Oregon has approved the use of this species, Psilocybe cubensis, in its psilocybin program. (Getty Images)
Voters in more than a dozen Oregon cities, including in the Portland area, have voted to ban the regulated sales and use of psilocybin mushrooms.
Anti-psilocybin measures were on the ballots in 16 cities and unincorporated Clackamas County, and are passing in coastal communities to urban Portland and central and southern Oregon by 55% to 70% of the vote.
Brookings, Rogue River, Sutherlin, Redmond, Lebanon, Jefferson, Sheridan, Amity, Hubbard, Mount Angel, Estacada, Oregon City, Lake Oswego, Seaside and Warrenton all approved bans against licensed psilocybin businesses, including manufacturing and service centers, opening in their communities. Redmond’s vote is a two-year moratorium on psilocybin businesses.
There was one notable outlier. The measure to ban psilocybin could fail in Nehalem, a small community in Tillamook County, according to initial returns. But it is failing by only three votes. The unofficial results on Wednesday were close: 80 voters oppose the ban and 77 voters support.
The votes come four years after 56% of Oregon voters passed Measure 109, which required the Oregon Health Authority to start a program to allow licensed service providers to administer psilocybin mushrooms and fungi products to people 21 or older.
To date, the health authority has licensed about 1,000 staff, including 350 facilitators who work directly with clinics while they’re on the hallucinogen. The agency has also licensed 30 psilocybin centers – from the Portland area to Eugene to Ashland and beyond – along with a dozen manufacturers and one lab.
Demand has been relatively slow due to the cost of treatment – ranging from hundreds to several thousand dollars dollars – and many customers have flocked to Oregon from out of state.
Oregon was the first state to decriminalize psilocybin in licensed settings and Colorado has followed suit. In Tuesday’s election, Massachusetts voters rejected a proposal to legalize the mushrooms and allow people to grow small quantities at their homes, National Public Radio reported.
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