Editor’s note, added August 9, 2026. This post is from October 2020, before Oregon voted on Measure 109. Most of what follows is not my writing. It is a statement submitted by a group of Oregon healthcare workers to the 2020 Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet, which I signed and reposted here. I should have labeled it that way at the time, and I am labeling it now.
Two things in it need correcting.
First, it calls the measure a “breakthrough treatment option” with “an excellent safety track record.” That is campaign language. It is not a claim I would make as a clinician, and there is no source behind it. Psilocybin services carry real risks and real contraindications, and the research base is narrower than that sentence suggests.
Second, it calls the measure “psilocybin therapy.” It is not therapy. Oregon licenses psilocybin services. A licensed facilitator needs to be 21, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, complete an approved training program and pass a state exam. A clinical license is not required, and the Oregon Health Authority is explicit that a facilitator who does hold one “may not practice on other professional licenses” while providing psilocybin services. I go through the distinction in what the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act actually does.
The vote this post asks for happened in November 2020. Measure 109 passed, and psilocybin service centers have been open since the summer of 2023. I am leaving the post up for the record while I decide what replaces it.
Why yes, I am included in this year’s Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet! I support Measure 109, which allows manufacture, delivery, and administration of psilocybin at supervised and licensed facilities. The measure further imposes a two-year development period.
Nurses, Doctors and Healthcare Leaders Across Oregon Urge You to Vote Yes on Measure 109
It’s the Healing Solution We Need — Now More Than Ever
Every day, our offices and hospitals are filled with the anguish of illness afflicting so many in so many different ways. We want to offer every patient we see the best and safest treatment we can, and that’s why we support Measure 109. By creating a regulated, supervised and licensed psilocybin therapy for people suffering from depression and anxiety, we can provide a new breakthrough treatment option that scientific research shows has an excellent safety track record.
Measure 109 was written by experts, built on a foundation of research and science, and is supported by the world’s foremost authorities in these mental health treatments. Over a built-in two-year development period, an Advisory Council composed of public health experts, community representatives, and doctors will invest in safety and systems to maximize client health. This is the kind of responsible healthcare reform Oregon needs, which is why so many of us in the healthcare community are rising up to lend our voice and support for Measure 109.
- Well researched.
- Well regulated.
- Supervision required.
- Safety prioritized.
Measure 109 can responsibly help so many who suffer from depression and anxiety — please join us in voting Yes.
