It’s a kind of magic
Hatfield hopes to fill the shroom for psilocybin event
Mushroom season means fabulous fungi popping up in forests, farmers markets and seasonal menus. And, there is one type that has also been popping up in the news. “Magic mushrooms,” those that contain the naturally occurring psychedelic compound psilocybin, have made headlines with recent changes to the laws governing their use.
Two speakers and a film will shine a light on and help answer questions about “Oregon's Psilocybin Future,” this Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Hatfield Marine Science Center.
Presented by the Lincoln County Mycological Society, the event includes a talk by Angela Allbee, manager of Oregon Psilocybin Services at the Oregon Health Authority, "Charting Oregon's Roadmap for Measure 109 and Supervised Use of Psilocybin Services in 2023.”
Ballot Measure 109, aka the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, was voted into law in November 2020. Far from being a blanket legalization, it is intended as a guided therapeutic option.
“It’s important for people to know that Measure 109 is not based on the cannabis dispensary model,” Allbee said. “What is does do, is create a licensing framework for therapeutic practices.”
Allbee joined the OHA after working to shape legislative policy for nearly a decade. She has served in policy roles with Oregon’s Department of Human Services, Criminal Justice Commission, House Majority Office and Legislative Assembly. She has also spent nearly a decade in the non-profit sector, serving older adults, individuals experiencing disabilities, refugees, asylum residents, veterans and survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
“There are a lot of licensed therapists that are interested in this therapy option and we think this can build on a large network of people that can work with different professional and lived experiences,” she said. “There have been significant studies for psilocybin’s positive effect on addiction and PTSD, and it has also been shown to be a breakthrough therapy for depression. There is a lot of research to back up these claims.”
The psilocybin compound is found in more than 200 species of fungi that have been used for centuries by indigenous and tribal communities around the world for spiritual, ceremonial and other purposes. A common element in these cultural practices has been the presence of a guide, which strongly influenced the formation of the rules for Measure 109.
“There will be an administration session that will be the only time a client can access the psilocybin and the use must be monitored,” Allbee said. “We’re also including a preparation session, which is the opportunity for the client to meet with a services facilitator. A lot of things can happen in that session, but it has to be in the presence of a licensed facilitator.”
Allbee also said that licensing centers will have a distance buffer from any schools and have to go through a licensing protocol. The products will also be tested by a licensed laboratory that must be accredited by the Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program.
“It's a pretty robust program,” she said.
The second talk will be "Diversity, Biology, and the History of Psilocybin-Containing Fungi, and the Ethno-mycological Usages in Historical Indigenous Practices” by Jessie Uehling, PhD, a Mycologist at Oregon State University and for the Oregon Psilocybin Services Advisory Board.
The afternoon will end with the Oregon film premiere of "Psychedelia: The History and Science of Mystical Experience," an hour-long documentary on the discovery, research and use of psychedelic substances from the 1930s to the present.
Allbee hopes that the psilocybin road show, sub-headed “Measure 109: Mushrooms, Mysticism, Trauma, and Healing” will help inform people and encourage them to summit comments for the administrative rules for Measure 109, which will be accepted through the end of the year.
“It’s already codified in law, but we are now focused on implementing rules to protect client safety and access,” Allbee said, adding that though psilocybin services will soon be an option in Oregon, it is still a Schedule One substance under the Federal Controlled Substances Act.
“We just really want people to know that their voice matters and that we really want to hear what they have to say."
The event is from 3 to 6 pm in the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Auditorium of the Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport. Admission is $5, or free for Lincoln County Mycological Society members. For more information, go to lcmycosociety.org or call 530-748-9365.