At a lab in Portland, Tori Armbrust pulls 250 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms out of a plain grocery bag to have them tested for potency: “Anywhere else in the United States I would 1000% get in big trouble for this,” laughs the 30-year-old . Year old.
But in the northwest of the country, in Oregon, where its use has been legal since January 1st, this producer is just doing his job. With her recently acquired license, she will be able to sell what the Aztecs called the “flesh of the gods” to centers offering “psychedelic therapy” sessions.
These mushrooms have long been associated with American counterculture antics. But their active ingredient psilocybin is enjoying renewed research interest: the substance promises to be used in the treatment of severe depression, certain addictions or post-traumatic stress.
As the country’s pioneer, Oregon defies the federal ban still in place in the United States. People over the age of 21 can now access “magic mushrooms” without a doctor’s prescription, but must take them under the supervision of a certified supervisor.
The ‘journey’ takes about six hours and must be followed by at least one introspection session with this ‘facilitator’.
Open to anyone with a bachelor’s degree and completing a 160-hour apprenticeship, this new profession attracts certain mental health professionals, such as Tyler Case.
The 44-year-old therapist just paid nearly $10,000 for training in hopes of providing an alternative to his many patients with personality disorders who are often considered incurable.
Psilocybin “is a tool that can help people (…) who haven’t found help anywhere else,” he told AFP. “We’re constantly taking powerful mind-altering drugs and doing things that change the way people’s brains work. Why not try that too?
Scientists are still studying how it works, and little is known about its long-term use. However, research suggests that psilocybin, along with other psychedelics such as LSD or MDMA, increases neural connections and allows for brain reformatting, encouraging new behaviors in the face of long-standing problems.
Thanks to her, Tobias Shea got out of a deep depression.
After two deployments to Afghanistan, where he lost a few comrades, the US Army veteran suffered from over-alertness and anxiety, sometimes to the point of not being able to go to the supermarket.
Psychotherapy and antidepressants “didn’t work,” says the 40-year-old, who eventually tried hallucinogenic mushrooms.
From his two recordings in 2011 and 2013, this jiu-jitsu trainer retains his “rainbow” visions and “sense of wonder at the vastness and complexity of the universe.”
Assisted by guides, he “unpacked the creepy stuff in (his) head.” With the key, a lesson that put him back in the saddle: “Yes, I had a traumatic experience, but that shouldn’t dictate the way I continue to exist.”
By legalizing it, Oregon is also establishing a framework to try to curb the excesses — sexual abuse or abuse of power — of certain “gurus” operating in this opaque environment.
Liability of practitioners to the law is “a key factor,” stresses Elizabeth Nielson, psychologist and founder of Fluence, one of the companies licensed to train new supervisors.
The use of psilocybin is legal in a few countries like Brazil, Nepal or the Bahamas, but this regulatory framework “doesn’t exist (…) anywhere else in the world,” she points out.
In his workshops, trainers emphasize the “extreme vulnerability” of patients on their transcendental journeys.
In particular, students learn to intervene as little as possible so as not to influence them and to sign an ethical contract specifying which parts of the body to touch to calm them down in the event of a bad trip. Give your hand, put it on your shoulder: everything must be carefully defined in advance.
The experience seems to have already been imitated. In November, Colorado voters voted to decriminalize hallucinogenic mushrooms and create “care centers.” A dozen other states, including New York and California, are considering similar measures.
But beyond the promise of therapy, another question arises: Who will have the means to be able to afford such a service?
The $3,500 sessions, offered by Oregon’s first licensed center that just opened, are scandalous with some locals like Don, the owner of a mushroom growing business in Portland.
“You can grow it yourself for $40,” says the 40-year-old, who declined to give his last name. “I have a feeling it will be mostly for tourists.”