Psychedelics

Police arrested activists outside of the headquarters of the DEA as they protested the agency’s refusal to let terminally ill patients access experimental drugs like psilocybin and MDMA.

Utah lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill to establish a task force for researching the psychotherapeutic potential of psychedelics.

The Oregon Senate Human Services, Mental Health, and Recovery Committee unanimously approved a measure to regulate the state’s emerging psilocybin program.

The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against the DEA this week filed by cancer patients who are seeking to use psilocybin to treat end-of-life depression and anxiety.

Washington State Democratic Senators Jesse Salomon and Liz Lovelett have introduced a bill to legalize the assisted adult use of psilocybin.

A set of GOP companion bills in the House and Senate seeking to curb illegal fentanyl sales would also streamline the research of cannabis, psychedelics, and other Schedule I substances.

A new study found that psilocybin may be able to reverse alcohol brain damage, reduce alcohol-addictive behavior, and reduce relapse rates.

Detroit voters decided to decriminalize psilocybin and the therapeutic use of other entheogenic plants during last week’s election.

Israeli cannabis company Tikun-Olam Cannabit signed a partnership with Ambrosia-SupHerb to produce and market nutritional supplements based on cannabis and mushrooms.

Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Medicine announced that the National Institutes of Health will provide nearly $4 million to help researchers study how psilocybin can affect tobacco addiction.

The Seattle City Council voted yesterday to decriminalize the use, possession, and home cultivation of psilocybin, making it the largest U.S. city so far to enact such reforms.

California’s attorney general last week approved language for an upcoming psychedelic decriminalization ballot initiative.

Cannabis use among college students reached its highest levels in 35 years in 2020, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, while alcohol use decreased by 6%.

The DEA last week called for a significant increase in the production of cannabis and psilocybin for the purposes of federal research and clinical trials.

Yale University researchers found that a single dose of psilocybin increases the growth of neural connections which are reduced by chronic stress and depression.

The California Assembly Public Safety Committee passed the Senate-approved psychedelic decriminalization bill on Tuesday.

Lately, CBD brands have started adding adaptogens—plants and mushrooms with healing properties—into their products. Unfortunately, they rarely attribute these ancient medicines to their historical and cultural context.

Goodness Growth Inc. said it will research the effect of “naturally derived” psychedelics on a variety of psychological disorders.

The California Senate has approved a bill to legalize the possession of psychedelics including LSD, MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and others.

Cannabis entrepreneur and former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson recently said that psilocybin helped him through depression and thoughts of suicide. He is an early investor in Wesana, a Canadian psychedelics-focused wellness company.

Texas lawmakers approved legislation over the weekend to study the effectiveness of psychedelics in treating PTSD among veterans and to reduce possession penalties for cannabis concentrates.

“No one alive is responsible for what happened hundreds or thousands of years ago, but we are part of a continuum.” – Zoe Helene

Dr. Markus Roggen is the founder of Complex Biotech Discovery Ventures, a private research center for cannabis science and collaborator for academic research.