2,363 users in Oregon and Colorado report psilocybin outcomes

At 24 licensed service centers across Oregon, researchers followed people after a single psilocybin session and asked them to report back at one week, one month and three months. The Oregon Health & Science University team enrolled 346 participants between November 2024 and June 2026; 90% continued reporting through the three-month mark. Their answers, published in JAMA Network Open, point to reported improvements in mental health outside the tightly screened setting of a clinical trial.

The Oregon participants were not simply describing an intense day. At one month, 91.5% said they benefited, and 64.9% placed the experience among the 10 most meaningful of their lives. At three months, they reported lower moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as improved mental well-being and life satisfaction. Seven people described the experience as harmful; four first-time users had adverse behavioral reactions requiring medical attention, while no participant reported a serious physical-health event.

A broader dataset from licensed centers in Oregon and Colorado adds scale, though with a weaker evidentiary status: its findings were posted as a medRxiv preprint. Over 15 months, researchers analyzed information from 2,363 people, including dose, prior medical history, subjective effects and follow-up mental-health scores. Half were “psychedelic tourists” from out of state, and 50% to 60% of participants who completed the relevant questionnaires showed at least a 50% reduction in depression or anxiety scores two weeks after dosing. The researchers found that more intense mystical experiences were only weakly linked to better outcomes, and reported five more serious events whose relationship to psilocybin was unclear.

So what changes for people seeking help? The evidence now follows the service into ordinary, regulated centers rather than stopping at the clinic door, offering policymakers and facilitators a way to see who arrives and what happens afterward. But access is uneven: an Oregon session with a licensed facilitator can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, and some counties do not permit service centers. The Oregon study says psilocybin isn't appropriate for people with psychosis or bipolar disorder or who are pregnant.

The next step is to answer who is reached, where treatment takes place and what standards can sustain it. Nature Medicine described a UK feasibility trial as showing encouraging adherence and safety, while raising questions about who is reached, where treatment takes place and what standards can sustain it. Oregon’s researchers say their survey platform has expanded to Colorado, creating the possibility of comparable follow-up as more regulated services operate.