It’s been over a year since the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act came into effect. Now, Spiritus Oregon has become the first-ever state-licensed manufacturer of psilocybin edibles in the state.
The company offers chocolate and gummy products and strives to ensure that they not only taste fantastic but are also created to the highest standards, with precise dosing and consistent experiences across uses and batches. They aren’t only licensed by the state to produce psilocybin edibles, but they are also a fully licensed commercial kitchen.
Although Oregon regulations allow for a 20% deviation in the amount of psilocybin in products, Spiritus holds its brand, Horizon Edibles, to a higher standard. Their microdoses (2mg to 5mg) only ever deviate by 0.2mg (10% or 4%, respectively), and their higher doses (20mg to 50mg) are only allowed to differ by 0.5mg (2.5% and 1%, respectively). They ensure this by testing the potency of each batch at every step of the process, making sure it does not deviate from the specific strength that is expected.
The company also notes that its products can help reduce the gastrointestinal distress experienced by people eating more traditional psilocybin products, such as dried mushrooms. Horizon Edibles’ production process, however, fully removes the chitin found in the mushrooms to provide easier digestion to the end consumer.
Spiritus Oregon makes its own products under the Horizon Edibles label. Still, it also offers white-label products—a process where a company buys a product from another and rebrands it as its own. This allows higher-quality psilocybin edibles to be available across the state in a wider variety of options for the consumer.
It isn’t all smooth sailing, however. A federal lawsuit is now in the U.S. courts claiming that the state’s psilocybin law discriminates against disabled individuals. The law requires services to be offered only at licensed service centers, which excludes those who can’t travel for whatever reason from accessing them. Those filing the lawsuit hope to be able to prescribe and deliver doses to patients in their homes, something that isn’t possible under the current law.
Shroomer recently interviewed Michael Briggs, the President of Mushroom Ventures, who gave us further insight into the company and its aims.
He described some of the most significant challenges the company faced due to being the first company to try and do something like this, along with all the hurdles that come with that.
“This is uncharted territory from a regulatory and operational perspective, so it’s taken a lot of creativity, patience, and inventiveness to navigate,” he explained. “For example, we are licensed as a commercial kitchen by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, something that is not required of any other licensed psilocybin cultivator. This meant that we had to find a commercial lease that was not only friendly to psilocybin manufacturing, but would also allow for us to build a commercial kitchen in our space. We also had how to use the same space for cultivation, as required by Oregon Psilocybin Services regulations. This meant having to work with the Department of Agriculture to develop novel processes to ensure the production of safe food products in the same space as mushroom cultivation.”
He also stated that the path already forged by the cannabis industry was invaluable – “Being able to pull from best practices and manufacturing processes that have been tested and refined for years allowed us to navigate these challenges with clear goals. We have developed all of our SOPs with the intent of meeting current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) developed by the cannabis industry. While there are unique processes for psilocybin production, the core frameworks have been established for us to build around.”
When asked about how he thought the regulatory industry for psilocybin would evolve in the future, he had the following to say.
“I think the regulatory environment for psilocybin is very much up in the air right now. Because the regulated model for psychedelics is taking shape in a much different way than medical cannabis, I could see the regulatory landscape following a very different path than the eventual recreational model. I think that there is a high likelihood that we see psilocybin consumption progressing similarly to ketamine treatments. We’ll likely soon see allowances for in-home use (as is currently available in the Colorado regulated model). That said, I think consumption will remain in the context of mental health treatment as opposed to recreational use. There seems to be a popular desire for the recreational use of psilocybin, but I don’t see that necessarily being the trajectory in the foreseeable future. The one regulatory area that I’m most interested to see progress is microdosing. There will need to be some loosening of regulations to make it work, but I think there may be opportunities to develop microdosing-specific centers that look and feel a lot like a cafe or bar. I think it will be very appealing to have a space where people can visit on a regular basis, take a small dose of psilocybin, socialize as little or as much as they’d like, then go about their day.”
He also added further information about how he thinks the psilocybin industry is going to evolve in the near future – “From a long-term perspective, I see the edibles side of the industry carving out a niche similar to the cannabis edibles industry. There will always be a market for dried fruits and for consumers who want to experience mushrooms in their natural form. There is a segment of the market that sees the natural variability in the mushrooms as part of the consumption process (you’re in the hands of the mushrooms and whatever experience happens is what you were meant to have). That said, I think there is also a significant demand for more precise and predictable dosing. Again, as with cannabis, I think we’ll see significant variety in the types of consumables that become available in the short term (edibles of various types and concentrations, extract tinctures of varying kinds, etc.). Eventually, the market will settle on what most people desire from an edible. The variety of consumables will contract and what proves to be most popular will become highly refined.”
And as for Spiritus Oregan itself?
“Spiritus Oregon’s place in that landscape is an interesting one. I think we are poised to play a significant role in driving that process. We’re starting conservatively in our product offerings (chocolates and gummies), but we are already seeing requests for tinctures and other novel products. We may expand our offerings eventually, but I think we’re going to play the most significant role in driving quality. We’d much rather do a few things and do them extremely well than try to do everything and struggle to provide high-quality products. I think that we’ll continue to be conservative in our offerings, but develop a reputation for quality and consistency. Ultimately, I think clients will value those aspects of an edible far more than experimenting with a unique product that may not meet the same standards. Our goal is to set the bar for the industry. We want to make sure we’re not only providing the best for our clients but to ensure all psilocybin products are being held to a high standard.”
And finally, we asked Michael what his favorite product of his was, and he answered with the classic Chocolate –
“I think that most people look at chocolates as a natural pairing for mushrooms in a very singular sense: it’s good at covering up the taste. That said, chocolate is actually a very good product to consume alongside psilocybin. Some of the side effects of psilocybin are actually naturally countered by the side effects of consuming chocolate. For example, psilocybin is known to increase blood pressure. Theobromine, an alkaloid found in cacao, actually helps to relax the muscles of the vascular system. Additionally, theobromine is a bronchodilator, meaning that it helps open up your lungs and decrease resistance in your airway. This can pair well with breathwork performed during the psilocybin experience, helping to ease breathing and lead to better physical regulation. Ultimately, chocolate has a long history of being paired with psilocybin mushrooms, and for good reason. This offering will be the first time that mushroom chocolates will be available in a fully legal manner.”
We would like to extend our thanks to Michael for answering our questions, and we look forward to seeing how the company evolves in the upcoming years!
