OHSU awarded a $3.3 million grant from NIDA

BIG news out of Oregon that deserves attention: Oregon Health & Science University has been awarded a $3.3 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study outcomes from legal, state-regulated psilocybin services in real-world community settings.

This is notable not just for the research itself, but for what it signals.

For the first time, federal dollars are being directed toward evaluating state-authorized psychedelic services as they actually operate, rather than limiting inquiry to traditional clinical trial environments. Oregon’s framework is now informing a federally funded effort focused on substance use disorders, with a scale of participation that far exceeds the historical psychedelic research base.

Huge credit is due to Adie Rae (Wilson-Poe), Ph.D., Todd Korthuis, and the entire team at Open Psychedelic Evaluation Nexus for their leadership on this work, and for helping bridge policy, public health, and rigorous outcomes research in a way other states will benefit from.

At the Center for Psychedelic Policy, our work is grounded in a complementary belief: states are where practical, affordable access will be built first. Research like this strengthens the case for states to move beyond authorization alone and begin designing state-funded access pathways, pilot programs, and reimbursement models that meet public health goals.

Oregon continues to show what’s possible when policy, implementation, and research move in parallel. The next chapter is making sure those insights translate into sustainable, publicly supported access for the people who stand to benefit most.

Momentum is building—and it’s being driven from the state level up.

Sam Chapman

Executive Director

Center for Psychedelic Policy