As many jurisdictions decriminalize plant- and fungus-based psychedelics like psilocybin-containing mushrooms, Oregon has become the first U.S. state to legalize and regulate their cultivation, supply, and use in designated service centers. A non-profit legal framework for production, supply, and non-medical use may be more advantageous than a for-profit one, especially for a naturally occurring mushroom that is not frequently used. People who use drugs can demonstrate agency in self-supply and in adopting responsible use and harm reduction practices. Community or peer-based structures may offer a viable approach to ensuring controlled supply and a safe environment for non-medical use.
A single 25 mg dose of psilocybin, or two such doses given six weeks apart, combined with psychotherapy produced a stable and clinically meaningful reduction in depression symptoms for up to twelve months in people with treatment-resistant depression. The average improvement on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was about 7.9 points at six months and 7.7 points at twelve months, with no significant difference between dosing groups. Restarting standard antidepressant medication during follow-up was strongly linked to higher depression scores. This naturalistic follow-up of a phase 2b trial is the largest and most complete long-term assessment of psilocybin for depression to date.