2026 Part 1
Alliance Response

Our detailed analysis and response to OHA’s proposed psilocybin rules, the fee increases, and the broader impact on Oregon’s regulated community.

“Evidence-based regulation should protect public health and safety without putting a successful program at risk.”

— Psilocybin Alliance

Overview

The Psilocybin Alliance submitted comprehensive written comments on OHA’s 2026 Part 1 proposed rules. Our submission identified significant concerns with the proposed fee increases, administrative burdens, and regulatory provisions that would harm small Oregon businesses, reduce access, and threaten the long-term viability of the program.

Our comments are grounded in data, experience, and a commitment to a sustainable, safe, and effective psilocybin program for Oregon.

Key Points

Fee Increases

The proposed fee structure would significantly increase costs and threaten program sustainability.

Small Business Impact

Higher fees and additional requirements would disproportionately harm small Oregon businesses.

Lack of Transparency

OHA’s budget assumptions and cost projections lack adequate transparency and supporting documentation.

Alternative Approaches

We proposed specific, workable alternatives to achieve OHA’s goals without unnecessary harm to the industry.

How Part 1 Unfolded

A chronology of the public warnings, RAC feedback, records requests, Alliance objections, and financial analyses that shaped the Part 1 response.

February 22, 2026

Lucid News: Angela Allbee Discusses Fees and Program Costs

Angela Allbee publicly discussed high licensing fees, rising OPS costs, the fee-funded structure of the program, and the need for further problem-solving. When asked whether license fees would increase, she indicated that increasing fees was the next step.

July 6–9, 2026

Rules Advisory Committees Warn Against the Fee Increases

RAC participants raised concerns about attrition, lost revenue, small-business harm, access, reduced-fee elimination, administrative burden, and program sustainability. OHA’s later summary described RAC feedback on the fee increases as unanimously opposed.

July 18, 2026

Andreas Met Requests the Underlying Financial and Market Records

Public-records requests sought OPS financial models, revenue and expenditure records, licensing assumptions, sales and transaction data, and other records needed to evaluate the proposed fee structure and its impact on the regulated market.

August 14, 2026

OHA Creates a Revenue Analysis After the RAC Process

OHA’s later-produced revenue analysis was revised August 14 and included a modeled scenario involving fee-driven licensee attrition and the possibility of a larger program deficit. The analysis did not exist during the July RAC meetings.

August 19–20, 2026

Andreas Met Asks OHA How the Proposed Rules Could Affect Licensee Speech

Andreas Met asked the Psilocybin Compliance Team whether selling facilitator-authored ebooks and lawful non-psilocybin mushroom products could create compliance concerns under current or proposed rules. OHA responded with questions about ebook content, marketing, location, and claims, but did not provide a clear rule-based answer defining what speech or activity would be permitted.

September 1, 2026

Andreas Met Requests Clarification and Correction of the Proposed Rulemaking Notice

Andreas Met submitted a formal request asking OHA to clarify and correct questions arising from the September 1 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including issues affecting the public’s ability to understand and respond to the proposal.

September 1, 2026

Andreas Met Requests Postponement Under ORS 183.335(4)

On the same day, Andreas Met requested postponement of OHA’s intended action under ORS 183.335(4) to allow additional time to submit data, views, and arguments concerning the proposed rules.

August 28, 2026

RAC Advice Not Heeded in the Filed Proposal

OHA filed the proposed rules with the fee structure substantially unchanged despite the RAC opposition and alternatives that had been presented. OHA had not reconvened the RAC to review the August 14 analysis before filing the proposal.

September 8, 2026

Alliance Asks Which Committee OHA Relied On

The Psilocybin Alliance filed a protective and conditional objection under ORS 183.333 and sought clarification about which advisory committee OHA considered to satisfy the small-business fiscal-impact process.

September 8–18, 2026

Psilocybin Alliance Conducts Facilitator Survey

The Alliance surveyed licensed facilitators about the proposed fee increases and renewal intentions. The final dataset included 100 respondents and was used to document licensee concerns and likely small-business impacts in the Alliance’s Part 1 submission. The survey also provided a contemporaneous, independent evidence base for evaluating OHA’s assumptions about attrition, affordability, and program sustainability.

September 14, 2026

Andreas Met Requests Records Supporting the Proposed Speech Restrictions

A public-records request sought OHA’s legal, constitutional, factual, economic, interpretive, and enforcement records supporting the proposed restrictions on licensee speech and outside activities. OHA acknowledged the request on September 15 but did not commit to producing responsive records before public comment closed.

September 15, 2026

Andreas Met Submits Formal Comment on the Proposed Licensee Speech Ban

The written comment challenged the breadth and ambiguity of the proposed speech and outside-activity restrictions and asked OHA to define how the rules would apply to books, websites, research, classes, public presentations, social media, harm-reduction information, and lawful mushroom businesses.

September 14, 2026

OHA Releases Its First Financial Records Production

OHA produced budget and financial records in response to the July request. The production referenced a “Scenario 3” and a worst-case 60% reduction assumption, prompting an immediate request for the underlying models, other scenarios, and allocation methodology.

September 17, 2026

OHA Releases the August 14 Revenue Analysis

OHA produced the August 14 revenue analysis only days before the public-comment deadline. The Alliance immediately sought the omitted underlying models, Scenario 3, other scenarios, and the methodology supporting the calculations.

September 2026 — Supplemental Filing

Indexed RAC Comment Record Submitted to OHA

A supplemental RAC index was submitted for inclusion in the rulemaking record. It catalogued 278 RAC-member suggestions, objections, and concurrences across the four July RAC meetings, with transcript locators so OHA and the public could trace each indexed item back to the underlying meeting record.

The index also requested a disposition schedule showing whether indexed recommendations were accepted, accepted in part, rejected, deferred, or treated as outside the scope of the rulemaking, together with the agency’s stated reasons and supporting evidence.

September 2026 — Supplemental Filing

Indexed Public Hearing Comment Record Submitted to OHA

A supplemental public-hearing index was submitted for inclusion in the rulemaking record. It identified 70 substantive suggestions, objections, and requested actions from the September 15 and 16 public hearings, including 36 indexed items from September 15 and 34 from September 16.

The filing asked OHA to use the hearing officer report and rulemaking record to identify how the agency treated the indexed issues, the evidence relied upon, and whether less burdensome alternatives were considered.

September 18, 2026

Alliance Submits Small-Business and Fiscal Response

The Alliance submitted its detailed public comment addressing the fee structure, late-produced financial analysis, RAC recommendations, small-business effects, survey evidence, and the need for additional disclosure and time.

September 21–22, 2026

Part 1 Ends; OHA Withdraws the Rulemaking

Public comment closed September 21. On September 22, OHA announced that it would not move forward with Part 1 and would restart rulemaking without the proposed fee increases.