Vince Sliwoski

Vince is an award-winning business lawyer, problem solver and dealmaker. His clients run the gamut from individual investors and entrepreneurs to widely held domestic and international corporations. Based in Portland, Oregon, he is Managing Partner of Harris Bricken and Editor of the Canna Law Blog and the Psychedelics Law Blog.

hall of shame

The Psychedelics Company Structure Hall of Shame (with Pictures)

The Oregon psilocybin program has a residency requirement. I explained how it works here, and wrote “queue the crazy business structures.” Because the program is off to a slow start (see here and here) I haven’t received as many crazy requests as expected. Well, that changed last week when I received a proposal that made

oregon psilocybin license

Oregon Issues First Psilocybin Licenses. Now What?

Last week, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) awarded a pair of psilocybin manufacturer licenses. First two! Congrats to Tori Arbrust of Satori Farms PDX, and Andres Met of Satya Therapeutics, known to many of us from the Oregon cannabis program. We should also congratulate OHA, which had aimed to issue manufacturing licenses by the end

the last of us zombies

Oregon Psilocybin and The Last of Us (Zombies 😱)

Our marketing people somehow determined that I should write a piece comparing Oregon’s new psilocybin program with The Last of Us– which is a zombie show about a global pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection. Apparently this type of content gets a lot of eyeballs. I said: I don’t want to watch a whole

oregon psilocybin

Oregon Psilocybin: Slow Start

It seems that the Oregon psilocybin program is off to a slow start. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) did a good job meeting the Measure 109 rulemaking and development deadlines, including by opening the license application portal back on January 2. Still, a slew of factors, some of them structural, have tempered program launch. The

oregon psilocybin

Oregon Psilocybin 2023: Legislative Forecast and Report

The 2023 Oregon legislative session commenced last week. It’s a regular session this year, so we’re in for a longer stretch– a 160 day calendar, versus the 35 day affair we see in even-numbered years. For better or worse, the legislature has ample time to tinker with our brand-new psilocybin program here in Oregon. Going

oha final rules psilocybin

Oregon Releases Final Psilocybin Rules; Applications Open January 2

We’re finally ready to launch. After a two-year advisory and developmental period, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has adopted and released final rules to implement a first-of-its-kind, regulated psychedelics program. You can find the new rules here. OHA will also begin accepting applications for psilocybin service centers, testing labs, manufacturers and facilitators next Monday, January

psilocybin lease

Psilocybin Lease Checklist: Top 10

Oregon is the first state to launch a regulated psilocybin industry. Following the mid-term election results, we know which cities and counties in the Beaver state will allow licensed psilocybin businesses in 2023. Regulated businesses will fall into three broad categories: manufacturers, testing labs and service centers. All of these psilocybin companies will need leases.

psilocybin securities

Oregon Psilocybin and Securities: Raising Money Right

Oregon psilocybin licensing kicks off in just over a month. We are finally in the home stretch of the two-year run-up following the passage of Measure 109. At this point, many people are forming psilocybin businesses and raising money for these new ventures. What’s old is new again We went through similar business structuring and

phantom income

Psilocybin Companies and Phantom Income

Our Oregon office has been setting up psilocybin companies for clients. This is meat-and-potatoes work for us, as we’ve formed hundreds of schedule I substances businesses in Oregon over the years. I’m referring to cannabis businesses, but psilocybin is similar. Like cannabis companies, most new psilocybin companies end up registering as either LLCs or C-corps.

benefit company

Psychedelics Benefit Companies

The psychedelics movement has a benevolent streak, which may create an influx of benefit companies in the regulated space. In Oregon, the state will regulate the actual practice of medicine out of the program, but many industry operators — manufacturers, service centers and facilitators — are interested in health aspects of psilocybin use nonetheless. Others