The first country in the world to legalize psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the mushroom tea of newsletters. All the magical goodness you deserve, just easier on tummy. 🫖🤗 

Today is a special day, cyclists. Because today we’re rolling out a fresh new format for our first weekly edition. Give us an honest rating at the end, and maybe we’ll feature it next week!

Let’s get into it.

1. Australia made history as the first country to legalize psychedelics

Yup, it’s official. Starting July 1 of this year, Aussie psychiatrists will be able to prescribe MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. That makes Australia the first nation to recognize psychedelics as medicine.

It’s not a free-for-all, though. Docs will have to be pre-vetted by the TGA (Australia’s regulatory body) before they can start using psychedelics in their practice. And the drugs have only been downgraded from “prohibited substances” to “controlled drugs.” Big brother is still keeping a close eye.

Still, the fact that folks down under will be able to benefit from psilocybin and MDMA in controlled medical settings is a huge win for Australia, psychedelic science, and people suffering from mental health disorders worldwide.

Your move, FDA. ♟️

2. Numinus got approved to run a clinical trial with shroom tea

Health Canada has greenlit the first clinical trial to test whole psilocybe mushrooms for safety and effectiveness in a clinical setting. But subjects won’t be chomping dried caps and stems. They’ll sip a carefully dosed cup of tea. How cozy.

Numinus Bioscience, who produce shelf-stable tea bags from their own strain of psilocybe cubensis, will run the study using their product and healthy volunteers who’ve been through their practitioner training programs.

Enrollment starts right away with initial results expected later this year. I can hear the jingle now:

The best part of waking up is Folger’s EnfiniTea in your cup. ☕️ 

3. Cybin will test its proprietary DMT molecule in humans for the first time

We have another trial approval, ladies and gentlemen. This one comes from Cybin, a psychedelic pharma company who just got the okay from an independent ethics committee in the Netherlands to dose humans with their patent-protected DMT molecule.

CYB004 is almost identical to natural N,N-dimethyltryptamine (aka DMT), except the hydrogens have been replaced with deuterium, a stabler form of the atom that contains a neutron. Itty bitty change, significant impact… or so they hope.

According to Cybin, their “deuterated” DMT molecule is more easily metabolized, which should allow for less invasive and more consistent dosing.

My only question is: I have hydrogen atoms, Cybin. Can you deuterate me? 👉️ 👈️ 

4. New York lawmakers are considering a bill to legalize psychedelic-assisted therapy

Somebody call DJ Khaled because we got ANOTHA ONE. New York Senator Nathalia Fernandez (D) just submitted the state’s second psychedelics-related bill of 2023.

The first bill would decriminalize possession and use of “natural plant or fungus-based hallucinogens.” Glad to see mushrooms didn’t get mis-classified as plants again. Sheesh.

This new bill goes a step further. If it passes, people would be able to receive psilocybin from a certified facilitator in a clinical setting (or at home if they can’t travel) with no fear of state-level prosecution. It would also create a $5 million grant program to ensure those in need can access the therapy.

My favorite part: the NY Department of Agriculture and Markets would also launch a psilocybin mushroom cultivation program to lower the costs of production.

State officials are really about to go full shroom farmer, huh? We’re living through the most surreal timeline. 🤠 

5. Depressed cancer patients experienced spiritual healing after taking psilocybin

Wait, stay with me. It’s science, okay?

A recent study looked at a group of cancer patients with major depressive disorder undergoing psilocybin-assisted therapy. To evaluate the effect of the psilocybin treatment, researchers took patients’ NIH-HEALS scores, a “psycho-social-spiritual measure of healing” based on a 35-item questionnaire, before and several times after the dose.

They found that the cancer patients showed statistically significant and sustained improvement across all three factors of the NIH-HEALS model — Connection, Reflection & Introspection, and Trust & Acceptance.

Call it spiritual healing, a drug experience, or divine intervention. I don’t care. But I’ll take that three-ingredient recipe over sad hospital food any day of the week. 🤢 

• Psychedelic spiritual groups grow in the U.S. [USA Today]

• Can micro and macro-dosing help us work better? [Quartz]

• Psychedelics open your brain. You might not like what falls in. [The Atlantic]

• Can psychedelics solve the youth mental health crisis? [The Nation]

• 6 things you need to know about psychedelics [Oprah Daily]

The Mushroom Hunter’s Tarot Deck and Guidebook — I had the pleasure of meeting artist/creator, Joe Buckley, when he joined the Central Texas Mycology Society for a mushroom walk in Austin. Couldn’t resist grabbing a pack of these beautiful cards.

DoubleBlind’s How to Trip Sit Course — Wanna learn to hold space like a pro? Get 10% off with code setandsetting. (Not an affiliate link.)

Harry Pack’s Prism Elves — 🤡

That's all for today! If you like what you see, share Tricycle Day with all your friends. New subscribers make us trip! 🫠

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.