More than a dozen Oregon communities vote to ban psilocybin businesses in Tuesday’s election

By Oregon Capital Chronicle

Voters in more than a dozen Oregon cities, including in the Portland area, voted to ban the regulated sales and use of psilocybin mushrooms.

Anti-psilocybin measures were on the ballots in 16 cities and unincorporated Clackamas County, and are passing in coastal communities to urban Portland and central and southern Oregon by 55% to 70% of the vote.

Bans against psilocybin businesses are passing in  Brookings, Rogue River, Sutherlin, Redmond, Lebanon, Jefferson, Sheridan, Amity, Hubbard, Mount Angel, Estacada, Oregon City, Lake Oswego, Seaside and Warrenton. Redmond’s measure would enact a two-year moratorium on psilocybin businesses.

There was one notable outlier. The measure to ban psilocybin could fail in Nehalem, a small community in Tillamook County, according to initial returns. But it is failing by only three votes. The unofficial results on Wednesday were close: 80 voters oppose the ban and 77 voters support.

Comment was not immediately available from psilocybin opponents. Supporters of the drug expressed disappointment with the results Wednesday.

“I think it’s really unfortunate that local communities, often rural communities continue to prevent access to psilocybin services, especially given that we’ve seen over 7,000 people go through the Oregon program, and there’s been so many stories of healing and benefit for those who have done it,” said Sam Chapman, a longtime psilocybin advocate who is policy and development director for the Microdosing Collective, a nonprofit supporting use of the drug in small doses.

The economy of the psilocybin industry has been soft, caused mainly by the cost of a single session, which can range from hundreds to several thousand dollars, with many customers flocking to Oregon from out of state.

Oregon was the first state to decriminalize psilocybin in licensed settings and Colorado has followed suit. Massachusetts voters rejected a proposal to legalize the mushrooms and allow people to grow small quantities at their homes, National Public Radio reported.