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The agency overseeing the Oregon psilocybin industry is taking various steps to address its budget woes.
Last month, Oregon Psilocybin Services put forth a proposal, first reported by the Portland Business Journal, to dramatically hike operating fees, including doubling the annual licensing cost for shroom service centers and manufacturers from $10,000 to $20,000, one of several proposed changes that would be sure to put new strain on a struggling and highly regulated industry.
“We understand that fee increases may disproportionately affect licensees who qualify for reduced fees and that fee increases may have significant impacts on the regulated community,” the agency said when it announced the proposed rules last month.
And then last week, the regulator, a division of the Oregon Health Authority which is largely funded through fees, announced another measure. It would merge with the OHA’s Oregon Medical Marijuana Program—which is also struggling with budget issues—into a single agency.
“After taking steps to reduce costs (e.g., not filling vacant positions, reducing non-personnel costs), the next step in our resource-limited environment is to look for other impactful ways to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” wrote Oregon Psilocybin Services Section Manager Angela Allbee in an email last week to industry figures, which WW reviewed.
To that end, Albee wrote, the shroom and marijuana regulators would be merging into one: the Oregon Psilocybin and Medical Cannabis Section, which would be completed on Sept. 1, following a summer transition.
Albee said she would be leading the new section, while Megan Lockwood, who heads the cannabis division, would be moving over to run the OHA health licensing office, from which Interim Director Bob Bothwell was retiring.
“Over the next two months, Megan and I will be working closely to ensure a supportive transition for staff with a focus on continuity and stability for partners,” Allbee wrote.
