After the passage of Proposition 109 by Oregon voters in 2020, a path was opened for improved access to therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms and products containing their active compounds. With over 55% of the vote, the ballot measure authorized the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to develop a program allowing licensed service providers to produce and administer psilocybin-producing mushroom products for adults aged 21 and older.
As a model for progressive drug policy reform, Prop. 109 also set the stage for a burgeoning industry in Oregon. The OHA’s Psilocybin Services Section is responsible for creating rules to license and regulate manufacturing, transportation, delivery, sale, and purchase of psilocybin products as well as the provision of psilocybin services. The goal is to have the program operational in 2023. The agency has already begun accepting applications for psilocybin business licenses, and savvy entrepreneurs are starting new ventures in this growing industry.
A New Business Emerges
George Sellhorn, founder and principal scientist at Flourish Labs in Portland, is among the business owners preparing for the launch of legal psilocybin in Oregon. He has had a personal connection with psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms, since his teenage years and acknowledges that psychedelics have had a “massive impact” on his life. He is also a passionate cannabis enthusiast who, with guidance and encouragement from High Times, has been cultivating his own plants since 1993. His interest and passion for cannabis motivated his academic pursuits, leading Sellhorn to earn a Ph.D. in plant biochemistry from the University of Washington in 2006.
At the time, the legal cannabis industry in the U.S. was just beginning, and opportunities in professional fields were scarce. Sellhorn entered the biotechnology field, working on cancer therapeutics and an HIV vaccine. However, friends with businesses in the emerging industry soon encouraged him to open a cannabis testing lab. Although he chose not to start his own business at the time, he did gain some experience in the industry and helped a few friends establish labs. It seemed like the right choice for Sellhorn then, but he soon found himself wishing he had made a different decision.
“A few years later, I kind of was kicking myself saying, ‘I probably should have started a lab, and I’d probably be a lot happier than I am right now,'” he recalls in a phone interview.
Following the passage of Prop. 109, things came full circle. Once again, friends in an upcoming legal industry urged him to open a lab. The ballot measure includes provisions directing the OHA’s regulations for testing psilocybin products for contamination. Additionally, therapists would want to know the dosage of active compounds they were administering, leading to a need for potency data throughout the supply chain.
Sellhorn remembers thinking, “I’ve been down this road before,” and decided he wouldn’t leave himself open to later regrets this time around. He began ordering the lab equipment and supplies he would need to launch the operation in September 2021, and by early 2022, Flourish Labs was ready to start accepting samples and conducting tests.
Sellhorn explains that testing mushrooms is quite similar to lab analysis of cannabis, but with one key difference. Like many cannabis labs, Sellhorn uses high-performance liquid chromatography combined with ultra-violet spectroscopy (HPLC-UV) to separate the molecules of a given sample and determine its composition. However, unlike cannabinoids, which are fat-soluble (hydrophobic), the alkaloids in mushrooms are water-soluble (hydrophilic), requiring a change in the approach to make it work. “So, same methods as cannabis, but just the opposite chemistry,” Sellhorn summarizes.
Lab Testing for Psilocybin and Beyond
Much of Sellhorn’s testing work focuses on determining the amount of psychoactive alkaloids, or potency, present in a specific sample. Over 50 species of mushrooms produce psilocybin, which is expressed at different levels depending on factors such as genetics and cultivation practices.
“The most potent mushroom that I’ve seen from different people is an Albino Penis Envy or an APE,” says Sellhorn. “I’ve tested anywhere from 0.1% alkaloids, up to 2.3% as the highest one that I’ve tested so far. So, there’s a pretty big range. The average, I’d say, is about 0.5% to 0.7% alkaloids [by dry weight].”
Initially, Sellhorn’s business plan primarily focused on analyzing mushrooms containing psilocybin and related alkaloids, including psilocin, psilocybin, norpsilocin, baeocystin, and norbaeocystin. Since opening Flourish Labs, he has also developed testing protocols for other products made with psilocybin mushrooms that are likely to be part of Oregon’s forthcoming regulated market.
“I can also do fruiting bodies and gummies, chocolates, and extracts, whether it be liquid extract or dry extract,” he explains. “So, I have a protocol for all of the possible products that could be made, that I’m aware of, as of now.”
Dosage Matters
Sellhorn notes that the renewed interest in the reported health and wellness benefits of psilocybin has fostered a new culture of microdosing, which Sellhorn has practiced for over four years. To microdose, a tiny fraction of a psychedelic dose of psilocybin is taken, perhaps 0.1 to 0.2 milligrams, Sellhorn suggests. With mushrooms of average potency (rounded up to 1% total alkaloids), that translates to about a tenth to two-tenths of a gram of mushroom biomass. “That’s like a really nice microdose, and you can adjust it based on body weight,” he says. “A microdose should be enough to lift your mood but not feel any of the psychedelic effects like you’re about to trip.”
On the other end of the spectrum is macrodosing, which involves taking enough psilocybin to produce a strong psychedelic effect, which can either be a thrilling trip or a space for life-changing spiritual or psychological breakthroughs, depending on the user’s intention. To macrodose, Sellhorn says a dosage of 30 milligrams to 50 milligrams of psilocybin (approximately 5 grams of mushroom biomass) should be about right for an intense trip. Within the extremes of micro and macrodosing, “there are doses in between there for whatever you’re looking for.”
In addition to potency, Sellhorn notes that the form of psilocybin taken can also influence the drug’s effects. While eating dried mushrooms is the classic method of consumption, extracted psilocybin and products made from it can modify the drug’s effects.
“It’s abundantly clear to me now that the mushroom biomass itself acts like a time-release capsule. So, if you take a mushroom that has, say, five milligrams of psilocybin in it, and you eat that, you’ll get a certain effect,” he explains. “And it’ll take a certain amount of time to hit you. But if you take five milligrams in a gummy or a chocolate, it hits you way faster, it’s much more intense, and it gets over more quickly.”
Sellhorn’s work in the lab has given him an opportunity to expand his knowledge about other psilocybin best practices, as well. He notes that proper storage is very effective at preserving the potency of psilocybin mushrooms. When a client was looking for data on potency degradation, an in-house study determined that mushrooms stored in a vacuum-sealed bag and kept in dark conditions at 60° Fahrenheit retained 98% of their potency after four months.
A Growing Scientific Field
Although Sellhorn sees a strong market for analyzing psilocybin-containing mushrooms in Oregon, he realized that demand for lab testing might be limited until the industry is more established and generating revenue. While the state’s regulations will likely eventually include requirements for testing for microbial contamination or the presence of heavy metals in addition to potency, such testing is not yet in high demand. To supplement his business plan, Flourish Labs has also begun lab testing of so-called functional mushrooms, including cordyceps, reishi, and amanita muscaria (famous in folklore and pop culture), for compounds that could have health and wellness benefits. Additional species to be tested by the lab in the coming months include lion’s mane, chaga, maitake, tremella, and turkey tail.
When regulated production and administration of psilocybin for therapeutic purposes begin in Oregon later this year, it will launch a new industry in the state and become a milestone in the continued evolution of drug policy reform. Pioneering the way will be a new generation of innovators and entrepreneurs, including Sellhorn and Flourish Labs.
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