Biography/Memoir

Veterans have become unlikely lobbyists in push to legalize psychedelic drugs

The legalization campaign’s focus on vets as leading advocates is not without controversy. Carlos Plazola, co-founder of the advocacy group Decriminalize Nature, said he was disappointed by the movement’s overemphasis on the struggles of service members. He said a broader cross section of people of color should have their experiences heard. “We understand the value…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

Psychedelics patent claim raises questions from researchers who say they did it first

Their research was not cited in the patent application. Yet, if this patent application was granted… it could block others… The application, published on May 20 2020, was originally filed on November 15, 2019. (Patent applications are kept secret for 18 months)… the application has claims on organisms genetically modified to produce psilocybin by giving them…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

[Psychedelic] patents may limit access

Given promising clinical-trial results, many stakeholders are attempting to patent psychedelic compounds and methods of producing and administering them… the sudden interest in patenting psychedelics has prompted criticism from stakeholders, including patient advocates, scientists, journalists, lawyers and Indigenous communities… Weak psychedelic patents could potentially be invalidated in court, but that does not make them harmless,…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

The magical world of psychedelics… [&] quick overview of the state of… armed patents…

As psilocybin was isolated from the Psilocybe mexicana mushroom in 1957 and is a known compound, it lacks novelty… for being patentable, an invention must be “new” and “inventive”. Since most common psychedelics are known for many years, it is not possible to patent these existing substances (i.e. lack of novelty). The interest in psychedelics…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

…psychedelic drugs found in nature… private property

“The rule is if something already belongs to the public, you can’t take it away from them,” Gretchen Temeles, special counsel at the Philadelphia law firm… said in an interview. But Compass has also highlighted the threat from nonprofits like the Usona Institute, which does its own research on psychedelics. The IPO filing warned that…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

Patents for psychedelics…

…nearly every day, another psychedelics company announces its work in securing patents for the intellectual property represented by the product they developed… a quick search of the USPTO site shows that there are currently hundreds of patents related to LSD and Psilocybin products and formulations. Psilocybin (U.S. Patent No. 3,183,172, “Obtaining Psilocybin and Psilocin from…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

What [happened on]… 550 doses of LSD?

The story of CB, a 49-year-old woman, and her roommate, who witnessed the event. CB had contracted Lyme disease in her early 20s, and by the LSD event, she experienced significant pain in her feet and ankles, routinely taking morphine for a decade… CB snorted… pure LSD – 550 times the normal recreational dosage of…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

…the swirling battle over psychedelics intellectual property

Carey Turnbull, a philanthropist who is a board member of several psychedelic non-profits including Usona Institute, created another non-profit, Freedom to Operate, to fight patents that infringe on existing knowledge. He believes Compass’s latest patent should not stand. “From FTO’s ongoing research, we understand that it is nearly impossible to crystallize psilocybin and not obtain…

READ MORE
Biography/Memoir

Bank of America cancels account [of marijuana & psychedelics research institute registered with DEA]

A cannabis researcher who is waging a legal battle to reschedule marijuana in the federal circuit courts said that Bank of America decided to activate her institute’s bank account without explanation or recourse. Dr. Suzanne Sisley, the president and principal investigator at Scottsdale Research Institute [SRI], which is federally licensed to handle and grow cannabis,…

READ MORE