In-home psilocybin use should be allowed in Oregon for disabled and terminally ill people, lawsuit says
A group of people trained to supervise psychedelic mushroom use in Oregon have filed a federal lawsuit hoping to adjust the state’s psilocybin law to allow disabled people or people with terminal illnesses to use mushrooms at home.
The law, passed by voters in 2020, now says people can use mushrooms only in state-licensed psilocybin service centers.
The suit – filed Monday in Eugene by psilocybin facilitators against the Oregon Health Authority – says people “who would benefit from access to psilocybin the most” are denied access because they can’t travel to get the treatment.
“Many patients with terminal illness receive their medical and other supportive care at home, under the auspices of hospice, in recognition of the fact that they are homebound,” the suit says.
The facilitators argue in the suit that they must either refuse care for people who cannot go to service centers in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act or provide care in a setting outside of what is allowed under the law, which jeopardizes their licenses with the state.
“A number of studies that we cite in the lawsuit have found psilocybin therapy has been extremely effective for addressing things like end-of-life mental health, coping with mortality, things like that,” Scott Aldworth, a lawyer for the facilitators, said Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, a few of the facilitators have had clients who wanted to do this, but passed away before we could get through the red tape and file a lawsuit,” he added.
The facilitators initially went to the Oregon Health Authority, which manages the state’s legal psilocybin program, in their bid to change the law, but the agency responded that it does not have authority to change state law.
Now, the group of facilitators is hoping the state requires the Oregon Health Authority to provide accommodations to people with disabilities or health issues that make it impossible for them to go to a service center.
Aldworth said this accommodation would narrowly apply to people with these types of conditions and would require verification from a medical provider.
The Oregon Health Authority has 30 days after receiving notice of the lawsuit to respond. A spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority said the agency could not comment on pending litigation.