Oregon psilocybin advocates push for bill to improve facilitator licensing
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Oregon was the first state to legalize psilocybin in 2020 with Measure 109, but now, advocates and practitioners are pushing for a law to improve the current adult-use model.
The Healing Advocacy Fund and psilocybin facilitators are pushing for a bill to allow for dual licensure. Currently, a psilocybin facilitator who also holds a medical or therapy license is not allowed to use those skills while working with their psilocybin patents.
Steve Dow said he has repeatedly traveled to Portland from San Francisco for treatments at the Chariot Psilocybin Treatment center in northwest Portland since August. And he says these sessions have gotten him to a place traditional therapy could not.
“Off and on for years, I did, I’ll call it traditional psychotherapy or talk therapy, and you reach a point where talk therapy has done what it can do and you need something else,” Dow said. “I absolutely feel a positive change. My family sees it in terms of my general demeanor, feeling connected to others, I have less anxiety.”
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Dow’s psilocybin facilitator is Olivia Hicks. She holds their sessions at Chariot Psilocybin Service Center, and she is also a licensed naturopathic doctor.
“I want my patients to have every option available to them and for them to choose what they think is most beneficial for their treatment,” Hicks said.
But during psilocybin sessions, like with Dow, Hicks has to take off her “doctor hat,” and only work as a psilocybin facilitator.
“Sharing with her what’s going on she will take some notes she will make some observational notes which again helps me integrate and better think about the experience I just had and how to take advantage of it - learn from it,” Dow said.
But if Dow had additional issues that needed to be addressed, that would take many extra steps.
“So if I have a client who comes to me with a complicated health history, or mental health history, or is on a number of different medications, I can’t advise them as a psilocybin facilitator,” Hicks said. “So, I have to have them come to my medical practice, fill out all the paperwork again, and have a totally different appointment in a different system for me to consult.”
The Psilocybin Services Improvement bill would remove those extra steps, and allow practitioners like Hicks to facilitate, diagnose, treat, and prescribe all under one roof.
“With other medical and therapy type practices the scope of those practices have a lot of overlap you can act as both at the same time in a way that is much easier than this is,” Hicks said.
Making these sessions more streamlined for both the facilitator and the patient.
“It’s highly regulated here in Oregon, so there is a lot of paperwork to fill out,” Dow said, “Overall, I’d say that change is a good thing as long as the licensing is done well.”
The Healing Advocacy Fund has not announced who will be sponsoring this bill in the upcoming session but they say they are confident they have backing in the legislature.
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