OHA issues Oregon’s first psilocybin service center license to EPIC Healing Eugene; services available soon
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) – This week, the Oregon Health Authority issued the state’s first psilocybin service center license to EPIC Healing Eugene as part of the regulatory framework created by Measure 109, the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, the agency said Friday.
“We want to congratulate Cathy Jonas of EPIC Healing Eugene on being the first licensed service center in the state,” says Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) Section Manager Angie Allbee. “This is such a historic moment as psilocybin services will soon become available in Oregon, and we appreciate the strong commitment to client safety and access as service center doors prepare to open.”
Under the statewide model, clients 21 years of age or older may access psilocybin services. While they won’t need prescriptions or referrals from healthcare providers, clients must first complete a preparation session with a licensed facilitator.
If they meet the criteria to move forward, they may participate in an administration session at a licensed service center, where they may consume psilocybin products in the presence of a trained and licensed facilitator.
Afterwards, clients may choose to join optional integration sessions, which offer opportunities to be connected to community resources and peer support networks for additional support.
Once licensed, service centers can employ and/or contract with licensed facilitators who are trained in providing preparation, administration, and integration sessions to clients.
Service centers will sell psilocybin products that were produced by licensed manufacturers and tested by licensed laboratories. To date, OPS has issued three manufacturer licenses, one laboratory license, five facilitator licenses, and 84 worker permits. OPS expects to issue more licenses and worker permits in the coming months.
While OPS has now issued all four license types, it may take time for licensees to set up operations. Each licensed service center, and the licensed facilitators who work for or with them, will set their own costs while managing their operations and communications.
Anyone interested in accessing psilocybin services can learn more by going to the Access Psilocybin Services webpage, which includes:
- The OPS Licensee Directory – This directory contains details from OPS licensees who consented to have their information published.
- Links to required client intake documents – Clients must review and complete these with a licensed facilitator before participating in an administration session.
More information about psilocybin services is available on the OPS Fact Sheet. Additional details on research and other information on psilocybin is listed on OPS’s Scientific Literature Review and Cultural and Anthropological Information page.
OPS’s role involves licensing psilocybin facilitators, manufacturers, service centers and laboratories, while ensuring that those licensees and their workers comply with state law.
OPS encourages the public to visit the OPS website for more information, and to sign up for the distribution list to get the latest updates.
News release Friday from Healing Advocacy Fund:
First psilocybin therapy service center licensed in Oregon
Epic Healing Eugene will begin offering services to clients this month
EUGENE, Ore.–-Oregon’s psilocybin therapy program took a big step forward on Friday: EPIC Healing Eugene (Eugene Psychedelic Integrative Center) announced that it is the first service center licensed under Oregon’s groundbreaking program, passed by voters in 2020. Under the program’s rules, people seeking psilocybin therapy must work with a trained facilitator in a licensed service center.
The Oregon Health Authority, working with a Governor-appointed board of researchers, health care professionals and advocates, spent two years developing a strict set of regulations to govern the program, which were finalized and released in January. Multiple facilitators have graduated from training and received their licenses from the state, as have psilocybin manufacturers and testing labs that ensure product safety, potency, and quality. Until today, no service center had been licensed, though the Oregon Health Authority has a number of centers awaiting licensing in its application queue.
“We are excited to be the first service center licensed in Oregon and to be able to open our doors for the many clients who will benefit from our transformational psychedelic-assisted therapy in a safe, nurturing space,” said Cathy Rosewell Jonas, the founder and owner of EPIC Healing Eugene, a small boutique style healing center, is also a licensed social worker in private practice and an author.
Jonas recently completed a 300-hour psychedelic assisted therapy training and an accelerated advanced psilocybin assisted therapy program.
“Witnessing clients engage in their deep interpersonal journeys within themselves, as well as my own personal experience working with healing psychedelics, has enabled me to work through the challenges of opening up a service center in Oregon,” she says. “This is the first step, and we will soon work to create more access for people to this life-changing therapy through scholarships and creating ways for people to sponsor services for other people.”
Jonas will open her doors to clients this month and serve up to 30 people each month, offering sessions to individuals and small groupst. Jonas would like to offer larger groups and retreats in the future, to increase accessibility to lower income and underserved individuals.
Pioneering research from leading medical research institutions such as Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and NYU finds that psychedelic-assisted therapy offers remarkable promise in treating some of our most pressing mental health challenges, including trauma/PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders like alcoholism. The FDA has designated psilocybin, the most common natural psychedelic medicine, as a “breakthrough therapy” for treatment resistant depression, meaning it may demonstrate substantial improvement over what’s currently available.
In addition, psilocybin has a well-demonstrated safety record, is non-addictive and non-toxic, and has been shown to have a lasting impact on mental health for many people after just a small number of therapeutic sessions.
“Today is a watershed moment, and marks the beginning of people in Oregon having access to a much-needed tool to address depression, anxiety and addiction,” said Sam Chapman, Executive Director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, which works to implement safe, high quality and equitable psychedelic therapy. “By the end of 2023, we anticipate at least a dozen service centers will be operating in Oregon, and that number will only grow over time.”
Oregon’s program contains a number of rules and guardrails to ensure clients safety: there are no retail sales of psilocybin and the psilocybin can only be consumed in a licensed service center under the guidance of a trained facilitator. Only clients over the age of 21 can participate, and a health screening and assessment prior to entering the program determines whether the client is a good fit for that particular facilitator and for psilocybin therapy generally. Clients and facilitators are required to co-create a safety plan, designed to support and address any specific challenges that may come up during the administration of psilocybin.
Jonas has made several YouTube videos over the past six months, sharing her journey to opening a licensed psilocybin service center.
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About Healing Advocacy Fund.A 501c3 non-profit organization, Healing Advocacy Fund works to implement safe, high quality, and equitable psychedelic therapy. We educate and support leaders and communities in understanding the benefits of psychedelic therapy for mental health challenges including depression, anxiety and addiction. For more information, video assets and downloadable photographs, media should visit: https://healingadvocacyfund.org/media-resources
About Epic Healing Eugene. Eugene Psychedelic Integrative Center (EPIC Healing Eugene) is a boutique-style healing and wellness center with specialized support services to facilitate healing, renewal, integration, and awakening. As a fully-trained Psilocybin Service Center and the first service center licensed by the State of Oregon, our waitlist for psilocybin sessions is open.
