🫠 This Year in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that brings good tidings and cheer, all year round. If you woke up to mushrooms in your stocking, please tell us how you got on Santa’s extra-nice list, thx. 🎄

This week, we’re breaking from our usual format to reflect on the past year in psychedelics. And what a long, strange trip it's been.

So pour yourself some cacao (marshmallows acceptable, as long as they’re ceremonial grade) while we unpack the highs and lows of 2024 and share our hopes and dreams for 2025. ☕️

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THE PEAK EXPERIENCE

The MDMA fumble (and other pharma drama)

Remember when we thought 2024 would be the year MDMA therapy got approved? Yeah, about that... August brought a plot twist nobody wanted when the FDA rejected Lykos's application, sending the former MAPS subsidiary into a corporate ego death (read: laying off 75% of staff). Even Rick Doblin stepped down from the board to focus on activism. Good for him.

But hey, some companies actually had a good year. MindMed scored a breakthrough therapy designation (the fourth ever for psychedelics) for LSD in anxiety. Then, Cybin snagged the fifth such designation for their psilocybin analog in depression. (They went on to drop a 100% response rate in their Phase 2 trial.) And let’s not forget that J&J's ketamine spray Spravato became psychedelic medicine's first blockbuster drug. Because apparently psychedelics are more palatable to the medical-industrial complex when they’re packaged in a fancy nasal device.

Speaking of juggernauts, AbbVie made a $2 billion deal with Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, proving Big Pharma's finally ready to play in the psychedelic sandbox. Though with investment down 90% in Q3, it’s fair to say the market is still young and volatile. We’re eeeeaarly.

States rights (and wrongs)

The good news: Colorado got ready to join Oregon in the state-regulated psychedelic therapy club. The less good news: pretty much everything else. Arizona's governor vetoed their psilocybin therapy bill (so close), California's reform efforts died in committee (again), and Massachusetts voters said "not today" to legalizing mushrooms and plant medicine (et tu, electorate?). At least Utah legalized psychedelic therapy... sort of.

New York floated the idea of psychedelic permits, which is either brilliant or terrible, depending on how many bureaucrats you want involved in your consciousness exploration. Several other states are taking a more cautious approach, with psychedelic task forces doing…uh, whatever task forces do. One study calculated 5 million Americans could benefit from psilocybin therapy. Now, if only they could get it.

Science gets (less?) trippy

Despite the DEA’s best efforts to stand in the way, psychedelic research made leaps and bounds this year. Brain scans showed psilocybin physically rewires your neurons after just one dose. Ketamine might reverse biological aging—exciting news for longevity bros everywhere. Meanwhile, researchers explored psychedelics for everything from obesity and diabetes to chronic pain and fibromyalgia.

Then there’s the great controversy around trip-free psychedelics. Several companies raced to develop "psychoplastogens," compounds that rewire your brain without sending you on a journey. Believe it or not, some people might like to boost their neuroplasticity without tasting colors. Oh, and scientists discovered new psychedelic mushroom species in Africa, further proving nature's been in the game way longer than us.

The underground rises (and falls)

While regulators were regulating, the legacy market said “hold my mushrooms.” Psychedelic churches proliferated at a record clip around the country, though not without their challenges. The Church of the Eagle and Condor even made history as the first non-Christian church to secure legal rights to serve ayahuasca (without going to trial, no less).

But the infamous DiamondShruumz incident, which sent dozens to the ER with seizures, showed the darker side of the grey market. When lab tests revealed the "microdosing" chocolates didn't even contain psilocybin, it became clear: companies either figure out how to regulate these products, or someone's going to regulate them for us.

AFTERGLOW

Now what?

Will more states follow Oregon and Colorado's lead? Can pharma companies convince the FDA that tripping is feature, not a bug? Will someone finally explain to doctors what these substances actually do? (ICYMI, most don’t have a clue.)

Now, we don’t have a crystal ball, but when has that ever stopped anyone from making wild predictions? Right, never. But for the sake of journalistic integrity, let’s just call this our wishlist. ‘Tis the season, after all.

• 🌊 The decrim wave keeps rolling. Dozens of U.S. cities have already decriminalized psychedelics, from Seattle to Washington, D.C., proving change is easier to achieve at the local level. Sometimes you gotta grow the roots before you can climb the tree.

• 🏥 Healthcare integration picks up steam. The AMA's new billing codes for psychedelic therapy are just the beginning. Between the VA funding MDMA research, Rick Doblin's push for generic ibogaine, and insurance companies eyeing cost-effectiveness data, the system's starting to bend.

• 🤌 Safe, legal microdosing becomes reality. MindBio's successful take-home microdose trial (not to mention countless anecdotal reports) proved it can work, while the DiamondShruumz disaster showed why we need quality control. It’s time for legislation that allows responsible at-home use of trustworthy products.

• 🦸 Research expands beyond mental health. This year showed psychedelics' potential doesn’t stop at depression and PTSD. But we can still break the frame by looking outside diagnoses altogether. What about creativity, purpose, and self-actualization? We're still scratching the surface of what these medicines can do.

No matter what anyone says, this movement isn't slowing down. Sure, there were tough moments in 2024. But just like a challenging journey, it’s all a matter of perspective. Sometimes you gotta get dragged through the mud to see what you’re made of.

So stay curious and keep pedaling, Cyclists. 2025 might blow your mind. 🫠

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UNTIL NEXT TIME

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DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. The use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic drugs are illegal in most countries and may result in criminal prosecution.