2020 Oregon Ballot Measure 109

Ballot Measure 109

Oregon Psilocybin Services Act: Allows manufacture, delivery, administration of psilocybin at supervised, licensed facilities; imposes two-year development period
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,270,057 55.75% No 1,008,199 44.25% Total votes 2,214,856 100.00%
Results by county Yes:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% No:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Source: Associated Press[1]

In 2020, voters in the U.S. state of Oregon passed Ballot Measure 109, also known as the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act,^[2] allowing the "manufacture, delivery and administration" of psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug.^[3] While psilocybin remains illegal nationally, the passage of the law made Oregon the first U.S. state to legalize the drug. Per the law, psilocybin must be used for "personal development" and grown and administered in licensed environments. The ballot measure put in place a two-year period for the government to determine regulations around the law's implementation, such as what credentials will be needed for someone to administer the drug.^[4]

The chief petitioners behind the bill were Thomas Eckert and his late first wife, Sheri Eckert, both therapists who had been working for years to legalize psilocybin because of its potential benefit for people struggling with conditions including depression, anxiety, and addiction. To get the initiative (called the Psilocybin Service Initiative, or Initiative Petition #34) on the November 2020 ballot, 112,020 signatures of support from Oregonians had to be collected.^[5] On November 3, 2020, Ballot Measure 109 was passed with support from 1.27 million Oregonians, or 55.75% of the vote (according to unofficial results from the Oregon Secretary of State in the days following the election).^[6]

Vote tallies by county: