Legal use of magic mushrooms begins in Oregon
On January 1, Oregon became the first state to allow adult use of psilocybin "magic" mushrooms. Licensed guides will likely determine if the program is a success.
PORTLAND, Oregon — The program has been set, students have been enrolled, and Oregon officials have approved almost every detail of the training of the first class of "magic" mushroom animators seeking state certification.
But while the session of four days began in a hotel conference room in early December, an important teaching tool was missing: the mushrooms themselves.
That's because those The state, two years after Oregon voters narrowly approved adult use of psilocybin, was still crafting the framework regulations for the production and sale of the tawny magic mushrooms. /p>
Instead, students, mostly profession seasoned mental health professionals, should roleplay with each other using meditation or intensive breathing practices that might alter ed states of consciousness - the next best thing to the kind of psychedelic journey they would encounter as guides approved.
It's not that no one was complaining.
Like many of the two dozen students who paid nearly $10,000 for the course, Jason Wright, 48, a psychiatric nurse at Portland Hospital, said he was thrilled to be part of a daring experiment with national implications. "It's amazing to be on the front lines of something that has the potential to change our relationship with drugs that should never have been criminalized in the first place," he said.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" > On January 1, Oregon became the first state in the nation to legalize adult use of psilocybin, a natural psychedelic that has shown great promise for the treatment of severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and end-of-life anxiety in terminally ill people, among other mental health issues.Although scientists are still struggling to understand their therapeutic dynamics, psilocybin and other psychedelics are believed to promote neuroplasticity, a rewiring of the brain that gives patients new insights into long-standing psychiatric issues.
A recent study on the disorders related to alcohol use, for example, found that two doses of psilocybin plus talk therapy resulted in an 83% reduction in heavy drinking among participants, and nearly half of between them had completely stopped drinking at the end of the eight-month trial.
The long-term benefits, however, remain unclear.
Measurement 109, as it is known, authorized the establishment of psilocybin service centers where anyone over the age of 21 can consume the mushrooms in a supervised setting. A key requirement is that a state-certified facilitator must be present on drug-induced rides, which can last five or six hours.
Unlike cannabis, that can be sold at dispensaries, Oregon will not allow the retail sale of psilocybin; consumption must take place at an authorized service center.
Voters in Oregon also made history in 2020 by voting decisively to decrimin...
On January 1, Oregon became the first state to allow adult use of psilocybin "magic" mushrooms. Licensed guides will likely determine if the program is a success.
PORTLAND, Oregon — The program has been set, students have been enrolled, and Oregon officials have approved almost every detail of the training of the first class of "magic" mushroom animators seeking state certification.
But while the session of four days began in a hotel conference room in early December, an important teaching tool was missing: the mushrooms themselves.
That's because those The state, two years after Oregon voters narrowly approved adult use of psilocybin, was still crafting the framework regulations for the production and sale of the tawny magic mushrooms. /p>
Instead, students, mostly profession seasoned mental health professionals, should roleplay with each other using meditation or intensive breathing practices that might alter ed states of consciousness - the next best thing to the kind of psychedelic journey they would encounter as guides approved.
It's not that no one was complaining.
Like many of the two dozen students who paid nearly $10,000 for the course, Jason Wright, 48, a psychiatric nurse at Portland Hospital, said he was thrilled to be part of a daring experiment with national implications. "It's amazing to be on the front lines of something that has the potential to change our relationship with drugs that should never have been criminalized in the first place," he said.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" > On January 1, Oregon became the first state in the nation to legalize adult use of psilocybin, a natural psychedelic that has shown great promise for the treatment of severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and end-of-life anxiety in terminally ill people, among other mental health issues.Although scientists are still struggling to understand their therapeutic dynamics, psilocybin and other psychedelics are believed to promote neuroplasticity, a rewiring of the brain that gives patients new insights into long-standing psychiatric issues.
A recent study on the disorders related to alcohol use, for example, found that two doses of psilocybin plus talk therapy resulted in an 83% reduction in heavy drinking among participants, and nearly half of between them had completely stopped drinking at the end of the eight-month trial.
The long-term benefits, however, remain unclear.
Measurement 109, as it is known, authorized the establishment of psilocybin service centers where anyone over the age of 21 can consume the mushrooms in a supervised setting. A key requirement is that a state-certified facilitator must be present on drug-induced rides, which can last five or six hours.
Unlike cannabis, that can be sold at dispensaries, Oregon will not allow the retail sale of psilocybin; consumption must take place at an authorized service center.
Voters in Oregon also made history in 2020 by voting decisively to decrimin...
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