"At a forest facility in Oregon, the first US state to allow supervised
use of the drug, students work toward becoming licensed trip
facilitators
Dani Anguiano in Portland, Oregon
@dani_anguiano
Sat 13 Jan 2024 11.00 EST
Inside a spacious and light-filled retreat in the forest outside
Portland, 30 students sat gazing into each other?s eyes.
A heavy silence filled the room, save for the occasional creaking chair.
A soft voice urged the group to envision the pain and joy their fellow students had experienced during their lives, to view them as a friend, a child, a teacher. Some broke into grins, others teared up.
?We never get the opportunity to just look at somebody,? the instructor
said.
The intense exercise was a fitting start to the day for students
preparing for unconventional careers as facilitators in Oregon?s groundbreaking new psilocybin program.
The state is the first in the US to allow supervised use of the
psychedelic for adults 21 and older. In a few months, the students, who include midwives, educators and retirees, could support people through a magic mushroom experience at one of Oregon?s 19 service centers.
But first, they?ll need to complete a program like the one taking place
at InnerTrek ? the first government-recognized licensed and operating training program in the world, according to staff. After they complete
the training, they can go on to apply for their licenses with the state.
On a rainy Friday in November, a cohort gathered at InnerTrek?s rural
campus for one of the program?s monthly in-person intensives. Some of
the students were coming off their own group psilocybin trips,
undertaken as part of their training. Seated in the wide space, they
readied for a day that would include practical lectures on the state?s
laws, as well as as scenario-based exercises designed to build their
skills."
[snip}
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/13/oregon-first-magic- mushroom-psilocybin-school
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