The Portland, Oregon City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to deprioritize law enforcement activities surrounding the personal use, cultivation and non-commercial sharing of naturally occurring psychedelics. The ordinance designates non-commercial, naturally occurring psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca, as low-priority targets for the Portland Police Bureau.
The measure includes deliberate caveats. Peyote, a cactus containing the psychoactive compound mescaline, is explicitly excluded from the deprioritization measure.
That exception was written into the framework to protect the ecologically threatened plant species and to honor the exclusive religious practices of Native American communities who have historically relied on it.
The ordinance maintains strict prohibitions against the commercial sale of any psychedelics outside of state-licensed frameworks. It also preserves all existing criminal penalties for impaired driving.
Max Kelemen, Executive Director of the Portland Psychedelic Society, praised the city’s decision as a milestone for community well-being. “This has been a long, community-led journey shaped by years of organizing, listening, public testimony and conversations with people whose lives and work have been deeply touched by psychedelics,” Kelemen said.
Kelemen noted that the intent behind the initiative is rooted in providing support for vulnerable populations seeking alternative mental health care. He said the effort has been about equitable access, freedom of consciousness and giving people greater agency over their own healing.
Kelemen was careful to clarify the legal boundaries of the new policy. “This policy does not legalize or decriminalize naturally occurring psychedelics, but by making their personal, noncommercial use a lowest law enforcement priority and putting Portland Police Bureau’s existing approach into durable public policy, it can reduce fear of arrest and prosecution and create greater psychological safety for people already making these choices,” Kelemen said.
He added that the ordinance allows Portland to keep exploring new possibilities for mental and behavioral health while focusing limited public safety resources on the issues causing the greatest harm.
Advocates argue the measure represents a critical step in reforming drug policy to focus on public health rather than punitive criminal justice.
Amy Charlesworth, a Portland resident, military veteran, Oregon Psilocybin Services Rulemaking Advisory Committee member and licensed psilocybin facilitator, spoke to the urgency of providing alternative treatments for those suffering from post-traumatic stress and other mental health conditions.
“Portland’s unanimous passage of Ordinance 2026-186 sends a powerful message that people seeking healing should not have to live in fear of unnecessary criminalization,” Charlesworth said.
She said she has seen firsthand how urgently people need new options for addressing trauma and mental health. She added that the ordinance recognizes growing research around the therapeutic potential of psychedelics while prioritizing public health, harm reduction, education and dignity over punishment.
The vote comes at a pivotal time for psychedelic policy in Oregon and nationally.
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