- Oregon Health Authority invites applicants to be a part of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board (OPAB)
- Governor Kate Brown will be deciding on the final applicants. The board will comprised of at least 14 members
- OHA is looking forward to forming a committee of people from diverse backgrounds like researchers, physicians, lawyers, psychologists, mycologists
- Those interested can submit their applications before January 1, 2021
A month after becoming the first U.S. state to legalize psilocybin, Oregon is heading to form the first-ever legal framework for regulating psilocybin-assisted therapies under the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board (OPAB).
In a notice issued on November 30, the Oregon Health Authority invited applicants to be a part of the Psilocybin Advisory Board, asking them to make “recommendations on the requirements, specifications and guidelines for providing psilocybin services in Oregon.”
The OPAB will be “a governor-appointed board”, says Modie Jonathan, Lead Communication Officer for Oregon Health Authority. Governor Kate Brown will be looking to appoint at least 14 members to the committee and she will have “the ultimate say in who she appoints to the Board,” Jonathan adds.
The OHA has invited people with various skill sets and from diverse backgrounds to participate in the board. The final committee will have a combination of a local health officer, mycologist, ethnobotanist, psychopharmacologist, psychedelic researchers, physicians, and psychologists, alongside a board member with a background in the Oregon Department of Justice, and a member of the public.
The committee is also aiming at accepting a person from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission “who has experience working with the system developed and maintained by the commission for tracking the transfer of marijuana items.”
Following the approval of Measure 109, which aimed at establishing a “state-licensed psilocybin-assisted therapy system” in November of this year, the OHA was deemed responsible for carving out the specifics of the program and create a professional code of conduct for practitioners through the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board. It will take at least two years before the framework for regulating psilocybin therapy is formed.
Since psilocybin is a Schedule I controlled substance under federal drug policy, there are no existing laws on regulating the drug in the US at this moment. In a situation comparable to cannabis, Oregon is poised to set a historic precedent by providing a functional legal framework, allowing psilocybin for clinical purposes.
Those interested in being a part of the committee can submit an application on the state government site by January 1, 2021.
