Today on the show we are discussing the state of psychedelic legislation in the wake of Colorado’s Proposition 22 passing in November. Sharing the most relevant implications for psychedelic therapists and healers we have the best person for the job, MAPS Director of Policy and Advocacy Ismail Lourido Ali. On the show we discuss legalization vs decriminalization. We look at the different tracks for psychedelic legalization from medicalization to religious exception to regulated adult use. We...

Could enhancing creativity be the key to healing mental illness? Laura Dawn of Grow Medicine, makes a compelling case for the value of psychedelics for enhancing flow. Our conversation begins with an exploration of eldership and indigenous concepts of reciprocity based on Laura Dawn’s recent trip to Columbia. Laura Dawn gives us practical tools for enhancing creativity and makes the case for psychedelic healing through optimizing flow states. We conclude with how to prevent burnout amongst...

Can sound help us disconnect from unhealthy habitual patterns? Today’s guest Alexandre Tannous, creator of the Sound Meditation protocol, shows how we can use harmonic frequencies to release trauma, enhance self-awareness and live happier, healthier lives. Our conversation begins with Alexandre’s explanation of harmonic frequencies and the problem with the quantization of the 12-tone scale. We discuss the value of sound in the context of psychedelic experiences, as well as sound meditation...

The West African psychedelic iboga (and its extraction ibogaine) continues to show an impressive ability to heal addiction and trauma and when done in a safe and ethical manner there is very little risk of harm. Today we are joined by Talia Eisenberg, of Beond, a Mexico-based ibogaine treatment center. Our conversation begins with Talia’s personal history and how addiction relates to trauma. We discuss ibogaine integration to prevent relapse, and how Beond is designed to be a full-service...

In the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life. And as psychedelics are becoming more mainstream, there is an increased interest in using new tools to overcome these disorders. Today, with guest Adele Lafrance, we discuss the promising impact that ayahuasca, MDMA, ketamine, and psilocybin can have on a person who is struggling to heal from disordered eating. We begin our conversation by discussing the...

We live in a global epidemic of sexual violence and spaces for psychedelic healing are not only not exempt, but there are also factors which make sexual violence more likely in these spaces. Join us for the second half of our two-part series with author and psychotherapist, Laura Northrup, as we understand why violations occur in spaces of healing and what we can do about it. We open by discussing the spectrum of ethical violations in mental healthcare generally and psychedelic spaces...

Psychedelic medicine is a powerful tool that can support the healing of survivors of sexual violence, however, the conditions of psychedelic therapy both above and below ground can also create trauma for those looking to heal. Laura Northrup, a somatic psychotherapist, author, and podcaster is our guest for a two-part series on healing sexual violence with psychedelics and how to protect those seeking healing. In Part 1, our conversation begins with addressing the issue of sexual violence in...

Psilocybin is quickly becoming recognized as an effective modality for treating depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. Yet, the road to decriminalization and legalization of the medicine in the US and on a global scale is still slow going. Join us today with Chris Koddermann of the International Therapeutic Psilocybin Initiative, or ITPRI, to discuss his push for the ​​UN to reclassifies psilocybin as a less dangerous drug. We begin with Chris’s introduction to...

Where do you get your psychedelic news? DoubleBlind is a leading media company and magazine that has teamed up with experts in the field to provide informative and educational news, courses, and webinars in the psychedelic space. Today on the show we are speaking with DoubleBlind Co-Founder and CEO Shelby Hartman. We begin our conversation with the inception of the magazine, the meaning behind the name and DoubleBlind’s most popular articles. Shelby shares how DoubleBlind runs as a business,...

As psychedelics become increasingly popular in the US and beyond, it’s imperative that new businesses honor, protect, and profit-share with the indigenous communities who are stewards of these medicines. Today on the show, Jesse Hudson, Chief Legal Officer at Woven Science explains the recent policy paper from Woven’s nonprofit El Puente which focuses on reparations, education, preservation, and inclusion for indigenous wisdom keepers. We begin with Jesse’s early work with ICEERS’ Ayahuasca...

Iboga (or its extraction ibogaine) is one of the most powerful psychedelic plants. Today we are joined by Jonathan Dickinson, of Ceiba Recovery, an integration coach and consultant for iboga and ibogaine healing. Our conversation begins with an overview of iboga and its unique value in treating addiction. We discuss Bwiti tradition in Gabon and Central Africa, where iboga is used as an initiatory sacrament. Jonathan shares his work with Ceiba Recovery, which includes online ibogaine...

Today we are joined by Saj Razvi an expert on psychedelics and the somatic approach to healing single-event, complex, and dissociative trauma. We open with an understanding of how trauma is stored in the body, and why it can be so hard to overcome with traditional therapy. We then discuss the difference between primary and secondary consciousness, and how psychedelics play a role in disrupting the default mode network to heal trauma. Finally, we talk about the Psychedelic Somatic...

On today’s episode we delve into the promising future of Dr. Dan Engle’s new wellness institute, Kuya, located in Austin, Texas. The center focuses on whole human care, hoping to eliminate anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health issues. On the show, Dr. Dan Engle explains his history with psychedelics and the path that led him to open the center. He also speaks on his new book, A Dose of Hope, which follows the treatment of PTSD with MDMA-assisted therapy, recounted through the...

The Psychedelic Renaissance is well underway, but thirty years ago there was another revolution in psychiatry, the introduction of prozac, the first SSRI. Today’s guest Dr Priya Parmar started her residency at that time but today she is ending her relationship with traditional psychiatry. Since 2017 she has been using ketamine in her practice which she feels is a potent frontline treatment for mental health disorders… with the caveat of the importance of integration. On the show Priya and I...

What if a simple test could reveal the speed of your psychedelic metabolism or your propensity for psychedelic-triggered mental health issues? Providing information on 5 key genetic variants, HaluGen Life Sciences is a direct to consumer test and an educational tool to help us all understand the various factors that impact the psychedelic experience. On today’s show I speak with Tim Ko and John Lem from Entheon, the company behind HaluGen. On the show, we review each of the biomarkers they...

What if a therapist could peer inside the black box of a patient’s psychedelic experience? Adam Gazzaley and his Neuroscape team at UCSF are using multimodal biosensing research to make that dream a reality. On the show, Adam explains the concept of experiential medicine and how the brain modifies itself in response to different experiences. He shares his previous work creating a video game that is also a class two medical device for ADHD. He relates his long inquiry with shamans and...

As the Psychedelic Renaissance blossoms, many healers and business leaders are rightly looking at environmental conservation and reciprocity with Indigenous wisdom keepers. Joseph Mays is Program Director for the Chacruna's new Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative (IRI). On the podcast, he shares some powerful ways for the psychedelic community to cultivate a healthy relationship with Indigenous people in the Americas. On the show, we discuss the Indigenous worldview as it pertains to...

Today’s episode is a repost from my personal podcast, Life is a Festival, where I interview cultural pioneers about living a more openhearted life. Today’s guest, Sutton King, lives a life full of joy and service and she is also the Head of Impact at Journey Colab a major psychedelic drug development company. Journey Colab just raised 12 million and Sutton’s important work in reciprocity is a major part of the company’s appeal to value-aligned investors. In fact, she has a lot to teach all of...

Named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people of 2021, Robin Carhart-Harris conducts some of the most impactful psychedelic research in the world. On the podcast, we review Robin’s early research with MDMA and his involvement with the first fMRI and MEG studies of LSD. We talk about his 2016 study of psilocybin’s efficacy with treatment-resistant depression and his most recent head-to-head comparison of the psychedelic with the SSRI Escitalopram (Lexapro). The outcome of that study...

Whether psychedelic therapists should have their own experiences with these compounds as part of their training is a passionately debated subject. Dr. Elizabeth Nielson, cofounder of Fluence, one of the foremost organizations training psychedelic therapists, has been pondering this for sometime, including how we ask the question itself. Her recent paper in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology explores the ethical considerations in offering and providing such experiences and is the subject of...

The world of digital therapeutics is booming just as fast as psychedelic therapy. Today’s guest, Lyle Maxson, is resolutely optimistic about the positive synthesis of the two. On the show, we discuss the science of Lyle’s software SoundSelf, which uses voice to generate a hypnotic world of light, color, and sound. We review his business partner Robin Arnott’s Technodelic Manifesto and ask the important question: Will technology replace therapists? We also cover data sovereignty, metric...

Lisa Dannen, our colleague at Maya, recently experienced her first Ayahuasca retreat in Peru. Today on the show, she shares all the preparation and integration that went into her experience. On the podcast, we discuss about Lisa’s work with Maya, and why she wanted to experience Ayahuasca for healing and personal growth. We discuss her 10 day experience in the Sacred Valley of Peru as well as her subsequent integration. Finally Lisa gives her advice to others planning a similar...

Building a psychedelic company is a lot like creating a healing container. It starts with really understand your own role as Martijn Schirp, founder of Synthesis — a psilocybin retreat center and institute in the Netherlands — discovered. On the show we discuss Martijn’s initial roles as facilitator and then CEO of Synthesis and the value of having a comprehensive team. We compare ketamine and psilocybin and the efficacy of a communal setting for healing. We explore creating a safe healing...