Oregon lawmakers have set a deadline of Dec. 31, 2022, to establish formal rules on the production and administration of psilocybin — just three days before it begins accepting license applications from service providers.

Measure 109, aka the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act, legalized the psychedelic beginning in 2023, allowing individuals age 21 and older to receive psilocybin therapies without a prescription or referral from a provider. But lawmakers still need to establish the regulatory framework on everything from product-tracking systems to facilitator training programs to licensing standards.

Tom Eckert, a psychotherapist and former member of Oregon’s Psilocybin Advisory Board, said the training of healthcare providers is the most critical element of Measure 109, according to KGW8.

“I’ve always thought that the beating heart of this whole program is the practitioners, the facilitators,” Eckert said. “We need competent, trained practitioners really understand this specific modality.”

Eckert is planning to open his own provider training program, called InnerTrek, early next year.

Although Measure 109 legalized psilocybin across the state, numerous counties have put “opt-out” measures on the ballot this November, which if passed would ban the manufacture and distribution of the psychedelic.

More details about the implementation of Measure 109 are available at the Oregon Health Authority.