Oregon Health Authority… psilocybin…
Dave Miller [of Oregon Public Broadcast (OPB)]: “Do you feel that it is a professional necessity or benefit for you to do a supervised session yourself to better understand the world you are a part of regulating?“ Angela Allbee: “I think it’s important to remember that I work for the Oregon Health Authority, a State Agency in government so rather than responding to that personally I’ll say… I think that we would never really speak openly about any experiences we may have had or will have…”
Dave Miller: “What’s your assumption for the black market for both psilocybin and supervised use of psilocybin use… obviously people have been doing this for decades now…” Angela Allbee: “We know that for thousands of years… communities have used psilocybin for ceremonial healing, spiritual, and other purposes, and it’s really important that we are aware and mindful that that practice may exist culturally for many people. We want to honor that history and also ensure we are not causing harm to those cultural roots. At the same time, any activity that takes place outside this regulated model is subject to criminal penalties and it a matter for law enforcement… we know that psilocybin grows naturally all over the world… and also understand that it’s not a one size fits all, especially for those spiritual and or ceremonial practices…” Dave Miller: “Psilocybin remains a Schedule 1 drug as far as the federal government is concerned have you heard anything or have you reached out to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) or the US Department of Justice (DOJ) as you’ve been setting up the State’s system?” Angela Allbee: “The statutory direction in the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act requires that the board attempt to meet with the US Attorney for Oregon so we pulled together and drafted a letter… we sent it to the US Attorney for Oregon just reaching out and offering an opportunity to meet with some of us from Board Leadership and OHA and we did receive a response, ‘thank you we are aware of what you’re doing and we will let you know if we have any questions’… we’ll always provide information and answer any questions from federal partners…
Original Article (Oregon Public Broadcasting):
Oregon health authority begins issuing Oregon’s first psilocybin licenses
Artwork Fair Use: Mojmir Churavy
