In 2020, Oregon voters approved Measure 109, the ballot initiative which directs the Oregon Health Authority to establish a regulated market for psilocybin treatments. Like marijuana, psilocybin is a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Thus, the substance is banned and the federal government officially recognizes no medical benefits from its use. Also, like marijuana, a plethora of medical research has emerged revealing psilocybin’s substantial potential benefits regardless of federal bureaucrats’ official position.
Oregon, however, is poised to challenge federal hegemony on drug-related commerce that occurs within its own borders, just as it has done with marijuana. The
