🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. Reading this newsletter is like tripping for the first time. Afterwards, you’ll never see the world the same way again. 🤩 

Quick heads up, Cyclists. You might notice today’s email is shorter than usual. That’s because starting this week we’re splitting out Psychonaut POV into its own Sunday email. If you hate that, reply and let us know. Maybe we’ll switch back.

Here’s what we got for ya this week.

• Tripping is believing 👻

• Progressive drug policy in Vermont 🍁

• Can psilocybin beat meth addiction? 🍄

• Ketamine clinics shutter nationwide 📉

• A psychedelic PAC 🇺🇸

1. Science says psychedelics will open your eyes to the supernatural

According to a new study out of Johns Hopkins, a single psychedelic experience can lead to lasting belief changes about non-physical reality.

The researchers surveyed more than 2,000 people who’ve taken LSD, mushrooms, or ayahuasca about how their esoteric views changed as a result of their trips.

Here are some of their most interesting findings.

• People who’d tripped were more likely to believe in spiritual and paranormal phenomena, such as telepathy, disembodied spirits, afterlife, and reincarnation

• They also often subscribed to panpsychism, a philosophical theory that consciousness (not matter) is the fundamental quality of everything in the universe

• The more mystical they rated their psychedelic experiences, the more profoundly their beliefs changed

• Everyone still agreed superstition is dumb (Black Cats’ Lives Matter)

Perhaps most importantly (for those of us still living on Earth, at least), these belief changes were also linked to increased well-being and reduced depression scores. Turns out it feels good to believe in the unbelievable.

Yeah sex is cool, but have you ever had your mind f*cked?

2. Vermont lawmakers want to legalize psychedelics and decriminalize all drugs

So far this year, 22 of the 50 United States already have psychedelic legislation in motion. But Vermont is really trying to break the internet with its latest policy proposals.

Four major drug reform bills have been introduced in the state’s House and Senate, which would:

• Decriminalize simple possession of all drugs

• Expand harm reduction services, through a pilot program to test psychedelics for contaminants

• Specifically decriminalize psilocybin, mescaline, and peyote 

• Create a working group to study the physical and mental health benefits of mushrooms

Even if these bills have bipartisan and bicameral support, it’s not a sure thing. Republican Gov. Phil Scott already vetoed two attempts at drug policy reform in 2022, and these new bills are even more progressive.

Okay, so which secretary is going to microdose this man’s coffee until these bills pass his desk?

3. Filament Health got FDA approval to study psilocybin for meth addiction

Would you rather (A) take mushrooms literally once, or (B) be addicted to meth for the rest of your life? 🤔

That’s not a trick question. And it may be a real, legal and medically supported choice for people in the future, if the latest clinical trial from Filament Health is successful.

Side note: You remember Filament Health. They’re the company working on an ayahuasca pill we wrote about a few weeks ago.

This week, Filament announced that the FDA has greenlit their Phase 2 clinical trial to study the effects of PEX010, their botanical (non-synthetic) psilocybin drug candidate, for the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder (MAUD).

Considering deaths from meth overdose nearly tripled from 2015 to 2019, it’s fair to say MAUD is a bona fide public health crisis. As with most substance use disorders, current treatments are pretty unimpressive, but psilocybin offers a possible breakthrough with a single dose.

Filament, after we solve the meth problem, can we put some dollars behind psilocybin for sparkling water addiction? I think I have a serious Topo Chico problem.

4. Field Trip is closing 5 of its ketamine wellness clinics

Looks like Field Trip Health & Wellness is having a little wellness trouble of its own.

In its latest quarterly report, Field Trip announced that they had hired a third-party consultant to review their books and propose major changes to the business. Ruh-roh.

This week, everyone’s suspicions were confirmed. Field Trip is set to close ketamine clinics in 5 cities — Chicago, DC, Seattle, San Diego, and Fredericton. (The last one’s in Canada. Saved ya a google. 🫡)

Painful as it was, the decision probably came down to 2 factors.

• High operational costs — The company has been operating at a loss for years and wasn’t on track to reach profitability without some restructuring.

• Stricter ketamine telehealth rules — With the COVID public health emergency coming to an end, the DEA is cracking down on ketamine prescriptions. Restricted patient access means it’s about to get even harder for Field Trip to acquire new patients (customers).

We’re rooting for Field Trip to weather the storm. After the collapse of Synthesis, aggressive layoffs at atai Life Sciences and Cybin, and the total closure of a different ketamine clinic group, it’s clear Field Trip’s not the only company navigating choppy waters.

5. Psychedelic medicine advocates created a PAC

A new political action committee (PAC) has been formed. Their mission? Elect politicians who support the therapeutic use of psychedelics.

Quick primer: In the US, a PAC is an organization that raises funds and puts them to work in political campaigns for specific candidates and causes. There are PACs for everything from realtors to beer wholesalers to Raptors for Jesus. Rawr. 🦖✝️

But our new Psychedelic Medicine PAC won’t concern themselves with dinosaurs. Instead they’re focused on:

• Getting leaders in office who will enact pro-psychedelic policy reform

• Securing federal funding for education and research into psychedelics

When it comes to politics, money talks. For better or worse, it takes cheddar to grease the wheels. Yeah we mixed metaphors. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

With the backing of this PAC and its donors, psychedelic medicine should finally get the same fair shake as other divisive issues in politics.

They’re aiming to raise $10 million in year 1. Don’t hate the player; hate the game.

• Psychedelics Could Revolutionize Couples Therapy [Time]

• The People Secretly Growing Magic Mushrooms in the Wild [Vice]

• Colorado's Proposition 122: Too soon for the mushroom boom? [Reuters]

• US clinic offers ketamine therapy to treat alcoholism [Financial Times]

• 'Serious concerns' over TGA's decision making on landmark psilocybin, MDMA ruling [ABC Australia]

Queering Psychedelics II — Got another conference in you? This one’s going down April 22-23 in San Francisco, and it celebrates the voices of queer visionaries within the psychedelic community. If “queer” is about being radical and stepping outside conventional thinking, then isn’t that what psychedelics are all about?

Conscious — Infinitely complex topic, made delightfully accessible. This page-turner by Annaka Harris, who’s married to the famous meditation teacher Sam Harris, surveys mankind’s evolving definitions, philosophies, and scientific conclusions around consciousness. And since there’s a whole chapter on panpsychism, it pairs well with this week’s newsletter.

East Forest x Ram Dass Album — When two legends team up, the outcome is nothing short of magical. East Forest, a musician known for his electronic dreamscapes, sets spoken lessons and stories from his teacher, the late Ram Dass, to music. Listen, meditate, or trip to the 14-track tribute on Spotify or YouTube Music.

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.