The Fight for Botanicals

The Oregon Health Authority has dropped a proposal that would have doubled annual licence fees for the state’s regulated psilocybin services program, according to a report published by Marijuana Moment in partnership with Psychedelic State(s) of America. The agency said it will not file final rules or adopt the proposed increases, citing feedback from the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board, rule advisory committees and the public comment period.

Under the proposed rule text, annual fees for manufacturers and service centers would have risen from $10,000 to $20,000, and facilitator fees from $2,000 to $4,000. The report said the plan emerged amid a state budget shortfall, and that OHA’s own documentation acknowledged the increases could reduce the number of licensees.

OHA says it will begin a separate rulemaking on non-fee program changes, with an anticipated effective date of January 15, 2027. Licensed facilitator Amy Charlesworth called the decision “a win, but it does not mean we’ve won,” while the Center for Psychedelic Policy plans an economic analysis ahead of the 2027 legislative session.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration held a public hearing on September 14 to gather input on how psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin might one day be used as supervised medical treatments, according to a report by Medical Daily. Doctors, veterans, pharmacists, and therapists urged regulators to set clear standards for provider training, patient screening, and follow-up care. The hearing followed an April executive order directing federal agencies to speed research and review of psychedelic treatments for serious mental illness, and it explicitly excluded questions of drug scheduling or legalization from its scope. The FDA stressed that the hearing itself is not an approval and that any future therapeutic use would still depend on standard safety and effectiveness review. Written public comments remain open through October 5.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched PIVOT, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial testing psilocybin in veterans with treatment-resistant major depression, including those with PTSD, according to Military Times. The study will enroll at least 240 veterans across five VA medical centers in Alabama, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington, testing two psilocybin doses given a month apart under FDA-developed safety protocols. VA Secretary Doug Collins said “far too many veterans are living with mental health conditions that don’t respond to available treatments.”

Psilocybin therapy, once relegated to the fringes of medicine, is now operating legally in three U.S. states — and dozens more are watching closely.

Oregon and Colorado currently run the nation’s only fully regulated adult-access programs, while New Mexico is racing to see its first patients by the end of 2026 under a new medical psilocybin law. Meanwhile, more than 26 states are weighing legislation of their own, according to a detailed state-by-state breakdown from Psychedelic Beacon.

Federal policy is shifting too. An executive order this year has pushed the FDA to speed up review of psychedelic treatments for serious mental health conditions — though psilocybin remains a Schedule I substance nationally, with no legalization date in sight.

The patchwork is growing fast. Whether it becomes a coherent national policy is still an open question.

Oregon’s pioneering psilocybin therapy program is drawing a familiar mix of optimism and concern as new reviews highlight who is using it and how. High-income clients, many traveling from out of state, continue to dominate access to supervised mushroom sessions, often for wellness or “personal growth” rather than diagnosed mental illness. Researchers warn that limited reporting requirements make it hard to know whether service centers are consistently screening out people for whom psychedelics could be risky.

Yet evidence from initiatives such as Oregon Health & Science University’s long-term study suggests supervised psilocybin has real potential to help with mental health and substance use when delivered safely. As the Bend Source editorial argues, the challenge now is less about predicting problems and more about fixing them—by tightening safeguards, expanding access, and grounding debate in data. You can read the original commentary, “Much Ado About Psilocybin,” at The Source Weekly.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order accelerating federal research into psychedelic treatments for mental health conditions, including depression and PTSD. The directive instructs the FDA to fast-track studies on substances such as psilocybin and ibogaine, despite their current Schedule I classification.

The move follows claims by podcast host Joe Rogan that a direct message to Trump helped spark the policy shift. Within days, the FDA issued priority review vouchers to several companies developing psychedelic therapies.

While industry leaders welcomed the decision as a breakthrough for treatment-resistant conditions, scientists urged caution, noting that clinical evidence remains incomplete and no drugs have yet been approved. The FDA emphasised that expedited review does not guarantee safety or effectiveness.

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Nearly three years after Colorado legalized psilocybin, a Berthoud-based lab is playing a key role in the state’s developing psychedelic therapy sector. Lost Garden Labs and Therapeutics supplies licensed healing centers offering psilocybin-assisted treatments for mental health conditions.

Founder Josh Walker, a former mental health caregiver, said entering the newly regulated field has required careful navigation and legal guidance. The company received its license in late 2025 and now collaborates with therapists and facilitators across the state.

Clinicians report growing interest in psilocybin therapy, with some patients describing significant breakthroughs. Despite limited production capacity, the lab continues small-batch cultivation as demand rises.

Read the full report at 9News.