🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. Just like life itself, our psychedelics newsletter is about the journey, not the destination. So settle in, why don’tcha? We don’t give out points for beating the estimated read time. 😅

Here’s what we got this week.

• Mapping the arc of the psilocybin journey 🗺️

• Fake mushroom products exposed (again) 🤦

• Colorado issues first natural medicine licenses 🪪

• Where to find sacred ceremony tools 🪶

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MICRODOSES

🔬 Research

Drink more plants: Ayahuasca use is associated with lasting improvements in mental health and wellbeing, especially among people with depression or anxiety.
Ego medicine: Could MDMA-assisted therapy treat pathological narcissism?
Reality check: A meta-analysis of MDMA studies questions the evidence in PTSD.
We’re shook: Psilocybin-assisted therapy helped a woman with Parkinson’s disease accept her diagnosis, although her motor status didn’t change.
Jury’s out: There’s still no consensus on the right way to provide “psychological support” with psychedelic medicine.

🏛️ Policy

Another one: Arizona lawmakers introduced a bill to put $10 million toward ibogaine research.
Win some, lose some: Virginia lawmakers killed one bill that would have opened the door to psychedelic therapy for vets, but approved another to reschedule a specific form of psilocybin upon FDA approval.
Sunshine and rainbows: Hawaii’s bill to fund clinical research into psychedelic treatments has advanced.
Womp womp: The latest Washington State bills that would have regulated psilocybin services won’t move forward.
Across the border: This paper compares the US and Canada’s expanded access programs for psychedelic treatments.

📈 Business

Smoke and mirrors: What’s the deal with magic mushroom vapes?
Be PrEPared: Psychedelic Alpha shares five lessons the psychedelics field can learn from HIV prevention medication.
Yoink: atai Life Sciences has acquired Psilera’s DMT patent portfolio.
Shroom and board: Naropa University launched a $1.5 million scholarship program for its psychedelic studies minor.
Help wanted: Oregon Psilocybin Services is hiring a compliance program manager.

🫠 Just for fun

Don’t die: Longevity obsessor Bryan Johnson injected ketamine for 15 days and recorded his brain activity.
Mushroom messiah: Amanita muscaria may have inspired many major religions.
Check the toad: Researchers think they can measure consciousness in animals.
Meme of the week: My entire bloodline chanting my name…

THE PEAK EXPERIENCE

Have a nice nuanced trip

The whole good trip/bad trip idea is flawed.

No, this isn’t us getting on a soapbox to deliver platitudes about reframing challenging experiences. (Yeah, yeah. “Everything’s happening for me, not to me.” We know.)

It’s just an overly simplified way of looking at things. Like, think about taking your kids to Disneyland. Were the animatronics in “it’s a small world” creepy as hell? Yes. But were the churros on point? Also yes. Two things can be true.

Same goes for mushroom journeys. There are usually ups and downs, and now we have science to prove it.

In a new study, Robin Carhart-Harris and his band of merry researchers analyzed hundreds of trip reports to create a qualitative map of the psilocybin experience. And they found that journeys follow a surprisingly consistent emotional trajectory.

• 😰 The angsty ascent: The first hour brings anxiety (28%), nausea (34%), restlessness (21%), and confusion (17%).

• 🥶 The stillness phase: Physical sensations like energy rushes (19%), tingling (15%), feeling cold (9%), and heaviness (9%) lead many to seek quiet isolation.

• 😌 The blissful return: The come-down brings positive emotions, described as pleasant (34%), peaceful (22%), reflective (17%), and socially enjoyable (16%).

• 🧠 The clarity window: As confusion fades, mental sharpness kicks in. Enter flow states and a newfound appreciation for ordinary experiences.

The researchers think this emotional rollercoaster might actually be therapeutic. (i.e., it’s a feature, not a bug.) The transition from distress to relief mimics how our brains naturally overcome challenges. Essentially, mushrooms can compress months of emotional processing into a few hours.

So keep that in mind the next time you’re whispering your intentions. Maybe it’s less about avoiding the bad and more about embracing the full experience.

After all, you can’t ride Space Mountain without enduring the sweaty line first. 🫠

AFTERGLOW

Trick or treat

Remember when those Diamond Shruumz "microdosing" chocolates sent dozens of people to the hospital last year? Turns out that fiasco wasn't a one-off. A new study out of Oregon just tested eight different magic mushroom gummies from smoke shops around Portland, and—shocker—seven contained stuff that wasn't on the label. If you've been rolling the dice on gas station psychedelics, uh, maybe reconsider?

The researchers found a full-blown chemistry experiment inside these candies. Products labeled as Amanita muscaria contained zero actual fly agaric compounds, but plenty of psilocin and synthetic tryptamines. And the product explicitly labeled as "psilocybin-free”? Guess what it tested positive for. Even a gummy marketed as a non-psychoactive nootropic contained undisclosed THC. Sigh, it’s all so tiresome.

The moral of this sticky story: know your source. There's a reason the underground has thrived for decades—trust networks matter. And while we'd never explicitly tell you to grow your own (wink wink), there's something to be said for controlling every variable. Don’t know about you, but the only mystery ingredient we want in a journey is the mystery of consciousness itself.

First mover advantage

Don’t look now, but natural medicine businesses are coming. Colorado just issued its first batch of psilocybin-related licenses. These first approvals, which include seven eager entrepreneurs, mark a major milestone for the state's baby psychedelic industry. But we’ve still got a few important boxes to check before it’s go time.

Among the approved applicants are a Marine Corps vet planning a cultivation facility to supply healing centers, and a wellness coach stepping out of the underground to combine psilocybin with yoga and breathwork under one roof. These early movers represent opposite ends of the supply chain—those who'll grow the medicine and those who'll guide clients through the experience.

Before anyone can book a session, though, the state needs to issue facility licenses for the actual healing centers. Regulators say this should happen by spring. So, just a few more months before Coloradans can take a guided journey without having to "know a guy." But who’s counting?

CYCLISTS’ PICKS

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.