The Oregon Psilocybin Society (OPS) was formed in 2016 by Portland psychotherapists Tom and Sheri Eckert. The main purposes of OPS are to bring psilocybin service to Oregon by putting forward a ballot measure in 2020 to legalize psychedelic mushrooms in the state through the Psilocybin Service Initiative (PSI 2020). From the PSI 2020 website:
“The intent of the 2020 Psilocybin Service Initiative of Oregon is to advance a breakthrough therapeutic model currently being perfected in research settings at top universities around the world. The service model involves a sequence of facilitated sessions, including assessment and preparation, psilocybin administration, and integration afterwards. We envision a community-based framework, where licensed providers, along with licensed producers of psilocybin mushrooms, blaze trails in Oregon in accordance with evolving practice standards.”
What is unique about OPS is their effort to legalize psychedelic mushrooms, not just their chemical components such as psilocybin and psilocin whether in their natural or synthetic forms. This is a critical point to distinguish because of the fact that taking psilocybin is very different from eating psychedelic mushrooms. Magic mushrooms contain a cocktail of chemical components (called derivatives) that work together via an entourage effect.
Currently, the ballot measure is with the Oregon Elections Division as a prospective petition for 2020 and the campaign is gathering sponsorship signatures. If the petition comes to the ballot in 2020 and passes, it will create access to psilocybin services throughout Oregon and lower the penalties for possession of psilocybin to a violation.
In November 2018, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum approved the ballot language for the psilocybin mushroom initiative.