![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/the-firms-hoping-to-take-psychedelic-drugs-mainstream/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/130950818_joshngoldsteinphotocourtesyjoshgoldstein.png&description=Image source, Josh Goldstein Image caption, Josh Goldstein is in the first wave of licensed psilocybin facilitators in Oregon This July in Bend, Oregon, Josh Goldstein facilitated one of the first magic mushroom sessions under the state's new regulatory framework for people to access their active ingredient - psilocybin. Mr Goldstein's 71-year-old client was seeking help with his obsessive-compulsive disorder. The man experienced his psychedelic trip at a licensed psilocybin service centre after eating a measured quality of the dried fungi. Mr Goldstein, a licensed psilocybin facilitator with Bendable Therapy, prepared him for what to expect ahead of time, and then guided him through his six-hour long experience. At the follow-up integration session, the man described his experience to Mr Goldstein as "lifechanging". "He had a profound realisation, which he believes has subsequently significantly shifted his OCD," says Mr Goldstein. Oregon voted by ballot to legalize psilocybin for use by adults in supervised settings in 2020, becoming the first state to enact such a measure (the drug is illegal in the US federally). Colorado recently followed with a wider swathe of psychedelics, and other states seem poised to continue the trend. The states' approaches are for non-medical use - the drugs do not have regulatory approval for therapeutic use, and are currently banned at the federal level. But the promise they have shown in helping combat a variety of hard-to-treat mental health conditions has doubtless influenced Oregon's framework, and will likely drive much of the demand for the services there. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Psilocybin mushrooms ready for harvest In therapeutic trials the standard approach is to give the drugs in supervised sessions augmented to a greater or lesser extent by therapy before, during and after. If psychedelics are ever going to go mainstream they will have to be approved by regulators as prescription medicine, which, in addi){kind=link}
This July in Bend, Oregon, Josh Goldstein facilitated one of the first magic mushroom sessions under the state’s new regulatory framework for people to access their active ingredient – psilocybin.
Mr Goldstein’s 71-year-old client was seeking help with his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The man experienced his psychedelic trip at a licensed psilocybin service centre after eating a measured quality of the dried fungi. Mr Goldstein, a licensed psilocybin facilitator with Bendable Therapy, prepared him for what to expect ahead of time, and then guided him through his six-hour long experience.
At the follow-up integration session, the man described his experience to Mr Goldstein as “lifechanging”. “He had a profound realisation, which he believes has subsequently significantly shifted his OCD,” says Mr Goldstein.
Oregon voted by ballot to legalize psilocybin for use by adults in supervised settings in 2020, becoming the first state to enact such a measure (the drug is illegal in the US federally).