Source NM·27 Aug 2026
New Mexico's Department of Health is now accepting producer applications under the 2025 Medical Psilocybin Act, with permitting for testing labs and clinicians to follow. The state has pulled its launch forward from a 2027 deadline and hopes to begin treating patients with treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, substance use disorders and end-of-life distress before 2026 is out. That would make it the third US state with a live psilocybin program, and the first built on a clinician-gated medical model rather than the licensed-facilitator approach of Oregon and Colorado.
Tico Times·27 Aug 2026
Following a New York Times investigation, Tico Times examines the roughly 80 psychedelic retreat centers operating in Costa Rica largely outside government oversight, anchored by the 2024 death of a 40-year-old American after an ibogaine session at a Nicoya Peninsula retreat. The Times found fewer than half of centers employed a medical professional and only about one in ten had staff trained for emergencies; a leaked Health Ministry memo signals possible closures. A sobering reminder for travelers to vet medical screening and emergency protocols, and for hosts that safety standards are the whole game.
NASCSA / SAMHSA·27 Aug 2026
SAMHSA has published guidance urging state behavioral-health officials to prepare clinical, administrative and budget frameworks ahead of possible FDA approvals of psilocybin and MDMA-based treatments, covering Medicaid coverage, clinician training, facility oversight and coordination with the FDA and DEA. The document is candid that evidence remains uneven and most substances stay in Schedule I. Still, a federal agency preparing the states two weeks before the FDA's September 14 public hearing is a meaningful policy signal.
The Marijuana Herald·31 Aug 2026
From September 1, Oregon Psilocybin Services folds into a single Oregon Health Authority section alongside the medical marijuana program, a cost-cutting move driven by budget shortfalls. Public comment opens the same day (through September 21, with virtual hearings September 15 and 16) on rules that would roughly double most license fees and remove reduced fees for veterans and people with disabilities from January 2027. With only 21 service centers still operating, operators warn the hike could close half of what remains: worth watching if Oregon is on your wellness travel map.
Monash University / Nature·20 Aug 2026
Monash University's PsiConnect study, published in Nature, scanned 62 psychedelic-naive adults with fMRI and EEG, the largest single-site psilocybin imaging dataset to date. Rather than pure disorder, psilocybin produced a structured reorganization of brain networks, and the strength of that reorganization predicted better psychological wellbeing the next day. Context mattered too: music drove more reorganization than film, a finding that speaks directly to how guided sessions are designed.
