Vice
This past Wednesday, February 23, Oregon’s Psilocybin Advisory Board voted unanimously that each member would disclose their personal and financial conflicts of interest during its next meeting in March. The Board is made up of people who were appointed by the governor to create recommendations for the rules for the state’s legal psilocybin services, which begin in January 2023.
Rachel Knox, a clinical endocannabinologist and the board member who put forward the motion, said in the meeting that the equity subcommittee had received a “considerable number” of calls for members of the board to declare their conflicts of interest, including conflicts that extend beyond financial or business interests, and veer into the personal.
“It is unclear what exactly prompted the request for clearer disclosure requirements,” wrote journalist Tess Riski in Willamette Week.
Knox didn’t respond to an interview request, so no assumptions should be made about what prompted her actions. But Motherboard has learned of a personal relationship that comes squarely under the parameters of the new motion: one between the chairman of the psilocybin advisory board, Tom Eckert, who also co-led the campaign to pass Measure 109, and Rachel Aidan, the CEO of Synthesis Institute, a Dutch psychedelic retreat company with interests in Oregon. (A disclosure of my own: I went to Synthesis in 2019 for a 3-day retreat.)
Full report
Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board Overview
Established by Ballot Measure 109 (2020), the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board makes recommendations to OHA on available scientific studies and research on the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in treating mental health conditions, and makes recommendations on the requirements, specifications and guidelines for providing psilocybin services in Oregon. The Board will also develop a long-term strategic plan for ensuring that psilocybin services will become and remain a safe, accessible and affordable therapeutic option for all persons 21 years of age and older in this state for whom psilocybin may be appropriate and monitor and study federal laws, regulations and policies regarding psilocybin.
Members of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board (OPAB) are appointed by the Governor to serve four-year terms. As stated in Section 6 of Measure 109 (The Oregon Psilocybin Services Act), OPAB has positions that must be filled by members with specific expertise and experience. These positions are filled as vacancies become available. If you are interested in serving on the Board, please go to the following page to learn more: Apply to become an Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board member.
https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/Pages/Psilocybin-Advisory-Board-Meetings.aspx
