Psilocybin Measure Approved For Oregon's November Ballot

An initiative to allow the therapeutic use of psilocybin in Oregon has qualified for the November ballot. If approved by voters, Oregon would be the first state to allow some legal use of the drug, which is found in psychedelic mushrooms.

Backers of the initiative, who collected well over the 112,020 valid signatures needed to qualify, said they believe licensed therapy using the drug can help treat depression and anxiety.

“This careful, regulated approach can make a real difference in peoples’ lives and we’re looking forward to bringing this program to the state,” said Sheri Eckert in a statement from the psilocybin campaign. She is a chief petitioner of the measure along with her husband, Tom Eckert.

The psilocybin initiative will appear on the ballot with a separate measure that would decriminalize all drug use — including for psilocybin — and boost funding for treatment programs.

Tom Eckert said in a 2019 interview with OPB they decided not to move toward full legalization of psilocybin.

“It doesn’t parallel cannabis,” he said. “There’ll be no dispensaries. Nobody is buying this and taking it home with them.”

The measure calls for a two-year phase-in of a program to license therapists to treat patients with psilocybin.

Backers have spent nearly $1.2 million on their campaign so far, according to disclosure reports filed with the secretary of state. Just over $1 million of that came from New Approach PAC, a Washington, D.C. group that has also been involved in several cannabis legalization campaigns.