New Oregon Draft Rules Lack Essential Safety Recommendations
Dear supporter,
In October, an incident with an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot incurred a slew of questions about the potential risks of psilocybin. My thoughts are with all the passengers and crew whose lives were put at risk.
We know that psilocybin, when used within a regulated model under the supervision of a trained facilitator and within a licensed service center, can provide safe opportunities for healing.
I also want to be clear: Psilocybin is not for everyone.
There is risk in taking any drug, even those prescribed for mental health conditions. That’s why Oregon’s psilocybin therapy program is grounded in rules and practices that keep client safety top of mind from start to finish. These include a client screening and risk assessment, a personal safety plan, supervision throughout the psilocybin therapy experience, and training that helps facilitators manage all aspects of the experience.
In the midst of a national mental health crisis, when people across the country are searching for new options to address depression, anxiety and addiction, psilocybin therapy can be a powerful tool for so many in need. It’s incumbent on all of us as a community to support those with mental health needs, and that’s why the Healing Advocacy Fund is working to create new pathways for access to much-needed mental health options.
This is also why it is so critical that the Oregon Psilocybin Services program embodies safety. If you are also concerned about protecting clients and the community from adverse events, we encourage you to read below about the Proposed Oregon Health Authority Rules to the Oregon Psilocybin Program, and provide your thoughts in a listening session or by sending the OHA an email.
UPDATES
Proposed OHA Rules Lack Basic Required Safety Reporting
The Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) Section at Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has released the proposed set of rules, including new proposed rules for SB 303. The Healing Advocacy Fund is extremely concerned with the lack of required reporting on the most basic safety information in the current proposed rules. Additionally, in June, a group of psychedelic safety experts recommended updates to OHA rule relating to dosing and potency issues. Those recommendations were not included in the proposed rules.
We encourage members of the community and the public concerned about the safety of individuals and the program to provide feedback (via email or by joining a listening session) during the public comment period from November 1 to November 21. Contact the OHA to let them know that reporting client service averages and adverse events for all clients is critical to understanding and increasing program safety.
Click here to register for a listening session, or send an email detailing your concerns
For context, SB 303, which was passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2023, directed the Oregon Health Authority to collect baseline data from service centers, to ensure client safety, quality of services, and equitable access.
The proposed rules do not require reporting the number of clients served or report adverse events by Service Centers for all their clients. The safety of the Oregon Psilocybin Services program cannot be assessed without the information about the total number of clients served and the total number of adverse events for all clients. Without this information it will be impossible to understand or contextualize the frequency of adverse events in comparison to the total number of individuals receiving psilocybin services.
We urge the Oregon Health Authority to consider requiring the reporting of service center averages and information on adverse events for all clients.
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 11/09/23.
Colorado Psilocybin Training Program Requirements - A Qualitative Analysis
Last month, Colorado State Director Tasia Poinsatte and Josh Kappel presented to the Colorado Natural Medicine Advisory Board the results of a qualitative analysis that compiled findings from interviews with 24 individuals who have insight into training considerations for state-regulated access to psilocybin therapies. Key themes that emerged from this research included the importance of ongoing education for facilitators beyond initial certification, managing participants’ expectations, the need for emphasis on safe screening processes, the value of facilitators with personal experience with natural medicines, and the importance of dedicating significant time to trauma within the training requirements.
> You can read the full report here.
Colorado's Department of Revenue (DOR) Listening Sessions
The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Natural Medicine Division is holding a second series of listening sessions starting this month. For interested Coloradans, this is a great opportunity to help shape the regulatory framework for natural psychedelic medicines in Colorado. The first meeting is Monday, November 13 on Zoom.
Session 1: First Responder Training
When: Monday, November 13, 2023 | 3 pm - 5 pmSession 2: Data Collection & Public Education Campaigns
When: Wednesday, November 29, 2023 | 1 pm - 3 pmSession 3: Cultivation & Manufacturing Practices
When: Monday, December 11 | 2 pm - 4 pmSession 4: Business Structures & Licensing Considerations
When: Thursday, December 21 | 2 pm - 4 pm
> DOR Listening Session Schedule
New Psilocybin Research from Partners
Our partners at the Colorado nonprofit Unlimited Sciences worked with researchers at Johns Hopkins to publish an observational study on psilocybin use in Frontiers in Psychology. The study found that a single dose of psilocybin can produce lasting improvements in mental health and have therapeutic potential to treat anxiety, depression and alcohol misuse.
> Read Unlimited Science's Findings
EVENTS
Horizons Northwest in Portland
Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics
Portland, Oregon: December 1-3
Horizons will be hosting its annual Northwest conference in Portland, OR. The conference will feature speakers and presentations from the psychedelic space, and will be a great networking opportunity.
> Learn More & Register
Resources
Colorado DOR Natural Medicine Division Listening Sessions: Part 1
As part of the pre-rulemaking process in Colorado, the Natural Medicine Division hosted a series of listening sessions to hear from the general public their thoughts on various aspects of regulation, questions, and to inform residents of the process thus far. The listening sessions were broken up into five one-hour sessions each focused on a different topic related to rulemaking.
Several themes emerged from this tour, including questions about how to get involved with the creation of the program, developing and promoting training materials for first and multi-responders, key audiences for public education campaigns, regulating licensing and testing, and guardrails for cultivation and manufacturing.
The Department of Revenue intends to set the official process in motion by filing notices of permanent rulemaking by March 1, 2024. Until then, DOR has announced a second round of listening sessions with Colorado residents starting on November 13, 2023.
> Read the full post.
The Colorado Natural Medicine Health Tracker hosted by Psychedelic Alpha is the best place to read detailed updates about the status of implementing rules and regulations in Colorado's psilocybin therapies program.
> Subscribe to updates.
Guidance for Clinicians Working with People with Advanced Illness Interested in Psilocybin Services
The Healing Advocacy Fund has partnered with the Advanced Illness Coalition of Oregon (AICO), a group of psychedelically-informed professionals in healthcare, education, and law who collaborate to provide information about Oregon Psilocybin Services to individuals with advanced illness and those who support them. They’ve recently prepared a guide for clinicians, especially those in palliative care and hospice, working with people with advanced illness who are interested in the Oregon Psilocybin Services program.
The AICO provides patients and their support systems with clear, reliable, neutral information about the potential risks and benefits of psilocybin services for individuals with advanced illness. Their priority is empowering individuals with advanced illness with resources to make well-informed choices about this option. Because individuals with advanced illness can face additional barriers to accessing legal psilocybin services, they also offer specific guidance about how to navigate the administrative rules and regulatory statutes of Oregon’s psilocybin services program while managing complex medical issues. In addition, they provide information about the intersection of psilocybin and advanced illness to a variety of Oregon stakeholders, including healthcare providers, psilocybin facilitators, and psilocybin service center operators. Additional resources and information will be posted to the Healing Advocacy Fund website and you can contact AIOC here.
IN THE NEWS
Therapeutic Psilocybin Can Help Some Coloradans Improve Mental Health | OPINION
Colorado Politics
It’s disheartening to see misinformed detractors in the media and elsewhere weaponizing this tragic story. I would encourage them to not just take the time to look at the research from some of the most respected institutions in this state and country, but also to talk to the people who have found healing when they thought hope was lost. It’s not just veterans. We all experience mental health difficulties at times, and we all know someone who is truly suffering. It’s one of the few things that connects and affects us all, and it is incumbent on us as a society to look for solutions.
> Read the full opinion.
Following Near Disaster for Alaska Airlines, Concern over 'Magic Mushrooms' Grows
KUOW Public Radio
“The term magic mushrooms is a broad term that generally refers to a number of different species of mushrooms that have psilocybin inside of them," said Dr. Nathan Sackett, co-director for Novel Therapeutics in Addiction Psychiatry at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Along with other researchers at the University of Washington, he’s part of one of a few labs in the country studying the effects of psychedelic mushrooms on the human brain.
"Our primary interest is in exploring the therapeutic use of psychedelics: how to pair them with psychotherapy, and specifically, we're interested in targeting substance use disorders.”
> Listen to the full interview.
Harvard Announces Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture Following $16M Donation
Harvard Crimson
Harvard will be launching a new interdisciplinary program focusing on psychedelic drugs, the University announced last week. Funded by a $16 million donation from the Gracias Family Foundation, the Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture will fund “cutting-edge scholarship” and “research support,” along with endowing a professorship in the field, according to the Harvard Gazette, a University-run publication.
Programs through the study will be offered across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Divinity School, and Harvard Law School, with a focus on interdisciplinary research. Michael K. Pollan, a lecturer in the English department who has researched psychedelics, said the broad nature of the research is core to the Gracias Foundation’s mission for the gift.
> Read the full article.
House Committee Will Consider Protecting State Medical Psilocybin Laws from Federal Interference Under New Amendment
Marijuana Moment
A pair of Democratic congressmen have filed an amendment to a large-scale spending bill that would prohibit the use of federal funds to interfere with state and local laws allowing the use and sale of psilocybin for medical purposes. Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) are seeking to attach the psychedelics measure to appropriations legislation covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS). It will be up to the House Rules Committee to determine whether the amendment will be made in order for a floor vote.
> Read the full article.