🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelic newsletter that honors our vets, even when it’s not the day or two after Veterans Day. Just realized something… we’re all veterans of the failed War on Drugs, aren’t we? 🤯

Here’s what we got this week.

• First-of-its-kind study of psilocybin for vets 🎖️

• Psychedelic market reacts to Trump’s election 📈

• 15 Oregon cities block psilocybin services 🙅‍♀️

• Psychedelics for PMS, PMDD, and PME 🌗

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MICRODOSES

🔬 Research

I like those odds: Over 80% of US military vets who’ve used psychedelics said they benefited from the experience.
You’re beautiful: Psilocybin may help treat body dysmorphia by reducing the obsessive thoughts that fuel distorted self-image.
Non-dual states: A new EEG study provides the first detailed look at how 5-MeO-DMT changes human brain dynamics.
Micro demographics: Based on a survey of 6,000+ psychedelic users, exclusive microdosers look different from people who micro and macrodose.
Psychedelic death workers: If you facilitate journeys for clients who are diagnosed with terminal illness, you’re invited to fill out this survey.

🏛️ Policy

Too much, too soon: Even opponents of Massachusetts’ (failed) psychedelic measure expect it to pass in some form in 5-10 years.
Ballot box blues: Election stress is driving an uptick in psychedelic therapy appointments.
Marching orders: Veterans are campaigning to take psychedelic therapy mainstream.
Down under: Psychologists in Australia, which became the first nation to legalize psilocybin and MDMA therapy in 2023, still have limited knowledge about psychedelics.

📈 Business

The Psychedelic Cup: A Colorado event attended by 1,000+ enthusiasts judged the best psychedelic products in the state.
Acid test: MindMed will launch two Phase 3 studies of its LSD tablet—one in Generalized Anxiety Disorder and another in Major Depressive Disorder.
No late fees: Enveric Biosciences added 5 more patents to its “Psybrary” of tryptamine derivative molecules.
Higher education: CIIS is launching the nation’s first bachelor of science degree in psychedelics.
Out of the margins: This Portland psilocybin service center is the first in the state run by majority BIPOC and LGBTQ+ facilitators.

🫠 Just for fun

Stoned Ape 2.0: A neuroscientist proposes an update to Terence McKenna’s theory that psilocybin catalyzed the evolution of mankind.
Culture club: Step inside the lab where psilocybin and DMT are synthesized by bioengineered bacteria.
Space Jam: Psychedelic musician, Jon Hopkins, dropped a new collab with NASA.
Meme of the week: When you learn that humans made it illegal to eat mushrooms…

THE PEAK EXPERIENCE

Mission: Remission

Our veterans deserve better mental healthcare. That’s not controversial.

But for some reason, the minute you mention psychedelics, people start gasping harder than Wim Hof.

This is why we need good research—to change stubborn minds. So get this. Just in time for Veterans Day, a first-of-its-kind new study from the VA Palo Alto suggests psilocybin might be exactly what some vets need—especially when nothing else works.

Here's what researchers found after giving 15 vets with treatment-resistant depression a single 25mg dose.

• 😅 Fast relief: 60% saw their depression cut in half within three weeks.

• 🙌 Full remission: 53% kicked their depression entirely in that time.

• ⏰ Lasting effects: By week 12, 47% were still responding and 40% remained in remission.

• 🏥 Good safety: No one had serious side effects or increased suicidal thoughts.

• 💊 No more pills: Only 4 participants went back on antidepressants in follow-up.

There’s a reason why veterans are centered in the psychedelic conversation, and it’s not just political. Vets face way higher rates of depression than civilians—13.5% versus 9.2%. And their cases are often more complex, tangled up with PTSD, chronic pain, and substance use. When standard treatments fail (which happens a lot), their healthcare costs skyrocket to nearly 4x that of vets without depression.

Keep in mind, this was a small, open-label pilot study, and not everyone got better. The researchers actually warned against treating psilocybin like some kind of miracle cure, since disappointment could be dangerous for folks who’ve tried everything else.

Still, for a population that's suffered enough, any new hope is good hope. Maybe next Veterans Day, we'll have more than just promises to offer. 🫠

AFTERGLOW

Make America Psychedelic Again

Wall Street didn't waste any time betting on Trump's return. Psychedelic stocks surged this week on expectations that the new administration will install a more industry-friendly FDA—one that might actually understand and appreciate these medicines. Imagine that.

The optimism isn't unfounded. Trump's inner circle is surprisingly pro-psychedelic. His biggest cheerleader donor Elon Musk microdoses ketamine, his VP-elect just talked mushrooms with Joe Rogan, and RFK Jr.—who Trump might tap to run Health and Human Services—has psychedelic medicine at the top of his FDA reform wishlist. Even MAGA megadonors like Rebekah Mercer and Peter Thiel are pushing the cause.

But before you YOLO your savings into $MNMD, remember that campaign promises are like psychedelic visions—best taken with a grain of salt. Besides, a friendlier FDA is just one piece of the puzzle. These companies still need to run trials, build infrastructure, and convince insurance companies to cover their treatments. In other words, getting the refs on your side doesn’t necessarily score you any points.

Cold feet in Oregon

Oregon might have pioneered legal psilocybin therapy, but many of its cities want nothing to do with it. On Election Day, voters in 15 cities and one county decided whether to make their temporary mushroom bans permanent. Their call? All but one tiny coastal town said "not in my back yard" to psychedelic services.

This isn't the first time Oregon localities have opted out. In 2022, 27 counties and dozens of cities banned psilocybin centers outright. The holdouts gave themselves two years to see how things played out. Now that decision time has come, they're running for the hills, despite evidence that the program is working and it’s safe. (Of 7,000 clients served so far, countless have benefited and only four have needed emergency help.)

So why rule it out? Some voters assume Oregon's program means retail shops slinging mushrooms on every corner (it doesn't). Others haven’t seen the research behind psilocybin therapy. But the real stumbling block might be the cost. With sessions often running thousands of dollars, Oregon's experiment isn't exactly the accessible mental health revolution voters were promised. Oof, sometimes being first means facing the growing pains alone.

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.