The Public Health Division of the Center for Health Protection of the Oregon Health Authority has a new division called Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS).
Ballot Measure 109 (now codified as ORS 475A) required the Oregon Health Authority to license and regulate the production, delivery, sale, and purchase of psilocybin products as well as the provision of psilocybin services by November 2020.
This is what the Oregon Psilocybin Services Section does. For a summary of the tasks finished throughout the development phase, please refer to the OPS 2022 Year in Review.
The Oregon Psilocybin Services Section started accepting applications for license on January 2, 2023. We estimate that in 2023, brand-new psilocybin service establishments will welcome customers and licensed facilitators will start offering psilocybin services.
Manufacturing, laboratories, service centers, and facilitators the four licensing categories will require time to obtain licenses and be up and running. Each qualified facilitator who collaborates with a registered service center will be in responsible of their own operations and client communications.
What is the safest way to get access to psychedelic-assisted therapy?
There are still a lot of obstacles to overcome, but you have some options.
1. Ask your doctor if ketamine is a good choice for you
A popular injectable anesthetic for short-term sedation and anesthesia is ketamine. In the field of mental health, it has been categorized as exploratory psychedelic therapy centers oregon research due to its dissociative and hallucinogenic qualities.
2019 saw the FDA’s first approval of esketamine, a ketamine-based nasal spray, for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression. It is designed to be used in conjunction with antidepressants and is currently the only form of ketamine that the FDA has approved for the treatment of a mental health condition.
Esketamine is subject to strict guidelines because it might cause sleepiness, poor judgment, and overuse. It must be taken under the direction of a doctor, and you might need to persuade your insurer to cover the cost by providing proof that you’ve tried other medications and treatments, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Ketamine is administered for off-label uses, such as the treatment of mental health conditions for which it was not specifically approved, such as PTSD, because it is not a Schedule I substance. The creation of ketamine-assisted therapy clinics around the US, where ketamine is typically administered via I.V. infusion, is the outcome of this loophole.
2. Clinical trials are your only option legally for the majority of psychedelics
One of the safest ways to test psychedelic-assisted treatment, whether you’re interested in MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, or other drugs, is to take part in a scientific trial. This is because the studies are carried out before, during, and after the psychedelic experience under the supervision of licensed clinicians in a secure, controlled environment.
But signing up is not the same as enrolling in one of these research trials. Dr. Williams calls the market today “competitive.” Only five people can enroll in one of her research trials, which is looking at MDMA’s potential as a PTSD treatment.
She notes that in order to be qualified as a trial participant, you must also fulfill a number of requirements, such as consenting to all study rules and regulations, creating time commitments, and more.
(While the requirements for each trial differ, here is an overview of what you’d need to meet to take part in trials run by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a nonprofit research group that looks into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics and marijuana.)
3. Speak with your medical team about treatment with greater access
The FDA acknowledges that a person may have a serious or life-threatening condition that has not responded to other viable therapies and that it may be permissible to test a “investigative medical product” if the potential benefits to the person’s quality of life outweigh the dangers.
Sadly, it is not a simple task. According to the FDA, you and your doctor must consider whether the treatment is a good fit for you, including the risks and costs to be aware of, in order to receive permission for expanded access treatment.
Then, your doctor must sincerely advocate for you by agreeing to oversee and monitor your therapy, getting permission from the company that makes the medical product, and submitting the required paperwork to the FDA. If everyone agrees to the proposal for increasing use, treatment can start.
4. If you have already used psychedelics, think about integration therapy
Let’s assume you have already experienced psychedelic usage on your own, in whatever capacity, and that you have feelings regarding it. Dr. Williams claims that some therapists only work with patients who have independently tried these medications and felt the need to process the experience and the emotions it uncovered. “We call it integration therapy,” she explains. “We do provide that because it occurs frequently.”
5. It is possible, but risky, to purchase psychedelics illegally
As you may have noticed, we did not suggest using psychedelic drugs for self-treatment on your own or experimenting with them. Dr. Williams cautions that using drugs alone for experimentation while obtaining them illegally can be dangerous in a number of different ways.
There is a reason why these drugs are being examined in-depth in a clinical study’s controlled environment. Your physical and mental safety as well as the effectiveness of the treatment depend on receiving the right dosage and working through your experience with a qualified physician.
