Deschutes commissioners hear appeal of Juniper Preserve psilocybin facility denial; debate focuses on legality of BLM access

(Update: Adding video, comments from Celko, people in opposition to facility)

Hearings officer had denied proposal, prompting appeal; resort residents speak against plans

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Deschutes County commissioners heard an appeal Wednesday of a hearings officer’s denial of a psilocybin facility at the Juniper Preserve resort northeast of Bend, with much of the debate turning on an unusual issue – whether the resort's access road and a BLM right-of-way granted for it allows the federally illegal, but state-legal substance to be transported on it.

There were a few other technical issues raised by the hearings officer - including screening of a parking lot, clear access for service drivers - but much of the legal discussion revolved around whether the right of way granted for the resort itself (formerly Pronghorn) allows transport of the psilocybin mushrooms with that split state-federal legal status.

Commissioners had agreed to the request for a "limited de novo" hearing, so testimony did not delve into the benefits or concerns over psilocybin therapy itself. Instead, the discussion was limited to the four issues the hearings officer listed for denying the proposal, opposed at a previous hearing by the resort residents' association and many residents for other issues.

You can find the county record on the proposal, including the hearings officer's decision, at this web page.

In the end, commissioners did not discuss any of what they just heard - as is often the case in land use hearings, they are keeping the written record open for three weeks of back-and-forth follow-up testimony by the applicants and appellants, so that board discussion won't happen until at least next month.

Corinne Celko, attorney for the applicants, noted that voters in Deschutes County twice approved psilocybin therapy. She said the hearings officer “doesn’t point to any point” in the resort’s right-of-way agreement with the BLM that could lead to it being revoked if psilocybin is transported on the right of way.

Celko said the right-of-way contract mentions some federal laws that are applicable, but not the Controlled Substances Act. She also noted that cannabis – another federally illegal, state-legal substance – can travel down that road now, and no objections are raised, nor threat of terminating the right of way.

However, Celko also said that if a move was made by the federal agency to terminate right-of-way access, the applicant would stop the psilocybin service center from operating.

“There’s no intention to threaten the viability of the resort,” she said. “It would be financial ruin for them, if that would happen. They’re not going to let this happen.”

Commission Chair Patti Adair pointed to a March email in the public comments record from a BLM law enforcement official in Prineville who claimed “there is not a legitimate means of ground transport of the product to Juniper Preserve.”

But Celko said the applicants' position is that the email was not an official communication or letter on agency letterhead, “nor does it state that operation of this use would result in termination of the grant” of right of way. She also noted that the resort itself, which holds that right of way, would not be transporting the product.

Asked by Commissioner Phil Chang, “How much material are we talking about?” and whether there were other options to get the psilocybin mushrooms to the resort, Celko said it was “a very minor amount – we’re not talking pounds and pounds and pounds.” A small car could carry it, she said “maybe once a month, maybe once a quarter.”

The lawyer also noted that four existing psilocybin treatment facilities in the region now receive deliveries on roads crossing federal lands.

But Andrew Stamp, a land-use attorney representing the Pronghorn Community Association, defended the hearings officer’s decision as a correct interpretation  of BLM right-of-way compliance with federal law.”

Stamp said the US Department of Justice had agreed not to enforce cannabis laws ins states where voters have made it legal. But Celko said that decision had been overturned, so cannabis and psilocybin are in the same federal legal position.

A speaker during the public comment said, "The hearings officer did not interpret the road. He did exactly as what he said he done. He made his finding based on evidence appearing from the documents submitted from Miss Celko."

Another speaker expressed concerns if the center is established, about the impact on his home. 

"If this thing goes through, we will be required to disclose to a prospective buyer to my home," he said. "That is seriously going to damage my property values."