🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that comes with all sorts of perks and benefits. Okay, we may not cover your insurance, but who needs health care when you have memes? 🥲

Here’s what we got this week.

• Can psilocybin beat gambling addiction? 🎰

• Guidelines for psychedelic therapists 📝

• Psychedelic employee benefits 🧑‍💻

• The mushroom superstore 🍄

FROM OUR SPONSORS

We all crave human connection. But in an increasingly digital world (*ahem*), you may have to actively seek it out.

Good news, Cyclists. The Conscious Physician is hosting a series of in-person sacred fire ceremonies and integration circles, and you’re invited.

Picture this: breath, drums, ecstatic dance, story sharing within a heart-centered community. Sound like your kind of party?

Then add yourself to the list to find out when it’s coming to your city.

Join the Conscious Physician Community in one click.

RESEARCH

Brits will study psilocybin as a treatment for gambling addiction

You don’t think psychedelics can help people addicted to gambling? Wanna bet? (Dang it. 🤦)

Actually, let’s leave that to the scientists. A small clinical trial set to begin later this year in the UK will test whether psilocybin therapy can treat gambling addiction, a condition that affects up to 5% of adults worldwide.

It’s a big deal, and not just because millions of people can’t stop anteing up, even as it destroys their lives. Here’s why.

• 🤷 No other options: Even though gambling addiction is recognized as a medical diagnosis, there are no approved drugs or therapies. Psilocybin would be the first.

• 💷 Access in the UK: If the trial is successful, psilocybin therapy could be covered under the NHS, UK’s single-payer healthcare system.

• 📈 Out of the fringes: This is the world’s first clinical trial of psychedelic therapy for gambling addiction, and it was funded by the British government. Powerful nations (with big research budgets) are finally wising up to the potential of psychedelic medicine.

As destructive as addiction can be, we wouldn’t hate it if these government bigwigs got hooked on the sweet, sweet high of scientific progress. I can see them now…

MICRODOSES

🤕 Splitting headaches: A single microdose of psilocybin can reduce the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks.

💆 Stroke your ego: Algernon NeuroScience is running clinical trials to test DMT as a treatment for stroke.

🥊 1-2 punch: Atai Life Sciences has released results from two Phase 1 trials—R-ketamine for depression and ibogaine for opioid use disorder.

🌼 All natural: Filament Health has received FDA approval to trial its botanical psilocybin drug candidate for depression and cancer-related anxiety.

☕ World’s greatest boss: A new study links psychedelic use to improved leadership outcomes at work.

🌝 Divine feminine: Psilocybin may have different effects on women due to the impact of estrogen.

POLICY

APPA releases professional guidelines for psychedelic therapy

If there’s one thing we know about psychonauts, it’s that they don’t like to be told how to think. (Any cognitive libertarians out there? 👀)

So we’ll be eager to see how this story plays out. This week, the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association (APPA) and the nonprofit BrainFutures released the first Professional Practice Guidelines for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy.

Hey now. It’s probably not as menacing as all that. The authors’ rationale makes a lot of sense actually. See, the psychedelic therapy model is fairly unique. You’re combining mind-altering drugs with talk therapy in real time, and that’s uncharted territory for the US healthcare system.

So this document lays out the experts’ consensus on this emerging treatment modality, and what it takes to practice with integrity. It tackles topics like:

• 🩺 How to screen patients

• 🤝 Tips for building trust and rapport

• 📝 Importance of obtaining informed consent

• 🧘 Best practices for preparation and integration

Naturally, APPA and BrainFutures admit these guidelines will need to evolve as the field matures. After all, we’re still at least several months out from the first psychedelic FDA approval.

Until then, maybe some underground facilitators will take these recommendations to heart… or maybe not.

MICRODOSES

🏃 Pick up the pace: The UK Parliament has published a “rapid response” note on the potential of psychedelics to treat depression.

🤞 Third time’s a charm: California SB58 is Senator Scott Wiener’s third attempt at state-wide decriminalization. A full Assembly vote could happen this month.

⚒️ Hammer in search of a nail: A Nevada lobbyist says the state’s failed campaign to decriminalize psychedelics was an effort to solve a non-existent problem.

BUSINESS

Companies are adding psychedelic therapy to their employee benefits plans

The 9-to-5 grind can really wear you out, huh. A little stress at work is one thing, but clinical anxiety and depression should never be considered “part of the job.”

But what if your company truly took mental health seriously and helped you get back on your feet?

Take a look at Dr. Bronner’s, the cosmic soap company based in California. They just wrapped up their first full year working with Enthea, a health plan startup that includes psychedelic therapy as a workplace benefit.

And the results are remarkable. The 7% of employees who took advantage of the benefit and accessed ketamine therapy saw:

• an 86% improvement in PTSD symptoms

• a 67% improvement in depression symptoms

• a 65% improvement in anxiety symptoms

At least 50 more companies have signed letters of intent to partner with Enthea, including Nue Life Health who’s taking the extra step to make ketamine accessible to its employees at home.

To all the HR managers reading this newsletter thinking, “yay, now I can offset all the mental health damage my toxic workplace has caused,” I’m gonna stop you right there. Don’t be this guy.

MICRODOSES

🧑‍🎓 Magna shroom laude: The first students in Fluence’s psilocybin therapy certification program have graduated.

🌹 A rose by any other name: A trademark filing from MAPS reveals a possible brand name for the company’s highly anticipated MDMA product.

🥸 Enter at your own risk: Montreal’s FunGuyz shroom dispensary has been raided by police three times since it opened just weeks ago.

🤿 Deep dive: reMind has released a new report on the opportunities and risks of operating psychedelic clinics and retreats.

🤪 Keep Austin Weird: SXSW has opened voting on 50+ panels for the psychedelics track of its 2024 conference in Austin, TX.

🏆 The Psychedelic Cup: The Psychedelic Club of Denver is hosting the first competition for homegrown psilocybin mushrooms.

North Spore — It’s no secret we love mushrooms. We’re guessing you do, too. But you know who’s really obsessed? North Spore. Whether you’re looking for mushroom grow kits, supplements, or recipes, they’re your go-to resource for all things fungi. They even award a scholarship every year to cultivate the next generation of mycologists! Get 10% OFF their entire store with code TRICYCLEDAY.

Fungi Flows — Speaking of mushroomheads, this ginger-bearded, amanita-capped rapper is a musical icon in the fungi community. We met Fungi Flows at the Psychedelic Science conference in June, and his off-the-cuff freestyle had the whole exhibitor hall bumpin’. Listen to his full-length album, Resurrection, on Spotify or Apple Music.

Ecstatic Integration — Psychedelics have a dark side, you know. And this newsletter from Jules Evans, director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project, makes a great companion read to Tricycle Day if you’re craving that critical lens. The latest issue explores the always-electrifying, sometimes-destabilizing phenomenon of Kundalini awakenings, which some survivors have described as a kind of “spiritual orgasm.”

That’s all for today. Before you head off, don’t forget to share, rate, and review Tricycle Day below. Catch ya next time, Cyclists! ✌️

Reach 24,000+ Psychedelic Enthusiasts 📣 

Want to put your brand in front of Tricycle Day’s hyper-engaged audience? Book a Sponsored Ad by replying to this email or hitting the button below. (August is sold out, and only 3 spots are left in September.)

One Cyclist’s Review 👍

Didn’t Meme to Psych You Out 🫠 

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.