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Gilliam County Commissioner Pat Shannon voted to put a psilocybin ban measure on the ballot. He is not convinced that psilocybin therapy can help illnesses such as depression, anxiety and addiction.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
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Pat Shannon is a restaurateur and curator from Gilliam County in North Central Oregon.
He and two county board colleagues put before voters this November a ballot measure that will exclude Gilliam County from Oregon’s new psilocybin therapy program.
He’s also a recovering alcoholic: “I had always been a daily drinker,” he said during a recent conversation at the Condon Chamber of Commerce. “Since the day I left high school.”
Shannon hasn’t hit a single drop in 37 years; today he still attends meetings and sponsors three recovering alcoholics. So he said he tends to see things through the lens of addiction, and he’s not convinced that using psilocybin to deal with depression, anxiety, addiction or other mental health works.
“I just don’t see where you’re going to get any discovery from going on a mushroom trip,” Shannon said.
High Street in Condon, Oregon, October 2022. Most people OPB spoke to in Condon say they don’t like what the legalization of cannabis has done in Oregon and aren’t convinced psilocybin works.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Measures to ban psilocybin are on the November ballot in 104 cities and 27 of Oregon’s 36 counties; which includes Gilliam County and the City of Condon. But Shannon said the problem isn’t on people’s radars.
“Members of the Gilliam County community probably don’t even understand the details,” he said.
Shannon said that for many people, the use of psilocybin is just being incorporated into Measure 110.
Oregon voters agreed in 2020 to eliminate criminal consequences for possession of small amounts of illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. Instead of taking someone to jail for possession, police can now only issue an infraction, such as a traffic ticket, of up to $100. People can avoid this fine if they are willing to contact an addiction service.
The goal is to push people toward recovery, not the criminal justice system.
Shannon doesn’t buy it. And he sees a direct line between Measure 110, the drug decriminalization effort, and Measure 109, which voters also approved in 2020. It legalized the use of psilocybin in therapeutic settings. Regulators are now drafting the precise policy guidelines that will govern the program, which will take effect in January.
Shannon worries that psilocybin is a gateway drug, whether it’s addictive or not.
The new psilocybin therapy program does not allow people to simply buy the drug and take it home, like cannabis. But Shannon believes the program will normalize the use and abuse of psilocybin.
To be clear, the new program involves people meeting with a facilitator several times, discussing why they want to take psilocybin, and being closely monitored while using the drug. This system is time consuming and likely to cost thousands rather than hundreds of dollars.
Nurse Carol Phillips has helped drug patients many times and does not believe psilocybin therapy should be allowed in Gilliam County.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Still, most people this reporter spoke with in Gilliam County share Shannon’s views. They say they don’t like what the legalization of cannabis has done in Oregon, and they’re not convinced that psilocybin works.
Nor have they seen any advertising on the subject or spoken to any canvasser.
“Things like this are really dangerous,” said Carol Phillips, a local nurse. “People will abuse it and then blame a doctor or someone innocent.”
Retiree Debra James has seen people take hallucinogenic mushrooms and they didn’t like the results.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Disabled retiree Debra James said she has seen people take hallucinogenic mushrooms in the past.
“The bottom line is not good,” he said. “They were freaking out. Like maybe too much. They were not comfortable. They were upset. They were scared.”
James said he doesn’t think a facilitator is helpful on a bad trip, whether or not he’s trained and licensed.
Such sentiments are not news to Sam Chapman, the executive director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, a group created to introduce psilocybin to Oregon.
“It’s not entirely surprising that certain aspects of the state are simply saying they’re not ready to move forward with this,” Chapman said. “That’s fine. We’re ready to meet anyone and everyone wherever they are, and we recognize that it takes time.”
Sam Chapman, executive director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, said he’s not surprised that many Oregonians are questioning the idea of psilocybin therapy, even though most voters agreed to allow it.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Chapman believes attitudes will change as the program rolls out in 137 cities and 10 counties next year. He believes people will be more accepting when they see how psilocybin helps.
Chapman also notes that there are volunteers who go door-to-door in rural areas, trying to educate people about psilocybin therapy. Maybe not so much in Gilliam County, but certainly in places like Jackson County.
That’s because in Jackson County, big cities like Medford and Ashland are pushing ahead with psilocybin, while county voters are considering an opt-out vote.
Ashland Mayor Julie Akins has a husband who is a Vietnam vet. He had a stroke, became depressed and lost his sense of balance. She thinks psilocybin might help.
“If you don’t want this therapy, you don’t have to get it,” Akins said. “But making it unavailable to people who need it doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Deactivation will only mean that sick people will have to travel for treatment, he said.
Ashland Mayor Julie Akins on a Zoom call in October 2022, “If you don’t want this therapy, you don’t have to have it,” Akins said. “But making it unavailable to people who need it doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Myles Katz recently purchased the Buckhorn Springs Resort in Jackson County with the goal of building a psilocybin service center. He also helped organize the local Vote No. 15-203 effort to raise money and awareness for the benefits of psilocybin therapy.
Myles Katz’s company bought a property in Jackson County with the goal of turning it into a psilocybin service center.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
“When the voters were presented with the facts, they were overwhelmingly in favor of what he can deliver,” Katz said. “It’s really the absence of education that would lead them to vote against the implementation of psilocybin services.”
Ashland and Medford’s differences with Jackson County are reflected elsewhere in Oregon. For example, Deschutes County has an opt-out measure on its ballot, while psilocybin therapy is set to roll out in Bend next year.
Back in Gilliam County, pharmacist Anna Charapata counts pills for customers at Murray’s Pharmacy on Condon High Street. She sees psilocybin therapy differently than many locals interviewed by OPB. She believes that psilocybin therapy is a responsible way to learn about the drug.
“I’ve read about uses in palliative care, so when people are dying,” Charapata said. “To me, that’s where the strongest evidence for any kind of medical use is: it’s people coming to grips with their mortality.”
Pharmacist Anna Charapata believes that psilocybin therapy is a responsible way to learn about the drug.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Regardless of what voters decide this election, two and a half million Oregonians will have local access to psilocybin therapy next year. This covers several rural areas, including Klamath Falls and Grants Pass.
[ad_2]Source: In rural Oregon, psilocybin is on the ballot, but it’s still a mystery