Posted on Oct 29, 2022
The use of psilocybin is on the ballot again for many Oregon voters
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Oregonians voted to legalize the use of the psychedelic drug psilocybin in supervised facilities in 2020. But 27 of the state’s 36 counties now have the issue on their ballots again. The vote will have implications for residents seeking treatment across the Pacific Northwest.
In the spring, Christopher Maddox flew to Mexico to get help. The former Navy SEAL had been suffering from PTSD and substance use disorder for years. At one point, he was on 13 medications. He tried a variety of therapies, but none of them worked.
“It still didn’t really fix the root cause. And the root cause was I hated myself, and I was helpless. I didn’t think there was any way out of it,” he said.
A friend connected him with a treatment center in Mexico that does psilocybin therapy. In April, he flew south for a five-day retreat that included taking seven ounces of the psychedelic mushrooms under the oversight of a coach. He said it was life-changing.
“It allowed me to see everything that I had experienced through my life, everything that had happened to me, everything that I had done to others, all the good, all the bad, all the in-between. And it just allowed me to start processing it,” he said.
In the spring, Christopher Maddox flew to Mexico to get help. The former Navy SEAL had been suffering from PTSD and substance use disorder for years. At one point, he was on 13 medications. He tried a variety of therapies, but none of them worked.
“It still didn’t really fix the root cause. And the root cause was I hated myself, and I was helpless. I didn’t think there was any way out of it,” he said.
A friend connected him with a treatment center in Mexico that does psilocybin therapy. In April, he flew south for a five-day retreat that included taking seven ounces of the psychedelic mushrooms under the oversight of a coach. He said it was life-changing.
“It allowed me to see everything that I had experienced through my life, everything that had happened to me, everything that I had done to others, all the good, all the bad, all the in-between. And it just allowed me to start processing it,” he said.
The use of psilocybin is on the ballot again for many Oregon voters
Posted from opb.org
Drugs
PTSD
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."In a recent report from Mental Health America, Oregon ranked 46th in the country regarding the prevalence of mental illness and access to care.
If a town opts into allowing psilocybin (as Ashland and Medford have) while its county opts out (as Jackson County might), the use of psilocybin would be allowed within those specific municipalities but not within the county as a whole.
Dave Dotterrer, chair of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, said that there will be adequate access for those who need it.
“We already know that this therapy is going to be available at least in Ashland and in Medford. This therapy is going to be available in Jackson County,” he said.
But Moulin-Franco said the therapy should be more widely available, not just in urban locations. She said a natural setting is more therapeutic, and she worries about access issues forcing people to travel, “which is an additional burden when you’re already struggling, when you’re already feeling depleted or your trauma is so bad and you’re maybe living in a rural part of the county and you’re a veteran and you’re struggling with PTSD and you’re isolated.”
With the lack of availability, many veterans fly to Mexico to receive treatment, which gets expensive. Maddox paid $5,000 for his retreat, and that was with a veteran discount and funding through his friend’s public charity.
Maddox is now in school to become an integrated life coach, like the people who helped him find his way after his own psilocybin journeys. He said he wants to help people figure out who they are and what they want, in Oregon.
“The importance of the need for the availability for it to be local is extreme. This should be in our backyard,” he said.
Oregon voters will decide on Nov. 8."
..."In a recent report from Mental Health America, Oregon ranked 46th in the country regarding the prevalence of mental illness and access to care.
If a town opts into allowing psilocybin (as Ashland and Medford have) while its county opts out (as Jackson County might), the use of psilocybin would be allowed within those specific municipalities but not within the county as a whole.
Dave Dotterrer, chair of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, said that there will be adequate access for those who need it.
“We already know that this therapy is going to be available at least in Ashland and in Medford. This therapy is going to be available in Jackson County,” he said.
But Moulin-Franco said the therapy should be more widely available, not just in urban locations. She said a natural setting is more therapeutic, and she worries about access issues forcing people to travel, “which is an additional burden when you’re already struggling, when you’re already feeling depleted or your trauma is so bad and you’re maybe living in a rural part of the county and you’re a veteran and you’re struggling with PTSD and you’re isolated.”
With the lack of availability, many veterans fly to Mexico to receive treatment, which gets expensive. Maddox paid $5,000 for his retreat, and that was with a veteran discount and funding through his friend’s public charity.
Maddox is now in school to become an integrated life coach, like the people who helped him find his way after his own psilocybin journeys. He said he wants to help people figure out who they are and what they want, in Oregon.
“The importance of the need for the availability for it to be local is extreme. This should be in our backyard,” he said.
Oregon voters will decide on Nov. 8."
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