work with.
“The range of conditions and medications that might benefit from consultation and risk review by a licensed clinician is too extensive to reasonably capture in rule – and rules, which are inherently difficult to change, are not the right tool to determine what next steps are appropriate to each person’s unique and holistic health profile,” HAF Colorado Director Tasia Poinsatte said in her public comment.
> Read the Full Rundown
Have You Received Services Through Oregon's State-Regulated Psilocybin Therapy Program? Share Your Story!
Are you interested in sharing your story as a psilocybin therapy client in Oregon? Did you have a unique experience, or are you inspired to help others find their path to healing, or did you have an experience that you feel warrants system improvements?
In order to learn more about the nation’s first state-regulated psilocybin therapy program, the Healing Advocacy Fund would like to hear your story as a client of the Oregon Psilocybin Services program. As we await real-time data reporting to begin in 2025, these on-the-ground experiences will inform future programmatic changes, and share narratives that help the public understand the risks and benefits of psilocybin therapy.
If you are a prospective psilocybin therapy client and you are looking for more information about Oregon’s Psilocybin Services program, we recommend you review our Oregon Psilocybin Services Guide before accessing services.
> Share Your Story
EVENTS
CU Anschutz Bridging the Worlds Conference on April 18
Join us on April 18 for an all-day hybrid conference, “Bridging the Worlds: The Confluence of Indigenous Wisdom and Psychedelic Science” hosted by University of Colorado Anschutz. Running from 8:30am to 5pm, presentations and workshops will cover a broad spectrum of topics, such as optimizing client experiences, legal and regulatory considerations, and the integration of community care within the psychedelic landscape. These sessions promise to offer invaluable insights into the application of ancient wisdom to modern practices, aiming to foster a deeper respect and understanding among practitioners from various backgrounds.
> Learn More & Register
Omnia Group and Heroic Hearts Host Event for Veterans Access
Omni Group Ashland Psilocybin Service Center, located in Southern Oregon, is partnering with Heroic Hearts Project to bring free or reduced cost psilocybin experiences to veterans in our community. Omnia and HHP are collaborating in a fund-raising effort and invite you to join us in supporting this historic program to bring relief to those who served our country. Please join us on April 6th for an evening of collaboration and learning more about the possibilities of psilocybin supported services for veterans.
> Learn More & Register
IN THE NEWS
Stakeholders Highlight Importance of Patient, Facilitator Safety in Preparation of Psilocybin Distribution in Colorado
State of Reform
Patient and facilitator safety will be top of mind for Colorado mental health professionals when the state begins to distribute psilocybin next year. Stakeholders considered ways to address that last week.
Mental Health Colorado and the Healing Advocacy Fund hosted the final session of a webinar series detailing the impact of psilocybin legalization in the state. Nearly 1.3 million residents voted affirmatively for Proposition 122 in 2022. Colorado is the second state in the nation to approve a state-regulated program for legal access to psilocybin therapies.
> Read the Full Article
VA Portland Health Care Opens First-of-its-Kind Psychedelic Medicine Research Center
Portland Business Journal
The VA Portland Health Care System opened a new facility at its Vancouver campus on Monday that will focus on psychedelic therapy, the only center of its kind on a VA campus in the country. The VA Portland is also the first VA facility in the U.S. to begin active psychedelic therapy clinical trials. The Social Neuroscience & Psychotherapy Lab, known as the SNaP Lab, is located at an existing building on the campus, with funding from the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation for both the remodeling and the clinical trials.
> Read the Full Article
This Portland CEO Sold His Company for $35M. Now He's a Champion for Psilocybin
Portland Business Journal
After David Kahl exited the Portland office furniture maker he’d grown over 15 years, he found himself struggling. “I had built a company that was an extension of my values and poured everything into it, and without it, I was feeling lost, I didn’t know who I was,” Kahl said last week while vacationing in Mexico.
> Read the Full Article
Denver Begins Psychedelic Training for First Responders
High Times
The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a 34-year-old nonprofit research and educational organization “that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana,” announced in a press release on Monday that it “has partnered with the City and County of Denver to provide comprehensive training on psychedelic crisis assessment and intervention to the city’s first responders.”
> Read the Full Article
Patients at New Drop Thesis Psilocybin Therapy Center in Bend Share Experiences
Central Oregon Daily
Drop Thesis is a new therapy center in Bend that treats its patients with psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms. The center just recently held its first therapy sessions earlier this month. "I was on a larger dose of mushrooms going inward. I had an eye mask on and some headphones and I started to feel anxious. I started to feel a tightness in my chest and I just explored that feeling," patient Alexander Banks said.
> Read the Full Article