Before Oregon even launched its legal psilocybin program last year, one of the main questions inside the industry was: How will people who might benefit from but can’t afford the experience access legal psilocybin treatment?

The Psilocybin Access Fund, which opened applications Monday for individual grants to support legal psychedelic mushroom experiences in Oregon, is hoping to create a more equitable system.

Many facilitators and service centers offer clients a sliding scale, but even with discounts, the cost to access therapeutic psilocybin can be prohibitive. A legal experience in Oregon generally costs between $600 at the very lowest up to several thousands of dollars.

That high price tag comes from the cost of licenses for facilitators, service centers, manufacturers and labs along with the fact that psychedelic mushrooms remain illegal at a federal level and are subject to tax code 280E, which creates a steep federal tax bill for companies that the government defines as “trafficking” drugs.

The Psilocybin Access Fund is a project of the Sheri Eckert Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to furthering “equitable access to psychedelic education and services” in memory of Eckert, one of the architects of the ballot measure that led to Oregon’s legal psilocybin program.

Eckert died shortly after the measure passed, in December 2020. She was 59 years old.

Her husband, Tom Eckert, remained active in the legal psilocybin movement, starting a facilitator training program and opening a service center in Portland with Rachel Aidan, his current wife.

Tom Eckert is also on the board of directors of the Sheri Eckert Foundation along with David Bronner, the Cosmic Engagement Officer or CEO of Dr. Bronner’s, a natural soap and personal care company, and Nate Howard, who was part of the ballot measure effort alongside the Eckerts and once worked for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.

In 2023, the Sheri Eckert Foundation gave out $300,000 in total in 76 needs-based scholarships to psilocybin facilitation students across most facilitation programs in the state.

So far, the fund has raised $176,218, the majority of which has come from nonprofits Proteus Fund and the Full Potential Fund as well as Dr. Bronner’s.

But getting people into the program is only the first step. A major goal of the foundation is insurance coverage for therapeutic psilocybin in the state.

According to one of the scientists involved in the project, neuroscientist Adie Rae, “A key requirement for this to happen is a body of rigorous real-world research.”

To that end, the foundation is hoping to encourage grantees to be part of a program that is collecting data on psilocybin use called Open Psychedelic Evaluation Nexus. Known as “OPEN,” the research effort is housed at Oregon Health and Science University.

Participation won’t be mandatory for grantees but they will be able to opt into research data collection for the OPEN program.

The application is open to anyone over 21, in Oregon and beyond. Money will be awarded for facilitation and service center fees. Other costs, including paying for the psilocybin itself, as well as lodging, food and transportation, will still be up to the individual.

While grantees can use the funds at any service center with any facilitator, the foundation is creating a network of recommended facilitators and recipients will be encouraged to use group programs, which lower the cost.

According to the application, “Selection criteria is primarily based on the applicant’s financial need, whether they belong to an underserved population (e.g. geography, race, ethnicity, cultural barriers, occupation, physical and/or cognitive ability, age, gender, etc.), and a demonstrated understanding and readiness to receive psilocybin therapy.”

The foundation expects grants will average about $1,500. The application is available here.