Legal Psilocybin Services in Oregon Mixed For Providers

The first state-regulated psilocybin services program in the US became law in 2020 when Oregon voters approved Measure 109 and shifted expectations for the integration of psychedelics into contemporary society. Lawmakers and activists in other states began paying close attention to the rollout of this approach, which offers psilocybin for personal development without prescription. 

In Part One of our two-part series on the implementation of Measure 109, Lucid News spoke with regulators, facilitators, researchers, lawyers, and advocates who are part of Oregon’s psilocybin industry about the challenges and opportunities offered by these therapies. Many pointed to the cost of these services and challenges faced by providers, which are different from those pursuing clinical trials or decriminalization strategies involving psychedelics.

In Part Two of our series, we talk with a psilocybin service center director and mental health professional, an indigenous friendly facilitator, an OG entheo cheerleader, a nonprofit advocate, a research coordinator, and a visionary attorney to understand where Oregon’s psilocybin industry stands at present and what they expect on the road ahead. 

The Service Center Director/Facilitator/Mental Health Professional

One of the questions that many observers raise with the Oregon psilocybin program is the safety of the services. Amanda Gow, co-founder of Bendable Therapy in Bend, highlighted her clinic’s success, with no reported adverse events or emergency calls, emphasizing the importance of preparation and integration in mitigating risks. “From a safety standpoint, and a service center’s ability to deliver and provide services, things seem to be going quite well,” she told Lucid News.

Gow backed Oregon House Bill 2387, which Governor Kotek signed on May 22. The proposed legislation allows mental health professionals to use their therapeutic skills in prep (before) and integration (after) sessions, and also offers them legal protections. It’s an example of how Oregon is learning from the regulation of Colorado providers of psilocybin services, which allows dual licensure. For example medical doctor or therapist could also hold a psilocybin facilitator license, and counsel a person who wants to try psilocybin treatment, although it would have to be with another facilitator.

Despite high interest, affordability remains a barrier, says Gow, with sessions at her center costing $3,800 for 15-20 hours with a licensed facilitator, which is an above-average amount of time for psilocybin services. Bendable programs are “designed to be a mental health adjunct,” and contact lasts eight to 12 weeks. 

“Sessions have been challenging for people, but oftentimes that’s exactly what they came for,” says Gow, who says she witnesses a lot of emotional processing.

“If you’ve ever gone to a therapy session and you’re like, ‘Oh, I cried a bunch there,’ but it’s six hours long, right? What we’re seeing is very manageable.”

Gow notes that the biggest hurdle to access is financial. “The average person doesn’t have $3,000 to $4,000 to spend on their mental health,” she says. “And if they are spending that, either that is a privilege, or they’re definitely prioritizing this over something else, and that is a tricky place to be as a mental health professional.”

The Indigenous-Friendly Facilitator

Rebecca Martinez, co-founder of the Cora Center, told Lucid News that the Cora Center served around 170 clients in its first year, primarily in group settings. Psilocybin treatments begin at $650 plus $150 for the mushrooms, including preparation, group sessions, and integration. 

She called the center “not-yet-profitable but staying afloat,” saying it benefits from offering practicums for psilocybin facilitator students from out of state, such as from UC Berkeley and Naropa Universities. 

Martinez lists the usual challenges: insurance and tax issues, marketing, high costs, and limited public awareness. She says the initial surge of interest is over, and there’s no rush of non-Oregonians (allowed since Jan 1, 2025) to open service centers. 

Martinez thinks quality will win out.“I only know a couple of centers that seem to be doing well. They’ve established themselves in the field and have a strategic plan to find their market fit. They have high integrity and high intentionality in what they’re trying to accomplish. Success is hard to define, because many centers may not ‘succeed’ business-wise, but they’re doing life-changing work with their clients.”

If the law allowed it, Martinez says she would like to see widespread marketing with a clear message that psilocybin can facilitate lasting transformation, but is not a quick fix. Finding a niche, such as head trauma, could be a successful strategy for some centers. At Cora they highlight the importance of representing diverse groups in wellness spaces, such as Black, Brown, Indigenous, Queer, and Trans people and their allies.

Martinez is satisfied with the collaborative approach of the Oregon Health Authority in managing the psilocybin program and acknowledged the program’s learning curve. “As long as the OHA keeps being responsive and soliciting input from stakeholders, then the program will continue to improve,” she said.

The OG Entheo Cheerleader 

As one of the original backers of Measure 109 and now a facilitator and director of operations for the psilocybin school and service center, InnerTrek, Nathan Howard is very enthusiastic about the Oregon program so far. “I would call it a massive success on a bunch of fronts, “ he told Lucid News. “With 10,000-plus people getting legal psilocybin services and therapy, that’s more than all of the people who have legally accessed psychedelics in the United States over the last 40-plus years, certainly more than all in clinical trials.” 

However, “the vibes are off,” he said, citing costs, lack of insurance coverage, and regulatory limitations around dual licensure. Measure 110, which decriminalized all drugs around the same time as the passage of Measure 109, and was quickly repealed, also contributed to the hard feelings, he said.

Howard maintains that on an hour-for-hour basis, psilocybin treatment is “less than half the cost of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,” which is usually $200 an hour. “The reason it feels so expensive is because it’s usually upfront,” not paid for one hour at a time, he says.

Research is the way to the insurance companies’ hearts, and Howard says he sees promise in the several dozen research projects that are underway, including studies on alcoholism, depression, PTSD, and whether psychedelics can save healthcare dollars. One is the Low Income Major Depressive Disorder Study, from the Sheri Eckert Foundation and the National University of Natural Medicine.

Howard believes that Oregon’s psilocybin services will eventually demonstrate cost savings and health benefits that could lead to insurance coverage.” At some point, Kaiser’s board member, whoever it’s going to be, and a Medicaid director, are going to be like, ‘Oh, we like making more money, we need to cover this’” says Howard. “And I think that we’re much closer to that than people think.”

“On an hour-for-hour basis, it’s less than half the cost of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,” which runs about $200 an hour in Portland. “The reason it feels so expensive is because it’s usually (money) upfront,” Howard says, meaning the cost is not spread out. 

InnerTrek’s services cost between $1,200 for a day and $2,500 for a retreat. Howard admitted the high costs may dissuade potential clients.”The state-regulated and legal path needs to be more compelling in every way than the underground. It needs to be less expensive. It needs to be safer. It needs to have more options. And we’re actually almost there.”

The Non-Profit Advocate for State-Regulated Psychedelic Programs

Heidi Pendergast is the Oregon Director of the nonprofit Healing Advocacy Fund, which promotes safe, affordable, state-regulated access to psychedelic healing for all who need it. Pendergrast is impressed that there are 370+ licensed facilitators, 27 service centers, and approximately 10,000 psilocybin clients.

Pendergast describes Oregon’s legal psilocybin program as “a quiet revolution.” It is working as intended, she says, and continues to evolve through legislation and community feedback. She notes that groups such as the Heroic Hearts Project, which have offered healing group journeys for former service members abroad, with psilocybin and ayahuasca, are now treating them on US soil throughout Oregon.“It’s incredibly powerful to go through the experience together,” Pendergast says of the Heroic Hearts Project’s approach. “The program is going well. I don’t see psilocybin therapy as one magic pill.” 

“It’s about taking the mushroom insights and integrating them back into daily life,” says Pendergast. “We have continued to hear story after story of people who have been struggling for years, hearing about psilocybin, wanting to do it in a state-regulated kind of model, accessing it, and saying ‘It was like 10 years of therapy in one session.’ Not that everything’s fixed and secured, but it’s going from this feeling stuck, to being able to make progress on your mental health.” 

Psychedelic services providers say they are still exploring the legality, particularly concerning safety. Many providers admit that they don’t have time to keep up with what their peers are doing or how the rules are changing in their state capital. The Healing Advocacy Fund hosts monthly service center calls to share best practices and expert information. They also supported HB 2387, which protects, from board censure, licensed medical practitioners who discuss psilocybin therapy with their patients.

“This common-sense reform ensures better safety and support for clients,” Pendergast said. 

HAF also shares information and insights with those supporting psychedelic services legislation in New Mexico (clinician-led approach, expected first dose March 2028), Colorado (healthcare integration), and Oregon (community-based). Pendergast said many people don’t understand psilocybin therapy or how to access it, so HAF created a guide. 

According to Pendergast, scientific research is key. HAF is trying to track how lasting the effects of psilocybin treatment are. Most clients have their three sessions and disappear back to their normal lives. “So it’s hard to follow up, unless they opt into a study,” she said.

According to data released by OPS on June 12, 2025, 1,509 clients received psilocybin services between January and April 2025 in Oregon. Two experienced severe adverse behavioral reactions, three experienced adverse medical reactions, and one experienced post-session reactions.

The Research Coordinator

At Oregon Health & Science University, Dr. Adie Rae is Co-Director of the Open Psychedelic Evaluation Nexus (OPEN), which measures the impact of legal psychedelic services in Oregon.  Early findings show most clients come from a household with an income over $200,000. “Affluent clients were our prediction in 2020. We knew this was going to be expensive, so it’s going to be inequitable. I wish we weren’t right about that,” Rae told Lucid News. 

She wishes there were more clients with associate’s degrees and some trade school experience. “And we have only three participants who are below the federal poverty line.” 

Rae would also like to see people who have been formerly incarcerated or who have experienced houselessness access psilocybin, perhaps using subsidies or grants. “These are the kind of people who might benefit the most from a transformative experience,” she explained. 

OPEN’s prospective cohort study involves 12 service centers, with over 60 clients and 56 facilitators, so it should give a good picture of what is going on in Oregon. It follows clients before and after their psilocybin experience for up to a year. Initial findings show minimal adverse events and positive impacts on well-being. 

However, Rae said that the fee-based program structure puts a financial burden on clients and businesses – the licenses are expensive, because the program is not supported by state tax dollars. But the Oregon Health Authority’s budget shortfall may lead to even higher license fees for businesses.

The study measures depression, anxiety, well-being, connectedness, and physical pain, but mental health measures are still in the early stages. Ninety-three percent of clients say their goals were met, with high satisfaction rates overall. There have been zero instances of unwanted touch or sexual contact, indicating that facilitators are creating safe environments.

Adverse events are subjective. One person’s screaming fit is another’s long-awaited catharsis. One client became aggressive under psilocybin, and the center called emergency services. But in the survey, the same client was asked if they had an adverse event, and they said no. 

“In fact, they said their journey opened up some deep emotions and brought them to the surface. This led to some inner aggressive behavior, which was embarrassing. But the facilitator handled the situation with compassion and integrity,” Rae said.

The Visionary Attorney

Vince Sliwoski is disappointed with Oregon’s psilocybin program, seeing its slow progress and limited accessibility. A partner at law firm Harris Sliwoski, he noted the lack of program growth this year, despite the removal of residency requirements for licensees. 

When the Oregon cannabis market was opened up to non-Oregonian owners in 2017, there was a flood of out-of-state investment and players looking for legal services. With psilocybin, “We have a trickle of work, it’s not worth the effort to market to it,” said Sliwoski.  

He found Measure 109 cumbersome and dislikes limitations such as the requirement to use only one particular strain of mushroom and the prohibition on using this material anywhere but in service centers.

Sliwoski suggested that allowing off-site use, similar to Colorado’s approach, could boost interest. He also noted the program’s reliance on taxpayer subsidies and its failure to achieve financial sustainability. “This thing was sold to voters as a program that paid for itself, but it’s really not paying for itself. So you have a funny dynamic where taxpayers are subsidizing a niche experiment for wealthy people.”

He does not think House Bill 2387 is substantive. “I think this is just work around the edges,” says Sliwoski.

The Future 

Despite the mixed feelings about the implementation of Oregon’s psilocybin services, operators of the service centers are still hoping to prepare for potential federal rescheduling of psilocybin, which the FDA is currently studying. If the substance is reclassified, insurance coverage and integration into established medical systems could follow, radically altering Oregon’s landscape. 

Observers in Oregon and around the country are waiting to see how this plays out in a highly uncertain federal regulatory landscape. 

Sidebar: Timeline of Oregon’s Psilocybin Program

• November 2020: Measure 109 passes, legalizing psilocybin services.
  
• January 2023: Oregon Health Authority begins licensing service centers and facilitators.
  
• Mid-2023: First psilocybin service centers open.
  
• 2023–2024: First InnerTrek and other facilitator training cohorts graduate.
  
• June 2025: Approximately 24 service centers operating; ~377 facilitators licensed​, ~10,000 clients dosed.

Cost Breakdown for a Psilocybin Session

• Facilitator Fee: $600–$2,500
  
• Room Rental: $400–$950
  
• Medicine Cost: $140–$300
  
• Total Estimated Cost: $1,500–$3,000

Oregon vs Colorado vs New Mexico: Psilocybin Models Comparison Table

State	Wellness Model	Medical Model	Diagnosis Required
Oregon	✅	❌	❌
Colorado	✅	✅	❌
New Mexico	❌	✅	✅

Photo caption: Cora Center founders celebrating the center’s one year anniversary, April 2025. Syre Saniyah, Ph.D, Claudia Cuentas, LMFT, Rebecca Martinez. Photo credit: Hakeem Rollins.