🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that’s kinda like an X-ray. We can’t fix the system on our own, but we can at least show you where it’s broken. 🩻

Here’s what we got this week.

• Psilocybin therapy for burnt out physicians 👩‍⚕️

• VA puts $1.5 million to psychedelic research 🪖 

• Colorado natural medicine applications open soon 🏥

• Get to know the winter solstice mushroom 🍄

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MICRODOSES

🔬 Research

Fungi supremacy: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials shows psilocybin beats other interventions for depression.
Liquid courage: Scientists mapped how ayahuasca influences fear extinction and emotional processing.
Let my people trip: Emory University and the nonprofit Shefa are conducting a study to understand Jews’ relationships with psychedelics.
Never forget: Ayahuasca improves memory recollection and accuracy in experienced users.
Not to be outdone: Psilocybin mushrooms may also help reverse memory deficits caused by chronic stress.

🏛️ Policy

Post-mortem: A Massachusetts voter reflects on why the psychedelics ballot question failed.
Shake(down) Shack: A psychedelic dispensary in Detroit that was raided by police is fighting back.
Death by bureaucracy: End-of-life patients are missing out on psilocybin therapy due to an oversight in Oregon’s laws.
Ready for the medieval rave: 8,000 MDMA tablets (plus some crossbows?) were seized in a recent UK drug bust.

📈 Business

The Trump Pump: With DJT to take office, analysts are watching these Australian stocks.
Going clear: This company is working to bring transparency to gray market psilocybin products.
The door revolves: MindMed hired a former FDA exec to head up R&D strategy.
Regulatory roadmap: These clinical trial strategies could help psychedelics companies get FDA approval.
Meeting of the minds: MAPS announced workshops and speakers for next year’s Psychedelic Science conference.

🫠 Just for fun

Music is the bridge: MAPS also dropped a collection of artist-curated playlists for psychedelic journeys.
Lucy in the garage with diamonds: John Lennon’s custom Rolls Royce just sold for $2.29 million.
Oh jeez… The alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is now being pegged as psychedelic curious.
Meme of the week: When the second Stoned Ape tried mushrooms…

THE PEAK EXPERIENCE

Physician, heal thyself

Remember all those healthcare workers we called heroes during COVID?

Turns out many of them are still struggling. But a new study suggests psilocybin therapy might actually help them process the trauma, and the results are pretty remarkable.

Here's what researchers found when they gave 25mg of psilocybin to burnt out clinicians.

• 😮‍💨 Major relief: Depression scores dropped by 21 points (vs. 9 points for placebo).

• ⏰ Long lasting: Benefits were still strong six months later.

• 🩺 Career saving: 70% changed jobs, but none left healthcare entirely.

• 🗣️ Real talk: Many felt "disposable" and "like robots" before treatment. Psilocybin therapy helped them "feel more open" and "forgive themselves."

The demand for help was overwhelming. Over 2,200 clinicians applied for just 30 spots in the trial. These weren't people with pre-existing mental health issues either. They were healthy professionals who got crushed by endless death, isolation, and impossible decisions during the pandemic.

The most telling part? Even the docs who got placebo came back for the real thing when given the chance. One critical care nurse said the placebo sessions did nothing (even with all that talk therapy), but psilocybin gave him a whole new perspective on suffering. Another doctor said it helped her accept her limitations during a time when medicine had so few answers.

So, let’s not forget that healers need healing too. And sometimes the best medicine isn't the one they learned about in med school. 🫠

AFTERGLOW

The VA is so back

It’s all happening. The Department of Veterans Affairs is finally ready to study psychedelics again. For the first time since the 1960s, the VA will fund research into psychedelic therapy—specifically, a $1.5 million study on MDMA for veterans with PTSD and alcohol use disorder. The trial starts enrolling patients next year at medical centers in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

This is quite the shift in federal policy, especially after the FDA's rejection of MDMA therapy this summer. VA health chief Dr. Shereef Elnahal, who got a standing ovation at Horizons in May, says they're going all in. They've even got a clever answer to the “functional unblinding” problem: Give the control group low-dose MDMA to prevent participants from knowing which treatment they got.

Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but Trump did just name Doug Collins as his VA secretary pick for 2025—the same Doug Collins who consistently voted against veterans' cannabis access in Congress. Still, with Trump's likely HHS chief calling for an end to psychedelic suppression, and veteran lawmakers like Dan Crenshaw pushing for MDMA approval, maybe the politics are finally catching up to the science.

Colorado’s next step

First, Colorado decriminalized adult use of certain natural psychedelics. Now comes the hard part. The state will start accepting applications for natural medicine businesses on December 31. That includes healing centers, cultivators, and testing labs. Drawing lessons from Oregon, they're taking a measured approach to rolling out supervised psychedelic therapy.

What does that look like? These won't be retail shops. Think something like clinics or med spas with trained facilitators who guide you through preparation, dosing, and integration. The state is requiring 150 hours of coursework, 40 hours of supervised practice, and 50 hours of consultation before anyone can work with clients. Even then, every session needs two facilitators present.

Not everyone's thrilled about the new neighbors though. Several cities are already passing zoning laws to keep healing centers away from downtown areas and schools. But supporters say these safety-first regulations will help make Colorado a national model for psychedelic therapy. There’s a method to this mushroom madness, okay?

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.