Emerge Law Group attorney Dave Kopilak was the primary drafter of Oregon Ballot Measure 109, also known as the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act (the “OPSA”). Since Oregon voters approved the OPSA in 2020, much has happened. The Psilocybin Advisory Board (the “PAB”) was formed, the PAB made a series of recommendations to the Oregon Heath Authority (“OHA”), the OHA adopted rules in 2022 and rule amendments in 2023 and 2024, the Oregon legislature amended the OPSA in 2023 and 2025, and most importantly, the Oregon psilocybin marketplace began to take shape. Certain things have gone well and certain things have not gone well, with the high cost of services being a major issue. This is the case despite the fact that one of the stated purposes of the OPSA is to ensure that psilocybin services become an accessible and affordable option for Oregonians, and despite the fact that one of the OHA’s stated goals is “lowering or containing the cost of care so it’s affordable to everyone.”
In 2024, Dave was asked to assist with a legislative effort to legalize psilocybin services in the State of Washington. At the outset of that effort, Dave began working on an outline for the proposed Washington legislation that he believed would be superior to the OPSA, especially when it came to the affordability of psilocybin services. The Washington legislative effort was ultimately unsuccessful. However, Dave continued to work on the outline, which he just completed and which can be found here.
Dave is speaking on two panels next week at the Psychedelic Science 2025 conference in Denver, and he probably will be discussing the outline on at least one of the panels. Dave’s colleagues Sean Clancy and Alex Berger also will be at the conference.
