'An amazing moment': Portland facility offers spot to safely take magic mushrooms
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- It's a journey nearly three years in the making.
After Oregon voters approved the use of psilocybin therapy in 2020, Portlanders now have a place to legally and safely take magic mushrooms.
One of the city's first licensed psilocybin service centers is set to open next year.
As the mental health crisis in the city continues, the founders of the new center say they are optimistic about this next step and what it means for those hoping to treat trauma and PTSD.
"We get to do this here. And so it's just an amazing moment and we have to be really careful too with all of this," said Rachel Aidan, who co-founded Innertrek Services with her husband Tom Eckert, who helped draft the 2020 ballot measure legalizing psilocybin therapy.
After launching a facilitator training program and graduating the state's first licensed practitioners, the psilocybin service center in Portland's central eastside will open in January 2024.
"Not that there isn't a place for traditional medicine of course there is, and traditional mental health care but this is a big opening that we've created in Oregon to shape the narrative I think for the better," Eckert said.
Located off NE MLK Boulevard, with a fitting "trippy exterior," the center will offer solo and group psilocybin sessions, starting at $850.
Aidan, former CEO of Synthesis Institute, says for years she and others were forced to practice using psychedelic mushrooms to treat trauma underground, telling KOIN 6 that the structure and care provided by the center can help fill a gap and keep people safe.
"People can get hurt. There's no structure and there's no one to report to, and there's no way to make repairs and it's more traumatizing. So we need something, and I think Measure 109 and what we're doing in Oregon is this middle road. It's not medical, and it's not clinical," she said.
But unlike cannabis, founders say this is not a quick transaction. They screen and prep applicants before guiding them through the session as well as providing reintegration.
"Psilocybin is not for everybody and so we're really careful about screening and we're also learning about that process," Eckert said.
When asked about safety concerns following the recent scare when an off-duty pilot allegedly tried to down a plane after reportedly taking magic mushrooms, Eckert said that "some people take psychedelics without supervision or care and have great experiences. But you know, it's a bit of a risk. And so this model is built to optimize that level of care and safety, so that we see good outcomes."