🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. This newsletter isn’t a church. But if you had a spiritual experience reading it, we wouldn’t blame you. 😇 

Here’s what we got this week.

• Psilocybin for cancer depression 🏥

• Colorado regulators, mount up! 🏛️

• Meet God through the Zide Door ⛪

• How to grow your own mushrooms 🍄

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RESEARCH

Just one dose of psilocybin beats cancer-related depression

Cancer sucks. 👎 In fact, it’s such a downer that 1 in 4 people with cancer will face major depression, which only makes matters worse.

A new study published this week in JAMA Oncology looked at psilocybin therapy as a source of relief for depressed cancer patients. And it found that a single dose of psilocybin was enough to reduce or, in some cases, completely eliminate symptoms of depression.

The Phase 2 study, which was led by Sunstone Therapies, included 30 patients at a community cancer center in Maryland. The participants were split up into groups of three or four, and each person was given a 25mg dose of COMP360, a synthetic and proprietary form of psilocybin from Compass Pathways. The patients then received one group therapy session and two individual sessions.

They all filled out a standard depression survey before their dose of psilocybin and again 3 and 8 weeks after treatment. The investigators looked at the changes in their scores to assess whether the psilocybin therapy was effective.

And oh man, was it ever. 80% of the patients had a sustained response to the treatment, and 50% went into full remission.

By now, these figures might not even surprise you. We keep seeing evidence that psychedelics can treat what were once intractable conditions. But here’s what’s new and special about this particular study.

• Held at a community center — It didn’t bottleneck a psychiatric hospital or bog down an academic center.

• Lower therapist-to-patient ratio — It didn’t take a whole team of therapists to treat a single person.

• Group integration — It streamlined therapy through communal, simultaneous healing.

In other words, patients got results with a much more scalable approach that could open the doors to broader access and faster adoption. That’s a win. 💪

Still, it’s worth noting this small trial had no control group (meaning, there was no comparison to placebo or other antidepressants). Guess it’s time for a larger, randomized trial.

MICRODOSES

❌ Anti-fragile X: Nova Mentis has started recruiting participants for the first-ever clinical trial of psilocybin for Fragile X Syndrome, the leading genetic cause of autism.

👵🏻 Respect your elders: A review of existing research suggests psychedelics are likely safe for older adults, who could benefit from treating the psychological distress of age-related illnesses.

☠️ Cheating death: A paper published in Death Studies (probably the most metal journal name ever 🤘) concluded that mystical experiences on psychedelics make people feel less anxious about death, which in turn increases overall wellbeing.

📊 Pro-choice: A recent poll shows that American voters are frustrated by lawmakers’ inaction around mental health, and that they support both decriminalization and regulated access to psychedelic medicine.

POLICY

Colorado lawmakers are regulating (legal) psychedelics

5 months ago, Colorado became the second state to legalize psychedelics when voters approved Prop 122, aka the Natural Medicine Health Act. Now lawmakers have to figure out how to actually implement it.

It’s a pretty daunting task, and the stakes are high. Think about this way:

They just told an entire state it’s okay to keep a stash of highly psychoactive — some might add, sacred — plants and fungi, as long as you’re 21 and promise not to sell it. Some of your neighbors will think you’re nuts and call you a risk to their children’s safety, though. Oh and it’s still illegal at the federal level. The rest of the country is watching, so don’t f*** this up. No pressure. 🙃

Now you see why these guys don’t take their job lightly. You better call Warren G because it’s time to regulate.

This week, Colorado senators approved a 90-page bill in committee that clarified a regulatory framework for psychedelics in the state. Here are some highlights from the proposal.

• They’re giving out 4 types of licenses — for facilitators, cultivators, manufacturers, and testers

• No limits on adult possession of psilocybin, psilocin, ibogaine, DMT, or mescaline (excluding peyote)

• You get a $100 fine for public or underage consumption

• You get a $1,000 fine for growing natural psychedelics in a space larger than 12’x12’

• No synthetics allowed. Possession of psychedelics with “hazardous materials” is a felony

• Facilitators can’t be compensated or reimbursed unless they’re licensed

• A new Indigenous community working group will proactively address unintended consequences related to the exploitation of native people

Though it’s moving forward for now, the bill has received mixed reviews and still has a ways to go. Proponents say they’re upholding the spirit of Prop 122. Critics argue the regulations are excessive and verge on re-criminalization.

MICRODOSES

🍄 Washington lawmakers passed a bill that would kick off the planning and rollout of psilocybin services, following Oregon’s model. It would also establish a pilot program for veterans and first responders to receive psilocybin therapy.

👥 Oregon Senators passed a bill in committee that would require psilocybin service providers to report anonymized data about clients and the services they receive to the Oregon Health Authority.

🚜 Iowa lawmakers recommended passing a bill that would remove psilocybin and psilocin from the state’s Schedule I controlled substances list.

BUSINESS

Zide Door opens its second psychedelic church in SF

If there’s one thing we know about faith, it’s that it requires sacrifice.

Jesus gave his life on the cross for the salvation of humanity. Muhammed left everything behind to form a new Islamic community in Medina. Siddhartha renounced his royal status to become the Buddha. The list goes on.

In 2023, there’s a new messiah putting it all on the line. Dave Hodges, leader of Zide Door Church of Entheogenic Plants, has opened a second house of worship in San Francisco, three years after his original outpost was raided by Oakland police for operating as an illegal dispensary.

Zide Door, which follows a non-denominational faith called The Church of Ambrosia, has grown into one of the largest megachurches in the country with over 80k registered members. Hodges says he’s “prepared to go to federal prison” to defend his congregation’s freedom to connect with God by smoking weed and tripping on shrooms.

Psychedelic churches are generally a hot topic, but Zide Door is an especially spicy case.

• Legal battles: They’ve been entangled in a civil rights lawsuit with the city of Oakland ever since the raid in 2020.

• Free-for-all: Unlike other psychedelic churches, there’s no screening process before dishing out the sacrament.

• Not that kind of free: You still gotta pay. $5 a month for membership, plus “donations” in exchange for the cannabis and mushrooms. (Hodges clarifies that the tithe covers the church’s overhead and inevitable legal fees, not the sacrament.)

• Heroic: Their leader regularly eats huge amounts of mushrooms (up to 30g) in one sitting. 😳

The question at the heart of the religious exemption laws is fairly straightforward. Does the community share “sincerely held beliefs”?

Look, I don’t know about all the members, but Dave for one seems pretty earnest. Not sure which tells you more — his willingness to get locked up for 20 years, or the courage to don this ceremonial gown.

MICRODOSES

🍄 License to chill: Oregon Health Authority has approved the nation’s first psilocybin facilitator and lab testing licenses, after green-lighting the first grower last month. The final category, service centers, should see their first approvals soon.

📈 Up and to the right: A French market research firm predicts the global market for psychedelic drugs will reach $8.31 billion by 2027. It’s valued at $4.83 billion today.

🤝 Teamwork makes the dream work: Clearmind has applied for a patent on the combination of its “controlled euphoric,” MEAI, and SciSpark’s cannabinoid, PEA, for the treatment of depression.

🧑‍🎓 Higher learning: Exeter University is launching one of the world’s first postgraduate programs for healthcare workers and therapists on the clinical use of psychedelics.

Shrooly — Think Nespresso for mushrooms. This smart device makes cultivating mushrooms at home as easy as brewing a cup of coffee. It’s truly as simple as inserting a pod, pressing ‘start,’ and harvesting a week later.

Choose from 12+ gourmet and functional mushroom varieties, or use the patent-pending AnyMush™️ pod to grow your own species. I’m sure you Cyclists can use your imaginations. 😏 Take $100 off with code CYCLIST100.

A Better Trip — Shane Mauss is an award-winning stand-up comic known for blending science, mental health advocacy, and psychedelic trip reports into his bits. Now with his sold-out, 111-city tour behind him, Shane’s settling in for a special Las Vegas residency at AREA15 (which is honestly the perfect venue for psychedelic comedy).

Even if you have no plans to head to Vegas, it’s worth checking out the (free) video on the registration page. It’s equal parts hilarious and wholesome.

The Master Key of Metaplasticity — This one’s for our fellow neuroscience nerds. Podcaster and philanthropist Tim Ferriss interviews Dr. Gül Dölen about her novel research into psychedelics, the role they might play in so-called “critical periods” of learning, and unexpected therapeutic applications across autism, stroke, and allergies.

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! ✌️

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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.