Oregon Medical Psilocybin Initiative Qualifies for Ballot

The campaign behind Oregon’s Initiative Petition 34, which would legalize medical psilocybin when prescribed and supervised by a medical professional, has qualified for the ballot, Oregon Public Broadcast reports.

164,782 Oregonians signed the petition, far surpassing the required 112,020 signatures. The campaign was backed by the Dr. Bronners soap company, which in May injected $1 million into the campaign’s coffers.

Psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA have been hailed by many, including the FDA, as a breakthrough therapy in the treatment of severe 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.” — Sheri Eckert, chief petitioner for IP 34, via OPB

IP 34 initiative, if successful, would establish regulations overseen by the Oregon Health Authority for therapists to get licensed to treat patients with psilocybin. Unlike the state’s medical cannabis program, Oregon‘s medical psilocybin program would not include retail options and patients would not be allowed to take the medication at home — rather, the patient’s psilocybin sessions would take place in “licensed settings under the supervision of trained facilitators.”

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency recently announced it was providing $26.9 million in funding for a medical health study investigating the therapeutic use of psychedelics.

Last September, researchers at Johns Hopkins University announced the forming of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, thought to be the world’s largest psilocybin research center.