Four years after Oregon became the first state in the country to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the active compound inside the most popular form of psychedelic mushrooms, voters in an increasing number of cities are banning the substance.
Four cities that encompass rural and coastal towns and Portland suburbs approved prohibitions for psilocybin, a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, in the Nov. 5 election. Another dozen communities that passed two-year moratoriums in 2022 moved to make those restrictions permanent this year.
Oregon is not the only state now rejecting measures to legalize certain psychedelics in the wake of the opioid and fentanyl epidemic. Massachusetts voters rejected a ballot measure this year that would have legalized the growing and use of plant-based psychedelic drugs, such as mushrooms, in certain circumstances for residents aged 21 and older.