The Oregon Health Authority announced its Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) branch that has begun accepting applications for licenses for manufacturers, laboratories, service centers and facilitators.
Ryan Reid, a Bend man working on opening two psilocybin service centers, has applied for the necessary licenses to open his doors in a few months.
“Some people say it’s like 10 years of therapy in one session. So you’re going to have these breakthroughs and be like, ‘oh that’s why I behave this way’ or ‘that’s why I have this pattern’ or ‘this explains my relationship with these people’, and you’ll come out just more well rounded,” said Reid.
However, the doors cannot open just anywhere.
“Where they are preferring we locate these are in existing medical or office settings,” said Reid.
The space needed is around 3,000 square feet for the service centers. The manufacturing room will be about 400 square feet, according to Reid.
Manufacturing will include the growing and packaging of psilocybin. Every center will also need OHA-approved and trained staff.
“To have a psilocybin session, you have to go to a licensed service center. You have to take the mushrooms there, and you have to stay there for the duration of the experience. You have to be under the guidance of this licensed facilitator the entire time,” said Reid.
“The entire time” is at least six hours.
If you are micro-dosing, the time trims down to 30 minutes, still under supervision.
Reid told us the center will mitigate the possibilities of having a bad experience.
“First and foremost is dose. Mushrooms are highly variable from mushroom to mushroom on the concentration of psilocybin. So if you’re just taking these homegrown mushrooms, you don’t know exactly how much you’re getting. So you could get a more intense experience than you were expecting,” said Reid.
OHA certified labs will be able to test and confirm the amount of psilocybin in each mushroom, according to Reid.
His goal is to have two facilities operating in Bend this year. There will be a for-profit center open to giving people experiences. That will fund a nonprofit center focused more on helping those with depression and PTSD.
