INTERVIEWS

Marijuana Moment Feb 17, 2024

FDA Officials Join Experts to Discuss Psychedelics Research Challenges and Promises

This comes months after FDA issued historic draft guidance on psychedelics studies, providing scientists with a framework to carry out research that could lead to the development of novel medicines.

Marijuana Moment Feb 14, 2024

Arizona Senate Committee Unanimously Approves Bill To Legalize Psilocybin Service Centers

The measure would allow the Department of Human Services (DHS) to license psilocybin-assisted therapy centers in the state, where trained facilitators could administer the psychedelic.

Green Market Report Feb 12, 2024

FDA Approves Lykos Therapeutics’ New Drug Application for MDMA Therapy

The agency will decide in August whether MDMA-assisted therapy can be prescribed by doctors.

L.A. Times Feb 6, 2024

With a Nudge from Newsom, New Bill Aims to Legalize Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in California

After a failed attempt to decriminalize a short list of psychedelics last year, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is reintroducing legislation to make California the third state to legalize psychedelic-assisted therapy for adults.

Marijuana Moment Feb 3, 2024

Another Indiana Senate Committee Passes Psilocybin Research Bill

If it becomes law, the measure would create a therapeutic psilocybin research fund “for the purpose of providing financial assistance to research institutions in Indiana to study…the use of psilocybin to treat mental health and other medical conditions.”

Psychedelic Alpha Feb 1, 2024

A Discussion with Ernesto Londoño, Author of ‘Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics’

Josh Hardman, founder and editor of Psychedelic Alpha, interviews the journalist about his forthcoming book, and how it “marries the tracing of complex lineages that inform today’s so-called psychedelic renaissance with his own endeavour to better understand both his personal and family histories and present realities.”

Marijuana Moment Jan 30, 2024

Missouri Lawmakers Hold Hearing on Therapeutic Psilocybin Legalization Bill

Under both measures, adults 21 or older diagnosed with a qualifying condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or substance use disorders could legally access laboratory-tested psilocybin.

Marijuana Moment Jan 29, 2024

New Hawaii Bill Would Create a Limited Therapeutic Psilocybin Program

Newly introduced legislation in Hawaii would create explicit legal protections around the therapeutic use of psilocybin, with eligible patients able to possess and consume the psychedelic under a trained facilitator’s care.

Green Market Report Jan 17, 2024

New Jersey Lawmakers Seek to Decriminalize Psychedelics

The legislature would authorize the production and use of psilocybin to promote health and wellness; decriminalize, and expunge past offenses involving, psilocybin production, possession, use, and distribution.

Psychedelic Alpha Jan 10, 2024

The Obscure Advisory Panel Blocking Dozens of Psychedelic Studies in California

Dozens of new studies involving Schedule I and II substances—many of which employ psychedelics—are unable to commence in California, despite having clearance from the FDA, DEA and Institutional Review Boards.

Marijuana Moment Jan 9, 2024

Rhode Island Bill Would Temporarily Legalize Psilocybin Use, Home Cultivation And Sharing

The proposal, from Rep. Brandon Potter (D), would not establish a commercial retail system around psilocybin—at least until after federal reform is enacted.

Psychedelic Alpha Jan 5, 2024

MAPS PBC Closes $100m Series A, Rebrands to Lykos Therapeutics

MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) has announced a $100m Series A alongside a name change to Lykos Therapeutics.

Psychedelic Alpha Dec 29, 2023

Kentucky’s $42m Ibogaine Funding Appears Dead in the Water

Those who support cleaving off $42 million in opioid settlement funds to support ibogaine research and drug development have lost a key champion this week as the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (KYOAAC) sees a changing of the guard. Now, it looks very likely that the project will be shelved.

Marijuana Moment Dec 23, 2023

Biden Signs Defense Bill Requiring Psychedelics Studies Involving Active Duty Military Service Members

Advocates were encouraged to see that bicameral negotiators agreed to maintain the psychedelics research provisions championed by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) that were attached to the House version over the summer.

Psychedelic Alpha Dec 13, 2023

MAPS PBC Files New Drug Application for MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD

It’s not just a milestone for MAPS: this is the first psychedelic-assisted therapy submitted to the FDA for approval.

Marijuana Moment Nov 15, 2023

Health Benefits Provider Will Cover Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Where It’s Legal

A Massachusetts company that bills itself as “the first and only licensed provider of psychedelic health plans” announced on Tuesday that it will cover psilocybin-assisted therapy in states where it’s legal.

Lucid News Nov 2, 2023

An Ambitious Vision Drives Kentucky’s Ibogaine Plan to Treat Opioid Dependency

A state commission will soon vote to decide whether to commit ten percent of its funds, $42 million, toward a psychedelic-assisted therapy moonshot that could transform treatment for OUD nationally.

Green Market Report Oct 30, 2023

Federal Appeals Court Pressures DEA to Justify Psilocybin’s Schedule I Status

A federal appeals court directed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to give a detailed explanation for keeping psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound in psychedelic mushrooms, on the list of the most restricted substances.

Marijuana Moment Oct 29, 2023

Advocates File Calif. Ballot Initiative to Legalize Psychedelics for Medical, Therapeutic and Spiritual Use In 2024

Known as the Psychedelic Wellness and Healing Initiative of 2024, the measure is the third psychedelics-related prospective citizen-led measure attempting to qualify for next year’s ballot.

Marijuana Moment Oct 20, 2023

After Gov. Vetoes Psychedelics Bill, Another Calif. City Approves Decriminalization Resolution

The City Council in Eureka, California, adopted a resolution this week to decriminalize psychedelic plants and fungi, making enforcement of laws against personal use, cultivation and possession a low priority for police. It’s at least the fifth local jurisdiction in the state to embrace the policy change.