Chillin' at Oregon’s ‘first legal psilocybin concert’

Oregon’s first psilocybin service centers opened around a year ago, providing psychedelic mushrooms to treat conditions like PTSD. One center in Southern Oregon is trying to increase access with group-psychedelic experiences — like a magic mushroom concert.

Early on a Friday evening in Medford this November, a food truck is serving up mushroom tacos to people mingling around the Shrooms Cafe. Soon, they’ll be ushered inside the licensed psilocybin center, where they’ll be eating a different kind of mushroom, inappropriate for consumption in parking lots under state law.

Joshua Traphagen, a licensed facilitator, gives a rundown of the evening: 5:00 p.m. check-in, at 5:30 p.m. Ashland-based DJ Cromulon starts spinning, people will then line up for their dose of psilocybin and doors will close for the next hour.

Licensed facilitators like Traphagen, required by state law for psilocybin use, are trained to support clients in their psychoactive experiences. Right now his job is making sure participants have signed a stack of intake forms — also required by state law.

The Shrooms Cafe has billed this as the world’s first legal psilocybin concert. Magic mushrooms are legal in a small number of countries, including the Bahamas. It’s unclear if there’s been a mushroom concert there.

Nonetheless, tonight’s event is an innovation in the nascent Oregon industry. This evening around two dozen participants will take a relatively low dose of psilocybin, kick back and listen to a DJ.

Traphagen is excited about the possibility for group experiences like this to reach more people compared to one-on-one sessions between a client and a facilitator.

“In this model, we’re going to be able to give mushrooms to way more people,” says Traphagen. “We’re sitting there chipping away one-on-one, like, ‘Okay, we’ve served 700 people through the state of Oregon.’ It’s like, with this model, we can serve 700 people in a week.”

A one-on-one session with a high dose can also cost thousands of dollars for a client. People travel from around the world to Oregon and happily pay that. But tonight, an entry ticket is $42. A low dose of psilocybin is $10.

Mike Kirkwood, the owner of this center, thinks offering an affordable option for this experience makes sense.

“It actually is something that you could just go find in the woods right now. And so why would it cost $1000 to bring it from there to here?” says Kirkwood. “Of course, we have some rules. We have some required things that we got to do to be open. But in general, it should be affordable, because it’s not that hard to produce.”

Oregon became the first state in the country to legalize psilocybin services back in 2020. But with a focus for many centers on more therapeutic, one-on-one sessions, many residents may not be aware that events like this are legal.

According to state law, when providing a low dose of up to 5 milligrams, one facilitator can oversee a session of up to 25 people. That dose won’t have the tears-streaming-down-your-face effect of a so-called heroic dose — that’s 50 milligrams — but Kirkwood thinks it can still help people.

“You might become stronger in dealing with some of the little flutters that come up from your heart… because you kind of learn some new skills hanging out with people in a scenario that is kind of pushing you a little bit. It’s waking you up a little bit,” says Kirkwood.

Olivia Doty is one of those partaking tonight. She’s had limited but positive experiences with psilocybin in the past. Tonight, she doesn’t have any grand intentions or deep questions for her subconscious. She’s mostly looking to have fun.

“I love to dance and so a chance to try it in a new way and maybe see if it takes me somewhere else I haven’t been before,” says Doty.

At 5:30 p.m., the DJ starts spinning and people are ushered inside the center. It’s decorated with comfy chairs, mushroom-themed art and trippy lights. It’s not quite your college buddy’s basement, but also not a sterile therapist’s office.

After people take their first dose, they must stay within the facility for at least an hour, per state rules. Nobody will physically stop someone from leaving — the Shrooms Cafe doesn’t have bouncers — but they are required to notify police if someone exits early.

The couple facilitators here mostly hang back and remind the two dozen or so participants of that rule. Although when someone gets bad vibes from a bathroom light, a facilitator helps by taping a big leaf over it.

Since legalization, the psilocybin market has faced challenges according to Jason Burdge with the non-profit Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Association. For example, high regulatory costs have been passed down to consumers. That’s why some sessions can be so expensive, limiting demand.

“While we have some service centers that are doing really well… there’s several service centers that have had to close because of these challenges,” says Burdge.

But, he notes, some centers are adapting.

“There’s been a lot of experimentation… You know, throwing the spaghetti against the wall. See what’s sticking.”

He says there’s currently an abundance of licenses. And this month voters banned psilocybin services in 16 Oregon localities which will likely further concentrate the market.

But he’s excited about centers like Shrooms Cafe experimenting. Although, he says, trying new things in this area isn’t without risk. Centers may not know there’s a legal issue until it’s an issue.

“I think it definitely opens up gray-area doors,” says Burdge. “A lot of this, people haven’t thought about it until it comes up.”

Those working at the Shrooms Cafe say they are playing it safe and are in regular contact with Oregon officials, who they claim are quite responsive, if they have questions about the laws.

Meanwhile, Olivia Doty, one of the participants tonight, got what she wanted. She danced.

“It’s quite an interesting experience. I definitely feel it’s not very altering, but just enough where you’re like, ‘Okay, my body feels a little different right now,’” says Doty, enjoying a taco filled with lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms outside.

“But it’s really positive and it’s easier to dance than it is to stand still, so that’s fun.”

This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

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