{"id":86288,"date":"2026-07-07T08:46:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/07\/07\/oregon-officials-propose-major-fee-hike-for-psilocybin-businesses\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T19:45:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T03:45:58","slug":"oregon-officials-propose-major-fee-hike-for-psilocybin-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/07\/07\/oregon-officials-propose-major-fee-hike-for-psilocybin-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon Officials Propose Major Fee Hike For Psilocybin Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the industry can survive this. I think [what] you\u2019re going to see over the next couple years is a major contraction to where there\u2019s just a few people surviving.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Jake Thomas, Oregon Capital Chronicle<\/strong><\/p>\n

State regulators are seeking steep fee hikes on Oregon\u2019s nascent psilocybin industry, a move that critics say would push the already high price tag of a legal mushroom trip even higher while causing more businesses to close.<\/p>\n

The Oregon Health Authority in late June\u00a0announced\u00a0proposed fee increases that would affect virtually every corner of the industry, aiming to financially sustain the groundbreaking program. Among the biggest changes would be doubling annual license fees from $10,000 to $20,000 for psilocybin manufacturers and service centers where adults 21 and older take supervised trips.<\/p>\n

The potential fee increases come after a wave of service center closures, raising doubts about the viability of Oregon\u2019s legal psilocybin experiment that voters approved in 2020. The state has issued licenses to 39 service centers, about half of which have expired or been surrendered, according to state figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the industry can survive this,\u201d said Ryan Reid, the co-founder and operations director of Bendable Therapy, a Bend-based service center. \u201cI think [what] you\u2019re going to see over the next couple years is a major contraction to where there\u2019s just a few people surviving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oregon\u2019s psilocybin program is not supported by taxpayer money and is instead funded through fees, health authority spokesperson Erica Heartquist said in an email. Because revenue has not kept up with rising costs, she continued, \u201cthe only option is increasing fees\u201d despite the program\u2019s cost-saving efforts.<\/p>\n

Heidi Pendergast, Oregon director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, which advocates for psilocybin access, called the proposed fee increases<\/a> \u201cunprecedented\u201d and out of line with other licensing costs for the cannabis businesses and health-oriented professions.<\/p>\n

An individual psilocybin session can cost between $850 and $3,000, which has meant clients have skewed white and wealthier. Pendergast said she anticipates clients would see higher costs from the fee increases, which would mostly take effect next year.<\/p>\n

The uncertainty comes as psilocybin continues gaining acceptance as a mental health treatment and as the state has\u00a0opened the door\u00a0to integrating it with the medical system. Pendergast described the program as safe, noting that just a sliver of the estimated 22,000 people who have used legal psilocybin have reported adverse events since service centers\u00a0opened in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program really deserves to be part of the behavioral health framework in this country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

One licensed lab<\/h2>\n

As the head of Rose City Laboratories, Daniel Huson oversees Oregon\u2019s only licensed and accredited psilocybin testing laboratory.<\/p>\n

Despite being a linchpin in the state\u2019s psilocybin system, he said the $26,000 his lab made last year from compliance testing didn\u2019t cover all of its costs, including the $10,000 annual licensing fee. Huson continued offering the testing because he\u2019s passionate about how psilocybin can positively change people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

Regulators are seeking to double the annual laboratory licensing fee starting January 2029, later than the other hikes.<\/p>\n

Since the lab began testing psilocybin in 2023, Huson said he\u2019s increased the cost of a compliance test from $250 to $600, which he expects to rise further. Without a regulatory change of course, he said the industry may not be viable over the next two years and his lab will stop offering psilocybin testing in 2029, potentially leaving the state without a psilocybin testing lab.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no incentive to be a testing laboratory because it\u2019s expensive,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd they\u2019re going to be in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

No more discounts<\/h2>\n

The proposed changes would also eliminate reduced fees for nonprofits, veterans and low-income people. Currently, each pays half the annual fee for a manufacturer or service center license. If regulators\u2019 proposed changes take effect, those license holders would see their licensing fees quadruple to $20,000.<\/p>\n

Nearly a third of Oregon\u2019s roughly 400 psilocybin-related licenses qualify for a reduced fee, according to the health authority\u2019s Heartquist.<\/p>\n

As a nonprofit service center, Bendable Therapy is focused on accessibility over its margins, said Reid, one of its co-founders. The elimination of reduced fees, he said, would mean increased costs for clients and less money for scholarships to make its services more affordable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a tight industry, and we\u2019ve done a good job surviving,\u201d he said. \u201cBut this is just going to make it that much harder and just really increase the costs and reduce access for our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facilitators, who guide clients through psilocybin sessions, would see their annual licensing fees double to $4,000\u2014with discounts for veterans and low-income applicants eliminated. They typically work part-time as contractors.<\/p>\n

Reid said his center will subsidize the licensing costs of the centers\u2019 six facilitators. Plus, regulators\u2019 changes would increase the cost of a permit needed to work in a center from $25 to $200. In total, he expects licensing costs to increase by as much as $50,000.<\/p>\n

Campaign promise<\/h2>\n

The ballot initiative campaign that legalized psilocybin in Oregon<\/a> promised to make the life-altering substance safe, accessible and affordable\u2014without ongoing costs to taxpayers after a startup period.<\/p>\n

However, a health authority budget document states the industry\u2019s slow growth has meant it hasn\u2019t generated enough license fees to cover the program\u2019s cost. The authority blamed\u00a0local restrictions\u00a0on psilocybin-related businesses<\/a>, as well as challenges getting banking and insurance for an industry centered on a federally illegal drug. It also blamed unexpected administrative costs.<\/p>\n

Pendergast, of the Healing Advocacy Fund, said it\u2019s common for new programs to require additional funding before they are self-sustaining and called for more budget transparency before the fees increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really a matter of how we are right-sizing regulation for this program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Eric Lee started Space Psychedelic Clinic in 2024 on what he called a \u201cshoestring\u201d budget in \u201cnot a gorgeous location\u201d in Portland that allows him to charge $925 for an individual session. He expects to weather the fee increase and plans to move into a larger building to accommodate demand.<\/p>\n

But he doesn\u2019t think other centers will survive and wants other states considering legal psilocybin to take note of what\u2019s happening in Oregon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a vast segment of the population that will just never be able to use legal psychedelics because of the price point,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cI don\u2019t think people want that from this law, and I think it\u2019s a huge part of why the business is failing.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Oregon Capital Chronicle.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The post Oregon Officials Propose Major Fee Hike For Psilocybin Businesses<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Oregon Officials Propose Major Fee Hike For Psilocybin Businesses<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI don\u2019t think the industry can survive this. I think [what] you\u2019re going to see over the next couple years is a major contraction to where there\u2019s just a few people surviving.\u201d By Jake Thomas, Oregon Capital Chronicle State regulators are seeking steep fee hikes on Oregon\u2019s nascent psilocybin industry,Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86288"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86289,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288\/revisions\/86289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}