Guest Opinion: Psychedelic Frontier
By Erin Naftalin, R.N.
I’m writing to express my concern regarding the recent Psychedelic Frontier column promoting unsupervised psilocybin use and offering vague guidance for self-administration. As someone deeply committed to safe, ethical and transformative psilocybin facilitation, I believe this approach is not only irresponsible but poses a significant risk to individuals and the broader community.
I have silently sat back over the past few months as the Source has published these articles that have taken jabs at LEGAL facilitation. Licensed facilitators in Oregon complete rigorous state-approved training, testing, and are subject to background checks and ongoing accountability to ensure the safety and integrity of our work. These safeguards, which are absent in many underground practices, help ensure that participants can trust the credibility of their guides and the quality of care they will receive. As academic research has shown, feeling comfortable in set and setting is everything when it comes to having a successful journey.
This same accountability applies to the mushrooms the State legally allows us to dispense, which are stringently tested to show the exact amount of psilocybin, ensuring safe and appropriate dosing. These don’t come in pretty packages with fun logos that have a “self-regulatory” stamp of approval. State cultivators and labs go through an extensive licensing process and are regularly monitored for quality and sanitary practices. You know exactly what you’re getting, every time.
As the Director of Services at Drop Thesis, one of the legal psilocybin service centers in Bend, my focus is on providing safe and accessible services for those seeking healing and growth through psilocybin. To make these services available to more people, we’ve implemented a sliding scale based on income and significantly lowered our prices across the board. Our experienced facilitators are also nurse practitioners, surgeons, counselors, retired firefighters…individuals with qualifications that go above and beyond state standards.
While the article frames DIY psilocybin use as a matter of “cognitive liberty,” promoting this practice to psychedelically naive individuals without safeguards is negligent, not liberating. True cognitive liberty — the freedom to explore one’s mind — depends on making informed and safe choices, not just references to websites. Without proper preparation, guidance or integration support (whether legal or underground) individuals may experience psychological distress, retraumatization or even physical harm. This is especially concerning for vulnerable individuals, such as those struggling with trauma or mental health challenges, who may be unable to navigate challenging experiences safely on their own.
Irresponsible DIY practices not only endanger individuals but also risk sensationalized negative outcomes that could hinder progress in psilocybin research, legalization and public acceptance.
At Drop Thesis, we believe in balancing safety, accessibility, and the deep reverence this work deserves. Psilocybin is a powerful tool for transformation and healing, but it must be approached with care, respect and professionalism. I encourage readers to seek out resources and practitioners that align with these values.
— Erin Naftalin, R.N.
RE: ICE, Letters, 11/14
There was a great deal of disinformation thrown about in this election cycle. Fortunately, the wisdom of the American people saw through it all and re-elected Donald Trump on all fronts. The recent letter you published contains many inflammatory falsities, most blatantly that President Trump seeks to “rid the nation of immigrants — even legal immigrants.” The reality is that President Trump promises to deport people who entered this country illegally, but the claim he seeks to remove lawful immigrants is a lie fabricated by a delusion. If this were the case, wouldn’t he need to remove his wife? It’s a worthy debate (one that was decided on Nov. 5) as to what to do with the 15-20 million people who have illegally crossed our border in the last four years. Why not debate on the facts, rather than exaggerate with lies and deception? It’s a free country and people should be allowed to mistruth and deceive, but let’s call it out when we see it.
—Ashley Melin
Hawthorne Avenue Bridge disconnect
The Source’s editorial from 11/27 rightly points out the lack of connection on the east side of the soon to be constructed Hawthorne Avenue bicycle/pedestrian bridge. I have pointed this out in my comments on the project to the city since this project began taking shape. Lacking a safe and convenient crossing of Third Street severely impacts the usefulness of this bridge. I have been a bike commuter in Bend for 30+ years, and it’s obvious that Third Street, along its entire length, is a major barrier to bike and pedestrian travel for many people.
This summer I spent some time in Boulder, Colorado, riding my bike and exploring the amazing and interconnected system of multi-use paths, secondary bike routes and protected bike lanes on major roads. The City of Boulder has been working toward this network for many years, and it was eye-opening to see how a well-funded and well-planned system could function. The multi-use paths are used by all sorts of people of all ages: walkers, runners, commuters, students, cyclists and kids on their way to school. The key to making this all work is a well-maintained number of underpasses and bridges that allow for largely uninterrupted flow and connection.
For the Hawthorne Bridge to be truly useful, there should be an underpass that allows for bicycle/pedestrian traffic to be routed under Third Street… much like the underpasses currently under NW Colorado Avenue and NW Newport. NE 4th Street should be the major connector for north-south bicycle/pedestrian traffic in midtown, and there should be underpasses to allow this traffic to flow under Franklin and Greenwood. Without safe and well-planned connections, the Hawthorne Bridge will not be able to fulfill its function of connecting midtown to downtown and will be an expensive half-measure. With proper planning and funding, it could be the start of a safe and practical bicycle/pedestrian network. It’s been done elsewhere, so why not in Bend?
—David Caplan
Letter of the Week:
David, Tell me more about those sweet connected biking and walking routes in Boulder! Thanks for your input. Come grab your gift card to Palate.
—Nicole Vulcan
This article appears in The Source Weekly December 5, 2024.
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David. The City of Bend is inept. They are more concerned with mass development and getting in bed with developers than livability. They are both clueless and corrupt. This is a fact. You are correct. Boulder and other American mountain towns are all run smartly, but qualified people. They are preserving what made these towns great.
Bend? No other way to put it. Clueless people ruining one of the country’s great mountain towns. You just have to accept it at this point.