Lake Oswego voters to decide whether psilocybin facilities will be allowed in town

Lake Oswego voters will mull at least two local ballot measures this November.

Along with a ballot measure on whether to allow the encroachment of the Stevens Meadows park property for a Clackamas County road improvement project, the Lake Oswego City Council agreed to put forth a measure for voters to decide whether the manufacturing of, and treatment with, psilocybin should be allowed in the community. The council voted unanimously to put forward the ballot measure during a meeting Tuesday, July 16.

Measure 109, approved by Oregon voters in 2020, legalized the manufacture, sale and administration of psilocybin — a psychedelic drug which research has shown can effectively treat behavioral disorders. The bill included a clause allowing cities and counties to opt out of permitting psilocybin facilities in their jurisdiction, which Lake Oswego and dozens of other communities took advantage of. However, the measure stipulated that communities that ban psilocybin must refer the issue to voters who could either affirm or reverse the ban. The council considered lifting the ban last year while putting in place local restrictions, but Mayor Joe Buck and some other councilors felt that the agreed upon regulations were too stringent. They decided to allow voters to weigh in by approving a different set of rules should a majority of voters vote “yes.” Under the less restrictive standards, there would not be a buffer between such a facility and a business with a liquor license and a psilocybin facility could be located within a healthcare facility.

“Over this past year I’ve heard from residents who strongly believe in the efficacy and promise of psilocybin treatment and also from residents concerned about what they view as the legalization of a recreational drug albeit for strictly therapeutic purposes. With the council divide on the topic representative of the same divide we heard from within the community, the best path forward is to allow voters the chance to weigh in knowing what local parameters would be in place should voters repeal the current ban,” Mayor Joe Buck told the Review in 2023.