Petitioners expect ballot measure on psilocybin therapy to make November ballot in Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. - Petitioners anticipate a ballot measure allowing for the licensed and regulated use of psilocybin therapy will make the November ballot.
The Oregon Psilocybin Therapy Ballot Measure campaign announced Monday that they have finished their signature drive - "and believe the initiative will comfortably qualify for the November ballot."
The campaign said it gathered a total of 164,782 signatures. It now falls to the Oregon secretary of state to verify the signatures.
According to organizers:
Psilocybin therapy uses controlled doses of psilocybin, a naturally occurring compound found in mushrooms, administered by trained and licensed facilitators in therapeutic settings. This type of therapy may help people break destructive patterns of thought and emotion that are the foundation of depression and anxiety. Pioneering research at institutions like Johns Hopkins, NYU, and UCLA has shown the significant promise of psilocybin therapy, especially for people whose depression or anxiety hasn’t responded to other available treatments.
“Oregon has some of the highest rates of depression, anxiety, and addiction in the country. As a therapist, I am intimately aware of how mental health affects our communities – not only people suffering from mental health conditions but their families and loved ones as well,” said Sheri Eckert, who serves as co-chief petitioner for the initiative. “I also know that the options we have to help those people are just not enough.”
“We believe Oregonians deserve access to psilocybin therapy as another treatment option,” said Tom Eckert, Sheri’s husband, co-chief petitioner, and a licensed psychotherapist. “We’ve designed an initiative that can bring it to them safely, in controlled settings.”
Petitioners submitted their first batch of signatures May 22. The state confirmed that 106,908 of those signatures were valid - an 80.2% approval rate.
On Monday, the campaign submitted a final installment of 31,209 signatures.
"Only 5,112 (16.4%) of those must be deemed valid for the initiative to qualify for the November ballot," organizers said.
If passed by voters, petitioners say that under the Oregon Psilocybin Therapy Ballot Measure:
- Licenses are required to provide psilocybin therapy, cultivate psilocybin, or own a psilocybin service center.
- The ballot measure does not allow people to grow or take psilocybin in their homes.
- Each therapy recipient goes through a three-step therapy process that includes a screening for risk factors, a supervised therapy administration session, and an evaluation afterward to discuss what was learned.
- Psilocybin can only be taken under supervision at a licensed service center.
- People cannot leave the center while under the influence of psilocybin.
