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In November, voters in Lebanon will decide whether to prohibit psilocybin manufacturers and service centers in the city.
In 2022, City of Lebanon voters easily passed a two-year moratorium on psilocybin businesses, opting to wait until the state rolled out rules on the newly legalized substance, and some facilities were up and running.
Lebanon’s Community Development Director Kelly Hart said that at the end of last year, City Council still had very little information about the costs and benefits of such businesses.
“There really weren’t a lot of cities that had gone through the system yet, to identify whether or not these facilities were operating smoothly," she told KLCC. "So they still didn’t have enough information to determine whether this was going to be a good use for the community.”
Hart said with the moratorium about to expire, Lebanon City Council decided to bring the issue to voters. She noted that if the ban doesn’t pass, council has adopted a few “time, place and manner” rules that would govern local psilocybin businesses, such as keeping the establishments at least 300 feet from city parks. Hart also said if the ban passes, and city leaders later believe the facilities would benefit the community, the issue could be revisited.
Oregon voters approved the use of psilocybin for therapeutic purposes in 2020, but some communities have decided to prohibit such businesses.
