Someday, if Sheri and Tom Eckert have their way, Oregonians will be able to go to a licensed facility and experience psychedelic mushrooms with the help of a trained facilitator.

It might sound out there, but then again, several years ago, so did the idea that you might walk into a store and buy cannabis products.

Two years ago, the Eckerts, counselors who work out of Beaverton, started the Oregon Psilocybin Society, "an evolving coalition of individuals, networks, and organizations which, in response to a growing body of reputable research, aims to raise awareness about the safety and benefits of controlled 'Psilocybin Services.'"

And they have a clear goal: Get a measure, called the Psilocybin Service Initiative of Oregon, that allows for supervised psilocybin use, on the 2020 Oregon ballot.

Psilocybin is listed as a Schedule 1 drug at the federal level, meaning the U.S. government has determined it has "a high potential for abuse" and "no currently accepted medical treatment use in the U.S."

While there is little evidence that psilocybin is dangerous in any way beyond causing discomfort and fear, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warns that, "effects of overdose include: Longer, more intense 'trip' episodes, psychosis, and possible death," and that, "abuse of psilocybin mushrooms could also lead to poisoning if one of the many varieties of poisonous mushrooms is incorrectly identified as a psilocybin mushroom."

Opinions about "magic mushrooms," however, are changing. In the last couple of years, studies have shown psilocybin may be an effective treatment for a variety of issues, including depression, anxiety related to cancer and, in fact, addiction to cigarettes and other drugs.

Over the phone Monday, the Eckerts said they believed that a legalized path to use of psychedelic mushrooms could help people struggling with depression, anxiety, alcoholism and addiction to nicotine.

"The initiative attempts to reflect evolving best practice standards in relation to safety and effectiveness as established by scientific research at top universities," Tom Eckert said in a follow-up email.

But they didn't want to stop with therapeutic uses for medical concerns. For people over 21 who pass a screening, "psilocybin services might also be accessed for personal development," Tom Eckert said, "to enhance a general sense of well-being, openness and creativity, and spiritual connectedness."

"As therapists, we know that personality doesn't change easily," he said. "Where typical pharma-type interventions fall short, psilocybin is really breaking through with pretty amazing frequency."

"It's the experience that creates change in people," Tom Eckert said.

The Eckerts said they have been interested in psychedelic mushrooms for years, but new studies motivated them to get more involved.

"As counselors following the studies," Sheri Eckert said she wondered, "How can we be a part of this -- how can we introduce this modality to Oregonians?"

The kind of legalization the Eckerts envision wouldn't be the same as the legalization of cannabis. It would be more structured and include licensed production centers, facilities and facilitators.

Their ideal scenario would include multiple sessions, starting with an orientation, then the psilocybin experience and then at least one session to help the user integrate that experience with real life.

Currently, the Eckerts are working with the Oregon Legislative Counsel to polish the draft of the Psilocybin Service Initiative of Oregon.

They said their program would fall under the purview of the Oregon Health Authority.

It is still early in a process that will involve creating a coalition of people interested in the effort, fundraising and gathering many signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

"We are still working on getting the language into final form, which should be accomplished in the next few months," Tom Eckert said. "We can begin gathering signatures in July of 2018 to get this on the 2020 ballot."

Rob Bovett, legal counsel for the Association of Oregon Counties, a lawyer long involved in drug policy, from opioids to legalized cannabis, said at this point, the Oregon Psilocybin Society has a tough road ahead.

Even if the substance was legalized at the state level, and users and facilitators weren't in jeopardy with the state, he said over the phone Tuesday, "there wouldn't be anything stopping the feds from prosecuting them."

Bovett said though cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, the Cole Memorandum, which directed federal prosecutors to focus marijuana enforcement on eight key areas, allowed many states, including Oregon, to create frameworks for cannabis use that is legal on a state level and will not be prosecuted on a federal level.

While some worry that the current Attorney General, Jeff Sessions might overturn the Cole Memo, in November, Sessions said in a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing that he does not plan to change that rule.

"Our policy is the same, really, fundamentally as the Holder-Lynch policy," Sessions said, referring to Attorney Generals who served under President Barack Obama, "which is that the federal law remains in effect and a state can legalize marijuana for its law enforcement purposes but it still remains illegal with regard to federal purposes."

If a memo similar to the Cole Memo was written regarding psilocybin, or the federal government down-scheduled the drug from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 so it could be prescribed, states would have a path towards legalization, Bovett said.

Without that though, even if Oregon legalizes the administration of psilocybin, Bovett said, users and facilitators, "would just be out in the open, committing federal crimes with no protection."

Requests for comment from the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration have not yet been returned. But Bovett believes that a change at the federal level would require a culture shift, like the one that proceed cannabis legalization.

"You would have to see a grassroots movement," he said, "to allow this kind of experimentation to go forward."

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker