🫠 Psychonaut POV

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When Kevin Bourke moved home to Jamaica, rekindling a teenage love affair with psilocybin mushrooms wasn’t part of the plan. But COVID lockdowns left people desperate for healing, and soon Kevin found himself playing mushroom delivery guy. Now he runs a full-blown global psilocybin empire.

We asked Kevin why he’s building a diverse genetic library of mushroom strains, and how academic institutions are using his cultivars for research, and what it took to launch the nation’s first retail psilocybin products.

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What led you back to Jamaica to build Rose Hill into a leader in the psilocybin space?

I was born in Jamaica, my parents were born in Jamaica, and my grandparents were born in Jamaica. I went off to school in Canada to study international development because that’s what I thought it took to "save the world." Then I went to California during the dot-com boom, but it was very lacking in connection. I saw people operating in this cutthroat way that I didn't really dig.

I came back to Jamaica because I was called back. I love this island. The people here are infectiously positive. Of course there are struggles, and you know it's a third world country, but all you see are kids laughing and smiles on faces. Remembering that gave me perspective. Happiness isn't about materialistic things.

I discovered mushrooms in Jamaica as a teenager in Negril, which had become a utopian escape for the global hippie culture in the sixties. It was almost a rite of passage to stop at Miss Brown's and have a “maximum tea” to start the weekend among close friends. It was a beautiful breeding ground for the culture of mushrooms in Jamaica.

When I came back, I went through some personal challenges—a divorce and business partnerships dissolving. I spent a lot of time alone with mushrooms, contemplating how I could be a better man. Then COVID hit, and I had to make some big decisions. People started asking me how I stayed so positive when the sentiment around the world was despair. They asked how they could get mushrooms, and I started sharing my knowledge as a psychonaut.

My old friend Charles Lazarus was growing mushrooms, and we connected the dots. We said, “let’s do this,” and built Rose Hill with love and integrity. Charles still cultivates on his family estate where his parents once made handmade pasta for the all-inclusive tourism industry. It’s a special place. From there, we started building relationships with farmers and creating products. Fast forward to today, and we have multiple distinct ventures spanning retail, retreats, and research.

Rose Hill has developed a diverse genetic library of psilocybin mushrooms. Why does that variety matter to you?

This medicine is still in its infancy of being understood. We're natural medicine people, so synthetic replication of the molecule is not what we subscribe to. With cannabis, they’ve identified dozens of active compounds in the plant, and I believe we'll discover the same richness with tryptamines in mushrooms.

Every mushroom has a different personality. If I wanted to host the best gathering of beautiful personalities, why would I only invite one? No, I want to invite a hundred! I want to meet all of you. My experience is that they show up differently, and we get to be very intentional about the strains we put in our products, versus what we use in our retreats.

In retreats, we use a beautiful strain indigenous to Jamaica called Sacred Sun. We also have great success with Hawaiian genetics that Charles has put time and love into. Then there are Albino Penis Envy varieties. Each has a different personality because we're creating different environments for them. It's really a labor of love.

When putting something on the shelf for retail, though, we want something that's not as potent or intense. The personality that's going to be the teacher with the meter stick on the desk—that's for a facilitated environment. We're super careful about that because it's the right thing to do.

Could you share more about your research partnerships with institutions like University of Guelph? What are these projects exploring?

The University of Guelph research is very close to my heart because my son is on the autism spectrum. He's 16. And Dominic, Rose Hill Life’s Chief Operating Officer, also has a daughter on the spectrum.

They're doing a mouse model study. Guelph has a department that has studied autism deeply, and the psychedelic group there is growing two of our genetics in their facility. It's legitimate and legal in Canada. They're overlapping these studies to find out how psilocybin affects autism and related traits.

I truly believe this line of research can do a lot for adolescents. There's a stigma around psychedelics and children, but that's when some need the medicine the most! Harm reduction should be about education and dosage, not dismissal. Kids take medicine all the time. Why is it okay to prescribe other things, but not mushrooms? In my view, it’s not irresponsible to look at this option. It would be irresponsible not to.

We're also involved in a microdosing study, looking at PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Aside from our university partnerships, we're collecting our own data on PTSD with veterans before and after journeys at our retreat center, with follow-ups extending to a year.

Through PATOO, you've launched psilocybin products into retail across Jamaica. What can the US and other countries learn from your experience as our regulations change?

Come together as a community. We have a seat on the Jamaica Psilocybin Technical Committee, which is represented by the Bureau of Standards and different ministries. We've been meeting for two years, focusing on education, education, education.

We want to lead by example with safety and accessibility. From the policymakers' perspective, there’s a whole ecosystem to think about, from growers to input suppliers—the person selling cow manure, cacao farmers, honey bee keepers. Jamaica has a proverb: “We likkle but we tallawah.” It means we're small but powerful. Just look at all our heroes across sports, music, and culture. I believe the way we are pioneering mushroom commerce is tallawah, too.

PATOO was the first psilocybin product brand to hit shelves in Jamaica, but now there are probably half a dozen. We all sit on this committee together. We're close with our “competitors” because we’re aligned on a common mission. We've even shared genetics, which is like giving away your trade secrets. That's one hundred percent trust.

From cultivation to research to products to retreats, Rose Hill touches practically every aspect of the psilocybin supply chain. What challenges and advantages come with this end-to-end approach?

I look at each of our business entities as different rooms in the house. We have to separate them to stay in compliance with global regulations, but each company serves a specific purpose in propelling this medicine to the world.

The biggest advantages are quality control and integrity. I know the medicine I'm administering at retreats and what's in our products, so I sleep well at night. When people ask for stateside connections, I often can't give recommendations because I don't know those sources. That's the standard we hold ourselves to—complete knowledge of our supply chain.

The main challenge we face is navigating the different regulatory and cultural perspectives across markets. Our end-to-end approach means we're constantly balancing different stakeholder needs. This industry requires both patience and innovation, which is a delicate balance.

As psychonauts, we fundamentally believe it's our birthright to explore our consciousness as sovereign humans. But as business operators, we have a responsibility to communicate differently because some view this through a scientific lens or a fearful one, or they might be policymakers who are navigating complex considerations.

We must be thoughtful and strategic with our messaging and partnerships because people with decision-making power don’t always share our perspective. We need to build bridges and have patience with regulatory progress. One misstep in how we position ourselves could impact the entire operation.

That's why I sometimes go sit with medicine when I have doubts—to make sure I'm showing up properly for the mushroom while also building a sustainable business. I’m convinced we’ve all been recruited by the mushroom to do this work. It’s all unfolding at a beautiful pace.

Want more from Kevin?

Check out Rose Hill Life Science’s research partnerships, PATOO’s retail products, and ONE Retreats' experiences in Negril.

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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.