Pat Shannon is a restaurateur and a commissioner for Gilliam County in north Central Oregon.
He and two colleagues on the county board voted to put a ballot measure opting Gilliam County out of Oregon鈥檚 new , in front of voters this November.
He鈥檚 also a recovering alcoholic, 鈥淚 had always been a daily drinker,鈥� he said during a recent conversation in the . 鈥淔rom the day I got out of high school.鈥�
Shannon hasn鈥檛 touched a drop in 37 years; today he still attends meetings and sponsors three recovering alcoholics. So he said he tends to see things through the lens of addiction, and he鈥檚 not convinced that using psilocybin to deal with depression, anxiety, addiction or other mental health problems will work.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 see where you鈥檙e going to get any discovery out of going on a trip of mushrooms,鈥� Shannon said.
Measures to ban psilocybin are on the November ballot in ; that includes and the . But Shannon said the issue just isn鈥檛 on people鈥檚 radars.
鈥淐ommunity members of Gilliam County probably don鈥檛 even understand the details of it,鈥� he said.
Shannon said that for many people, psilocybin use is just being lumped in with .
Oregon voters agreed in 2020 to eliminate criminal consequences for the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, like heroin and cocaine. Instead of taking someone to jail for possession, police can now only issue a violation, like a traffic ticket, up to $100. People can avoid that fine if they鈥檙e willing to contact an addiction service.
The goal is to push people toward recovery, not the criminal justice system.
Shannon doesn鈥檛 buy it. And he sees a direct line between Measure 110, the drug decriminalization effort, and Measure 109, which voters also approved in 2020. It legalized the use of psilocybin in therapeutic settings. Regulators are now coming up with the precise policy guidelines that will govern the program, which takes effect in January.
Shannon worries psilocybin is a gateway drug, whether or not it鈥檚 addictive.
The doesn鈥檛 allow people to simply buy the drug and take it home, like cannabis. But Shannon thinks the program will normalize psilocybin鈥檚 use and abuse.
To be clear, the new program involves people meeting with a facilitator several times, discussing why they want to take psilocybin, and being closely monitored while they use the drug. Such a system is time consuming and likely to cost thousands rather than hundreds of dollars.
Still, most of the people this reporter talked to around Gilliam County share Shannon鈥檚 views. They say they don鈥檛 like what the legalization of cannabis has done in Oregon, and they鈥檙e not convinced psilocybin will work.
They also haven鈥檛 seen any advertising on the subject or talked to any canvassers.
鈥淪tuff like this is really dangerous,鈥� said Carol Phillips, a local nurse. 鈥淧eople are going to abuse it and then they鈥檙e going to blame a doctor or someone innocent.鈥�
Disabled retiree Debra James said she has seen people take hallucinogenic mushrooms in the past.
鈥淭he end result is not good,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey were freaking out. Like maybe too much. They weren鈥檛 comfortable. They were upset. They were scared.鈥�
James said she doesn鈥檛 think a facilitator would be helpful on a bad trip, whether or not they鈥檙e trained and licensed.
Such sentiments aren鈥檛 news to Sam Chapman, the executive director of the , a group set up to usher psilocybin into Oregon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not entirely surprising that certain aspects of the state are simply saying that they鈥檙e not ready to move forward with this,鈥� Chapman said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 OK. We are ready to meet anyone and everyone where they鈥檙e at, and we recognize that it takes time.鈥�
Chapman thinks attitudes will change as the program goes live in 137 cities and 10 counties next year. He thinks people will become more accepting as they see how psilocybin helps.
Chapman also notes that there are volunteers walking door-to-door in rural areas, trying to educate people about psilocybin therapy. Maybe not so much in Gilliam County, but certainly in places like Jackson County.
That鈥檚 because in Jackson County, the big cities like Medford and Ashland are moving ahead with psilocybin while voters in the county consider .
Ashland Mayor, , has a husband who鈥檚 a Vietnam vet. He had a stroke, became depressed and lost his sense of balance. She thinks psilocybin might help.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want this therapy you don鈥檛 have to get it,鈥� Akins said. 鈥淏ut making it unavailable to people who need it doesn鈥檛 make any sense to me.鈥�
Opting out will just mean sick people have to travel to get treatment, she said.
recently bought the in Jackson County with a view to building a psilocybin service center. He also helped organize the local effort to raise money and awareness of the benefits of psilocybin therapy.
鈥淲hen the voters had the facts presented to them they were overwhelmingly in favor of what it can provide,鈥� said Katz. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really the absence of education that would lead them to vote against implementing psilocybin services.鈥�
Ashland and Medford鈥檚 differences with Jackson County are mirrored in other places around Oregon. For example, Deschutes County has an on its ballot, while psilocybin therapy will go live in Bend next year.
Back in Gilliam County, pharmacist Anna Charapata counts pills for customers at on Condon High Street. She sees psilocybin therapy differently than many locals interviewed by OPB. She thinks psilocybin therapy is a responsible way to learn about the drug.
鈥淚鈥檝e read about the uses in palliative care, so when people are dying,鈥� Charapata said. 鈥淭o me, that鈥檚 where the strongest evidence for any kind of medical use: is people facing their mortality.鈥�
Whatever voters decide this election, two-and-a-half million Oregonians will have local access to psilocybin therapy next year. That covers several rural areas, including Klamath Falls and Grants Pass.
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