A Psilocybin Service Center in Hood River, Oregon
My depression lifted in 2020 after a big eight-gram magic mushroom journey. I didn’t know it at the time, but that day marked the beginning of an entirely new life. I was working as a nonprofit consultant. When the pandemic paused everything, I finally had time—and space—to reflect. My best friend and partner John Nelson and I spent much of that year diving deep into research about psilocybin and its healing potential.
When Oregon passed Measure 109, making it the first state to legalize psilocybin services in supervised, licensed settings, we knew something big was beginning. We followed the Oregon Psilocybin Services rulemaking process closely. By early 2021, we were already imagining a legal psilocybin service center in Hood River—not a big retreat center, but a quiet, healing room where I could support others on the kind of journey that saved me.
Then came a turning point. Counties and cities across Oregon were deciding whether to allow legal psilocybin services in their jurisdictions. We attended the Hood River County Commission meeting, expecting to see other advocates. Honestly, we thought we were going to meet the wonderful people who would start a service center in Hood River. And then… no one else showed up. Just John and me. The commissioners didn’t understand the law, or the medicine. So I raised my hand.
“Why should we listen to you?” they asked.
“Because I know more than any of you,” I said. And I did.
That moment felt like a kind of public service. As we left that final meeting, John and I looked at each other and knew: if Hood River was going to have a legal psilocybin center, we’d have to build it ourselves.
The next day, my testimony was on Facebook. Someone was recording public meetings and offering them as content. I felt exposed. Suddenly, everyone in my professional world knew I had used mushrooms. I wanted to hide that fact, just a little longer. And now, there was nothing left to hide. There was only the truth—and the work ahead.
Over the next four County Commission meetings, we gathered advocates to testify, made our voices heard, and watched the county craft zoning rules that would effectively ban psilocybin treatment centers.
We continued showing up, this time at Hood River City Council meetings. The city had a different energy. Calm. Curious. Open. No bans. No stigma. We sensed that some of the city leaders may have even experienced psilocybin themselves. That’s when we knew we’d be able to open our psilocybin center within city limits.
Following Oregon’s new regulations, we searched for commercial space more than 1,000 feet from any school. Hood River is small—just 6,000 people—but it has nine schools and very few commercial vacancies. We made maps, knocked on doors, worked with realtors and sent letters.
We got into the habit of driving around the few commercial zones that qualified, looking to see if anyone seemed to be moving out, hoping to see some sign that we’d be able to find a rental.
One night, we spotted it: a literal sign. “For Rent.” We called the next morning. The landlord already rented to a cannabis dispensary. He owned the building outright, and welcomed the idea of a psilocybin center. We signed the lease on January 1, 2023.
By March, we were deep into renovations—creating an ADA-compliant bathroom, installing new lighting, repainting, and transforming office spaces into journey rooms. We spent more than planned, but built a space with heart.
The final requirement? A 400-pound safe. We hired movers who hauled it upstairs the same day Oregon Psilocybin Services called to schedule our site inspection. That safe marked the final item on our checklist. A few small fixes later—we were licensed.
I had already completed my facilitator training through the Synaptic Institute. Now, we were recruiting other trained facilitators and preparing to serve our first clients. Even with all the research and planning, we were just beginning to understand what a standardized, lab-tested dose of psilocybin would feel like. This was new territory.
Vital Reset wasn’t born from ambition—it was born from need.
From personal healing.
From a community that didn’t yet know what it needed.
From the kind of knowing that only comes after you’ve survived your own darkness.
Since opening, we’ve supported adults from across the country seeking psilocybin experiences in Oregon. We’ve guided journeys for people with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and existential distress—especially those who’ve tried everything else.
And we’re just getting started.
