PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon has released draft rules for the therapeutic use of psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that voters approve Measure 109 in November 2020, giving the state two years to put in place the regulatory framework for legal magic mushrooms in the state.
Researchers believe psilocybin could help treat depression, PTSD and addiction, and the Oregon system would allow the substance to be used in a therapeutic setting for anyone 21 or older. No prescription or diagnosis would be required to participate in the program.
Rules released last week by the Oregon Health Authority aren’t complete and haven’t yet been enacted, but they provide a glimpse of what the program could look like.
The draft rules address how training programs for those who administer psilocybin will be evaluated and accredited, what psilocybin itself will be, and how the substance will be tested.
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These draft rules contain some interesting takeaways. Manufacturers can only cultivate or possess one specific species of mushroom: Psilocybe cubensis.
According to Jessie Uehling, a professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University and mycologist on the Psilocybin Advisory Board, there are more than 200 species of fungi that are known or suspected to be able to produce psilocybin.
“Psilocybe cubensis is a fungal species to consider focusing on initially because there is a long history of safe consumption of this species,” Uehling said.
Manufacturers would also not be allowed to use dung or wood chips to grow the mushrooms or make synthetic psilocybin.
Manufacturers would also be required to avoid anything that might be marketed to children, including “products in the shape of animals, vehicles, people or characters”.
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