Silo Wellness And Oregon's Psilocybin Services Ballot Measure, What's It All About?

Global psychedelics company Silo Wellness Inc. SILFD coordinated the presentations of eight speakers in support of psilocybin use under Ballot Measure 109 at the next public board of commissioners meeting in the highly populated Lane County, Oregon. 

The company is focused on functional mushroom and psychedelic opportunities. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Toronto, Silo Wellness has a presence in both Jamaica and Oregon.

Mike Arnold, its founder and a Lane County resident for the last 20 years, expressed: "It is important that Silo Wellness help support the education of local governments and law enforcement, as we are the only Oregon-based publicly traded psychedelics company and the only Oregon-based company with experience providing legal psilocybin use [in Jamaica] through our psychedelic wellness retreats." 

Arnold further stated that the company intends to “prevent any misinformation comparing the rollout of this service-based wellness industry to any perceived mishaps from Oregon's experience in the cannabis space, particularly regarding diversion and impact on neighbors." 

The written testimony provided to the Board explained that currently Silo Wellness is in advanced negotiations with property owners outside of unincorporated Lane County and didn't technically "have a dog in this fight" at this time.

Faced with this presentation, the Lane County Board of Commissioners unanimously quit their former intentions to potentially offer to opt out of Ballot Measure 109 to voters (who had already voted 60% in favor of Oregon's regulated psilocybin program in 2020). Instead, they requested that staff provide a report on potential time, manner, and use restrictions.

As Springfield commissioner Joe Berney stated: "I was really persuaded by the testimony this morning from public comment. I was persuaded by compassionate use that this is therapy, and the regulatory framework is being developed." 

Berney further explained that he was on the side of "'doing nothing [to prevent implementation of BM109] as the voters of Lane County requested." 

The presentations

Besides its founder's speech, Silo Wellness organized seven additional experts and advocates in the psychedelic space including Dr. Joshua Siegel, M.D., Ph.D, of Washington University's Program in Psychedelic Research in St. Louis, Missouri; Dr. Parag Bhatt, Ph.D., of St. Louis, pharmacologist and Silo's retreat intake coordinator; Josh Wilson of St. Joseph, Missouri, Silo's retreat customer success manager; Frank Cartwright, of London, U.K., impact investment manager and mental health advocate; Greg Biniowsky, a Vancouver, British Columbia lawyer and a Silo independent board member and audit committee member; Heather Lee of Colorado, a licensed social worker (Colorado/Oregon) and psychedelic practitioner with emphasis in cancer/end-of-life issues; and Nimi Gandhi, marketing/creative specialist and ADHD/anxiety psilocybin success story of Miami, Florida.

Dr. Siegel explained that psilocybin is not physically addictive and has little risk of toxicity, being caffeine 10 times more toxic, and alcohol 100 times more so. 

Dr. Bhatt and Josh Wilson both discussed their experiences interacting with Silo Wellness psilocybin retreat participants and how lives are changed positively. Mr. Biniowsky commented on how he started off as a skeptic seeing "magic mushrooms" as a recreational drug but has been blown away by the scientific research and from what he has seen in his role as an advisor to Silo's retreat team, focusing on regulatory compliance and best practices.

Heather Lee presented a personal story of psilocybin and how she came to terms with her recent breast cancer diagnosis. 

Ms. Gandhi shared a personal anecdote of how psilocybin can assist with adult ADHD and anxiety symptoms. 

Frank Cartwright referenced his own personal transformation through psilocybin and how it had changed his business practice to focus on societal impact and mental health, reaffirming the importance of protocols in creating a safe, sustainable and accessible container for those in need.