After Oregon became the first state in the country to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the active compound inside the most popular form of psychedelic mushrooms, voters in an increasing number of cities are banning the substance four years later.
Four cities that encompass rural and coastal towns and Portland suburbs approved prohibitions for psilocybin, a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, in the Nov. 5 election.
Another dozen communities that passed two-year moratoriums in 2022, which saw a majority of the state’s counties and more than 100 cities voting to temporarily or permanently ban the substance, moved to make those restrictions permanent this year.
With the ongoing state-by-state legalization of cannabis over the past decade, some states began considering pathways to offer therapeutic access to psychedelics as well.
An overview of medical studies from NYU Langone Health suggests that psilocybin can be effective for treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially in patients with multiple traumas or chronic PTSD.
However, Oregon is not the only state now rejecting measures to legalize certain psychedelics in the wake of the opioid and fentanyl epidemic.
In 2024, Massachusetts voters rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized the growing and use of plant-based psychedelic drugs, such as mushrooms, in certain circumstances for residents aged 21 and older.
The Oregon Legislature also rolled back a voter-supported law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of hard drugs after lawmakers debated its potential role in increasing public drug use and fatalities.
Psilocybin remains available in more than 30 licensed centers throughout many of Oregon’s biggest cities, including Portland, and small rural towns and counties, which voted to retain the program.
Roughly 56 percent of Oregon voters approved Measure 109 in 2020, which legalized the controlled manufacture and therapeutic use of psilocybin for those 21 and older at licensed facilities.
Since the measure allowed counties and cities to opt out, there is a patchwork of municipalities throughout the state that either allow or ban the substance.
Additionally, some cities voted to allow the use of psilocybin while remaining in counties with bans due to their control of the incorporated land within their borders.
The cost of psilocybin therapy is a high barrier of entry for many residents, as a single session can cost upward of $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses.
Part of the price comes from the licensing fees for the therapy centers’ owners, who pass those fees on to their clients.
In 2022, Colorado joined Oregon as the only other state to offer legal psilocybin therapy.
Colorado will begin accepting applications to license psilocybin “healing centers” by the end of December.
Unlike Oregon, Colorado only allows localities to create certain regulations for how the facilities will operate, it does not allow them to opt out of the statewide program and ban the centers.
Many cities throughout the country, including California’s San Francisco, Oakland, and Santa Cruz, moved to decriminalize possession of psychedelic mushrooms.
Psilocybin is found in several species of psychedelic mushrooms and can cause mild to intense visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations for upward of eight hours, depending on the dose.
Indigenous people in both Europe and the Americas have used the substances for thousands of years in healing rituals.
In addition to PTSD, scientists are studying the drug’s efficacy in treating depression, anxiety, and addiction disorders.
Johns Hopkins University has been researching the therapeutic benefits of the substance through its Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research.
The center’s work includes studies demonstrating psilocybin’s efficacy in helping smokers quit nicotine, easing the fear of death and existential anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer, effective treatment for alcohol use disorder, and its ability to relieve major depression.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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