Oregon Health Authority finalizes rules for Psilocybin Services Act

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) approved its final rules for the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act on December 27th. The law was originally created by the passage of Ballot Measure 109 in November 2020, which was later codified into law as ORS 475A.

The OHA’s final rules were created through recommendations from the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board, the Rules Advisory Committee, and public comment. The OHA originally released its first subset of rules in May 2022, and with the final rules now in effect, Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) will begin accepting applications for four license types beginning January 2, 2023.

According to a letter co-authored by André Ourso, Administrator of the Center for Health Protection, and Angie Allbee, Department Manager for OPS:

“OPS received over 200 written comments and six hours of comments shared in the public hearings during the November 2022 public comment period,” Ourso and Allbee wrote. “These comments have helped further refine and improve the rules, which have now been adopted as final. The final rules are a starting point for the nation’s first regulatory framework for psilocybin services, and we will continue to evaluate and evolve that work as we move into the future.”

These new rules include an option for microdosing with the hope that this will “increase access, equity and affordability while ensuring public safety”. “The final rules on the length of administrative sessions have been revised to create a new tier for subperceptual doses. These doses are defined as products containing less than 2.5 mg of the psilocybin analyte. After a client’s first session, the minimum duration for a subperceptual dose of 2.5 mg of psilocybin analyte or less is 30 minutes.”

The OPS also established rules to produce translated materials in English and Spanish along with interpreting materials to best serve a variety of potential patients. The agency has also created numerous rules on the confidentiality of customer data, improvements to the application form, and certain restrictions for applicants if they have recently had thoughts of harming themselves, are pregnant or breastfeeding.

As for fees, the OPS offers lower-cost options for those who qualify, with the possibility of considering making the service more affordable in the future. “The final rules include reduced royalties for applicants who are veterans, earn Social Security income, receive food stamp benefits, or are enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan,” the OPS letter said. “Creating a more complicated tiered royalty structure is not feasible because of the work required to identify appropriate tiers and assess license applications and supporting documents. This work would require more manpower, resulting in higher overall license fees.”

With applications opening in less than a week, the OPS letter signs with a hopeful statement. “OPS will endeavor to assist applicants in managing license application requirements and will continue to provide technical assistance as we introduce the nation’s first regulatory and licensing framework for psilocybin services,” the letter concludes.

Meanwhile, year-end analyzes of cannabis discuss the problems of last year’s oversupply. The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) released a forecast in December covering a variety of Oregon businesses, including cannabis. “Now this is great news for consumers who can enjoy widely available products at low prices,” OEA economists wrote of the cannabis industry. “This is bad news for companies trying to run a profitable business. There is a challenge, even when companies exit the market, there have always been others willing to step in and take their place.”