US: Thousands waiting to experience magic mushrooms in Oregon after psilocybin legalisation

Thousands of people struggling with mental health problems have signed up to experience magic mushrooms, a mind-bending drug, as the US state of Oregon has legalised psilocybin (psychedelic mushrooms).

Epic Healing Eugene, Oregon's first licensed psilocybin service centre, opened in June. It has a waitlist of over 3,000 names, including people with suicidal depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Using the drug requires no prescription or referral. However, advocates of magic mushrooms hope Oregon's legalisation of psilocybin sparks a revolution in mental health care.

In January 2023, Oregon became the first state in the United States to legalise the adult use of psilocybin. Last year, Colorado voters passed a measure permitting the use of magic mushrooms starting in 2024. California's legislature also approved a measure allowing the possession and use of certain plant-based psychedelics, including psilocybin and mescaline. Health officials are currently developing guidelines for their therapeutic use.

The Oregon Psilocybin Services Section, the industry's regulatory body, has received "hundreds of thousands of inquiries from all over the world," the agency's manager, Angela Allbee, told AP. She said, "So far, what we're hearing is that clients have had positive experiences."

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Psilocybin remains illegal in most of the United States. In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated psilocybin as a "breakthrough therapy." The FDA published a draft to guide researchers making clinical trials for psychedelic drugs.

Some studies suggest psilocybin alters the brain's way of organising itself and helps the user adopt new mindsets and overcome mental health problems.

However, the Oregon Psychiatric Physicians Associations have resisted Oregon's 2020 ballot measure legalising psilocybin. They said, "It is unsafe and makes misleading promises to Oregonians struggling with mental illness."

The Oregon Psilocybin Services spent two years building regulations for the magic mushrooms and started accepting license applications in January. The US state now has ten licensed service centres, four growers, two testing labs, and dozens of facilitators.

In 2020, Oregon also decriminalised the possession of hard drugs, asserting its position as a leader in drug law reform. It was the first US state to decriminalise marijuana possession and one of the first to legalise its recreational use.

However, nowadays, the regulated marijuana industry is toiling with oversupply. The drug decriminalisation did not fulfil its expectations, as it has not greatly expanded addiction treatment or reduced overdoses.

(With inputs from agencies)

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