Guest Column

In a recent guest column in The Bulletin, Morgan Schmidt, who is running to replace Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair, took Commissioner Adair and fellow Commissioner Tony DeBone to task for voting to have a measure affirming psilocybin treatment centers referred to the voters. She accused Commissioners Adair and DeBone of “second guessing” Oregon voters, who approved the legalization of psilocybin therapy and use of psychedelic drugs and other controlled substances with the passage of Measures 109 and 110 in November 2020.

Commissioners Adair and DeBone were correct to refer the issue back to the voters. Oregon voters were misled by the original initiative to legalize use of illicit drugs. In an effort to keep drug offenders out of jails, the voters were asked to decriminalize a wide range of such drugs. Passage of Measures 110 resulted in increased deaths, mental illness, homelessness and addiction. It is in the best interest of all Oregonians to revisit Measure 109, which made Oregon the only state to legalize psilocybin therapy. In fact, Jefferson and Crook counties have decided to include measures to outright ban that drug on their fall ballots.

With regard to psilocybin therapy, is it a good idea to allow any unlicensed college graduate with limited training to produce and monitor therapy? With only 120 hours of training and no medical experience required to perform psilocybin therapy, what could possibly go wrong? Related to LSD and mescaline, psilocybin has known adverse reactions including suicide, panic attacks, flashbacks and even psychotic breakdowns. At the very least, psychiatrists who have the most experience treating those reactions should be the ones monitoring such therapy.

Have proponents of this drug asked Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson what further impact the implementation of Measure 109 will have? The legalization of drug use under Measure 110 has already affected his resources, such as the 41% increase in overdoses. Dealing with drug users on bad trips and the use of illegally manufactured and smuggled drugs like meth and fentanyl have caused a significant drain on the sheriff’s office. Buzzed drivers are one problem. Do the citizens of Deschutes County want to risk Charles Manson-type drug-induced attacks? Do we want to risk the illegal spread of such dangerous agents? Many politicians are already calling for the repeal of Measure 110.

The anecdotal evidence of the efficacy of psilocybin treatment is no substitute for case studies with control groups to validate its use and safety. It is also possible that it is in the financial interest of many who testified in favor of psilocybin to support its immediate approval. Obviously, candidate Schmidt considers this issue to be in her political interest to challenge the two conservative commissioners. If proponents are so sure of its efficacy, why not put it to the vote of county citizens? In the meantime, those who need therapy can avail themselves of services offered in Bend, Redmond, Sisters and La Pine.

In the spirit of democracy, Commissioners Adair and DeBone want county voters to have a say on this crucial issue. Candidate Schmidt is arguing that the interests of Portland hipsters and activists outweigh the security and public welfare of county residents. Let’s not turn Central Oregon into another Portland.

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