Oregon drops planned psilocybin fee increases as its program runs short of money

What happened?

On September 22, 2026, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) said it "will not file final rules as a result of this rulemaking process and will not adopt the proposed fee increases" for psilocybin licensees. It cited feedback from the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board, its rules advisory committees and the public comment period. OHA said it would start a new rulemaking for the rule changes that were not about fees, with a planned effective date of January 15, 2027.¹

Reporting by the Oregon Capital Chronicle, published by OPB, said the withdrawn proposal would have doubled annual license fees across the supply chain and ended reduced fees for veterans and low-income licensees, and that everyone who testified at the two public hearings opposed it.³

The money problem hasn't gone away. OHA's August 2026 budget summary projects a cash shortfall for the 2025-27 budget period in every scenario it modeled: about $3.89 million with no fee increase, about $2.95 million with the increase and current licensing trends, and about $4.25 million with the increase and licensees dropping out. The summary says the agency's current service level budget "did not include GF [General Fund] support" for the program.² The same report said OHA is considering raising the tax on psilocybin products, now 15%; we have not seen that in an OHA document.³

The program has also changed shape. On September 1, 2026, Oregon Psilocybin Services and the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program merged into a single Medical Cannabis and Psilocybin Section inside OHA.⁴ That is an administrative merger; it does not let cannabis stores sell psilocybin.

Why does it matter if you're looking for a mushroom dispensary?

Oregon's licensed service centers are one of only two state programs where any adult 21 or older can use psilocybin legally under state law; Colorado's healing centers are the other. Under state law a client may buy, possess and consume a psilocybin product only at a service center and only under a licensed facilitator's supervision, so there is nothing to take home.⁵

That supply is small and shrinking. As of July 23, 2026, OHA counted 20 licensed service centers (39 licensed since the program began) and 379 licensed facilitators (641 all-time), and said "over 33%" of service centers had surrendered their licenses or not renewed. From January 1, 2023 to July 23, 2026, service centers sold 46,273 psilocybin products to clients, with no product safety recalls and 32 reports of emergency services being contacted. In 2025, 5,935 clients were served.² OHA's own budget scenarios allowed for licensees dropping out if fees rose, so the reversal matters to how many centers stay open. Our guide to licensed psilocybin centers explains how a session works and where the official directory is, and our Oregon guide covers why storefronts calling themselves dispensaries are not part of this system. The merger is in the register's Oregon records.

What happens next?

The new rulemaking's advisory committee met on November 2, 2026 and meets again on Wednesday, November 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. Pacific, to review draft changes to Oregon's psilocybin rules (OAR chapter 333, division 333), including rules on informed consent and client rights. OHA's rules page says that once advisory committees finish, it publishes proposed rules for a 21-day public comment period.⁶ OHA's August newsletter scheduled the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board's next quarterly meeting for November 6, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific.⁷ Whether OHA will ask the 2027 Legislature for General Fund money or a tax change is not yet known.