In Oregon, a unique experiment is unfolding. As the “first state in the U.S. to create a regulatory framework for psilocybin services,” we are watching Oregon formulate some of the nation’s first progressive policies regarding psychedelic therapy (OHA, 2022).
The opening of psilocybin service centers along with facilitation licensure programs marks a groundbreaking moment in American history, in which the therapeutic potential of psilocybin—the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms—is finally becoming destigmatized and utilized for healing.
While this milestone shows huge progress and offers greater accessibility to psychedelic medicines, there are certain conditions regarding Oregon’s state-approved treatments that we think you should be aware of, no matter your reason for seeking treatment.
This article delves into the multifaceted pros and cons of Oregon’s Psilocybin Service Centers and psilocybin treatments, as well as the various options available to those who are residing in the state and seeking psychedelic therapy for various mental health conditions.
Key Takeaways
- While offering a licensed setting, service centers in Oregon face limitations in terms of space, outdoor access, and overall ambiance.
- High demand and limited space in service centers result in extended wait times, with some centers experiencing waitlists exceeding thousands of people. This raises concerns about timely access to psychedelic therapy.
- You have multiple options in Oregon if you are looking for a therapeutic, professionally facilitated psychedelic journey, whether you are looking to journey for mental health reasons or simply for personal expansion.
- Psychedelic Passage: Your Psychedelic Concierge — The easy, legal way to find trustworthy psilocybin guides, facilitators and psychedelic-assisted therapy near you in the United States.
Understanding Oregon’s Mushroom Therapy Service Centers & Facilitation Services
If you’re lost here and in need of more direction, you can start by reading our article on Oregon’s Measure 109 and checking out our podcast episode on the intricacies of Oregon’s new laws regarding psychedelic medicines.
There are really 6 main factors to consider when you are weighing your options for psychedelic therapy in Oregon. This section gives you the rundown of what to expect with these services in comparison with your other available options for therapeutic psilocybin use.
Before we jump in though, it’s important to know that special state-certification is required at all steps of the process in Oregon. The psilocybin used at service centers is required to be manufactured at licensed manufacturing facilities.
That psilocybin is sent to a licensed testing center, and then sent off from there to (you guessed it) a licensed service center where it is administered by licensed facilitators who essentially rent out a room for the day.
In spite of all the regulation (or maybe because of it), the process is quite fragmented, but we will get into that more later in this section. Let’s dive into the 6 factors you need to consider!
Cost: What to Expect
When it comes to psychedelic therapy in Oregon, pricing is generally broken down into 3 categories: payment for the facilitator’s services, payment for the service center room, and payment for the psilocybin itself.
While there are a few service centers that double as manufacturing facilities, the vast majority of them are outsourcing the medicine. On average, service centers mark up psilocybin from the manufacturer’s price at about 50% increase.
This means if a service center pays $50 for 50mg of psilocybin analyte, you pay $100. For a room at the service center for the day, we saw prices ranging anywhere from $300 for 8 hours to $1000.
The facilitation rates, on the other hand, widely range. The lowest we saw was $750, with higher, inclusive packages moving up to around $5000. The most expensive was a 5 day inclusive package for $15,000!
This means, at the very cheapest, you should expect to spend around $1200 to $1500 on average for the most basic accommodations and service packages. In comparing the cost of psychedelic services at service centers with outside parties, the service centers tend to be pricier.
The primary pricing challenge stems from service centers being unable to write off costs such as rent and wages due to psilocybin’s federal illegality.
To address this, service centers plan to increase prices by 30% compared to what they would be in a standard corporate tax environment.
Setting & Accessibility
Service centers offer a licensed setting for psychedelic therapy in the state of Oregon, however, the options are quite limited. Many of these locations give access to one small room that feels clinical, with little access to nature and creature comforts.
To be fair, many of the accommodations include a comfortable bed or couch, soft items to hold, and even some aesthetic details, but one small room with a single window in which it’s just you and the facilitator face to face may not offer the right environment for such a sensitive experience.
Of the centers which do provide limited access to an outdoor space and greater attention to ambience, those were across the board offered at much higher price points.
Because these state laws are still in the early phases of execution, the market is somewhat limited, leaving clients with few affordable options that reflect desired and needed spaces.
Lastly, the current laws do not allow for home-based journeys and require the location to be set at a licensed center, which sets an even greater limitation for journeyers who would feel far safer at home.
Wait-Times & Waitlists for Psilocybin Service Centers
Wait times are another huge issue when it comes to service centers. With limited space availability, many service centers have a max capacity for the month at only 20 sessions. So far, wait times have been known to exceed over 5,000 people for a single service center.
Preparation & Integration Inclusion
Due to high demand, limited availability, and the relatively low requirements of the Oregon Health Authority, adequate preparation and integration may be cut short in the Oregon psilocybin therapy model.
According to the OHA, treatment is broken down into three steps: preparation, administration, and integration, with requirements regarding preparation only consisting of one to two sessions prior to the journey and integration being optional or a single session.
Preparation does take place with a licensed facilitator and helps the client prepare mentally, physically, and logistically for the psychedelic journey through individualized guidance and intention setting, but this may not take place with your administration facilitator.
Administration day requires consumption to take place at a licensed service center with a licensed facilitator, with the client being unable to leave the service center until a certain number of hours have passed after consumption.
Integration is deemed as an optional support service taking place post-trip with a licensed facilitator. Many of the programs include one to two preparation sessions and one integration session, with options to add more sessions at an additional expense.
Freedom to Choose Your Substance
Many licensed psilocybin manufacturers offer different forms for ingestion, including powders, capsules, edibles, tinctures, or psilocybin analyte which allows for smaller dosing.
50 mg of analyte is the max dosage according to the OHA, while whole mushroom products are typically measured in grams rather than milligrams. Even more importantly, when it comes to your freedom to choose, “P. cubensis is the only allowable species for cultivation” (ELAP, 2022).
This means that all other psychedelic mushrooms aside from licensed, manufactured, and tested cubensis are excluded from this therapy model, and the dosing capacity is limited as well.
Facilitation Service Quality
Finding the right facilitators—which is arguably the most important decision for a journeyer—isn’t necessarily as easy as you’d think. Facilitators are not directly employed by service centers.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, requirements to obtain a facilitation licensure include being at least 21 years of age, an Oregon resident with a high school diploma or equivalent, pass a background check, complete an Oregon Psilocybin Services training program and pass their exam (2023).
According to those stipulations, no personal experience with psychedelics nor professional experience sitting for people on psychedelics is required to obtain licensure, and facilitators do not even need to be licensed therapists.
Also, there is no clear process for investigating complaints against facilitators, and it’s not obvious who holds facilitators accountable in the case of malpractice.
To put it bluntly, with these minuscule requirements, this type of licensure may falsely indicate that a practitioner is truly qualified to sit with people during such a crucial and sensitive time.
Furthermore, there is no requirement for a consistent facilitator throughout preparation all the way to integration. Most offerings available do seem to hold one practitioner for the duration of the process, but certain offerings on the market have differing practitioners for all or some stages.
Oregon Service Centers Versus Psychedelic Passage
It is not our intention is not to demonize Oregon’s centers. The reality is that most of the 715 individuals who availed themselves of regulated services last year likely experienced some form of benefit or positive support.
However, as we begin to observe the consequences of current standards, our responsibility is to educate where awareness is lacking. We sincerely applaud Oregon for pioneering standards in psychedelic therapy, becoming a guiding force for others.
But celebrating milestones should not overshadow the need for conversations about areas that need improvement—areas we, ourselves, have addressed and enhanced. Our aspiration is for the entire industry to evolve into an ethically competitive space.
We have genuine hopes for improvement in Oregon’s regulatory framework, seeing them as a potential proof-of-concept for broader adoption of psychedelic therapy in the US.
We believe this will require open dialogue, constructive critique, and collective efforts to elevate standards. That is why we will persist in educating the public about our services, enabling them to understand the industry’s pitfalls by comparing them to higher standards.
Luckily, there are other legal services available to you if you are looking for psychedelic therapy in the state of Oregon. Here at Psychedelic Passage, we thoroughly vet and select facilitators for our network who have real, extensive experience with psychedelics both personally and professionally.
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Our process of connecting facilitators with those looking to have a facilitated psychedelic journey ensures a human element to that vetting process, in which the client receives a health screening, clarifies their needs and desires for the experience, and is paired with the right guide near them and for them.
Considering the benefits of psychedelics for mental health, we know how important it is to have timely access to treatment that is going to make a positive difference.
That is why we are here. With no insane waitlists and the free choice of location and substance we put the decision-making power in your hands as the journeyer while offering optimal support.
| Oregon Service Centers | Psychedelic Passage |
| Most people qualify to receive treatment. | Most people qualify to receive treatment. |
| Waitlists are dangerously long. People need treatment now! | There is no wait! Get started now. |
| Facilitators do NOT have high standards for licensure. | Our facilitator vetting standards are higher than Oregon Health Authority requirements. |
| Facilitators are NOT required to have personal or professional experience with psychedelics. | Facilitators ARE required to have personal and professional experience with psychedelics. |
| Cost is relatively high with lower quality accommodations. | Cost is relatively affordable with personally decided accommodations, sliding payment scale, and financial assistance. |
| Clinical or office setting | Home or residential setting |
| Minimal evaluation for journeyers | Thorough evaluation for journeyer |
| Limitations on location, substance, and dosage | Tailored experience to meet the needs and individual desires of the client |
| Psilocybin cost is marked up to 50% from manufacturer cost. | No markup on psychedelic medicines or gatekeeping fees |
Connect With a Psychedelic Therapy Provider You Can Actually Trust
Hi there! We sincerely hope that you’ve found valuable takeaways that resonate with your current intentions. To explore research-based education, stay updated with psychedelic news, and benefit from practical how-to articles, we encourage you to head over to our resources page.
If you’re seeking personalized advice and are prepared to take the first step toward a therapeutic psychedelic experience, we invite you to book a consultation with our team of experienced psychedelic concierges.
This consultation is more than just a conversation; it’s an opportunity to be matched with a trustworthy local facilitator. You’ll be seamlessly connected to our rigorously vetted network of psychedelic guides, ensuring potential matches align with your needs.
Psychedelic Passage offers confidence and peace of mind by alleviating the burden of having to guess who’s right for you. If you want to discover how Psychedelic Passage can help you, we empower you to learn more about our services and check out client testimonials from those who’ve gone before you.
Your healing path is uniquely yours, and our commitment is to serve you at every juncture. Psychedelic Passage: Your Psychedelic Concierge — The easy, legal way to find trustworthy psilocybin guides, facilitators and psychedelic-assisted therapy near you in the United States.
19 september 2019
