Biography/Memoir

Psychedelics inc

A dozen or more startup companies are developing medicines from psilocybin, MDMA, ibogaine and LSD, all of which are illegal in the US, as well as from ketamine, a legal anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties… …[like] a former managing director at Goldman Sachs who is the founder of… yet another startup… “There’s a lot of strong…

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Biography/Memoir

Psilocybin is headed for the mainstream… it’s bringing the problems of Big Pharma with it

“That’s the case with the pharmaceutical industry time and time again: good intentions are marred by the drive to maximize revenue.” -Adam Winstock, MD (University College London, an addiction medicine specialist and founder of the Global Drug Survey.) While psilocybin is a naturally occurring molecule, the chemistry to develop a standardized synthetic version deemed safe…

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Biography/Memoir

[US marshals office] incinerates 28 tons of kratom

The U.S. Marshals Office paid a hazardous waste company… to transport the kratom from South Carolina to Florida, where it was incinerated at an energy-from-waste facility… Scott Gottlieb resigned as FDA commissioner in March 2019 and weeks later joined the board of directors at Pfizer. Over 28 tons of the herbal supplement kratom were recently…

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Biography/Memoir

…psilocybin retreat[s]…

Yang advocates for a far less regulated approach to psilocybin, however, than that envisioned by the Oregon statewide initiative, which would legalize only medical access to psilocybin. He says his company believes that decriminalization, deregulation, and legalization are the path forward. “…do not require government intervention to work, and psilocybin is safer than any other controlled…

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Biography/Memoir

…[should] magic mushrooms..?

Similar to cannabis compassion clubs that served medical cannabis consumers prior to legalization… microdoses of psilocybin [mushrooms] to Canadians who can provide medical documentation with qualifying diagnoses… “Mushrooms are incredibly safe as long as you’re taking it at a good dosage and you’re in a good situation,” [Dana Larsen] says on the phone from Vancouver. “They’re…

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Biography/Memoir

Purdue’s Sackler family wants global opioids settlement: Sackler lawyer Mary Jo White

In… public comments on behalf of the Sacklers, White told me why the family believed the litigation against them and their company is legally dubious, factually misleading and politically motivated. The claims are gargantuan: An expert plaintiffs’ witness in the nationwide MDL in Cleveland recently estimated that it will cost nearly half a trillion dollars…

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Biography/Memoir

[Are] psychedelics… making a comeback…

The increasing success of FDA-approved cannabinoid therapeutics helps drive the interest in psychedelics. ClinicalTrials.gov lists more than 400 trials involving cannabinoids. As its effectiveness is shown, the compound gains traction within the pharmaceutical industry as a possible active ingredient in a variety of therapeutics. “We were fortunate to watch the cannabis industry grow into a…

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Biography/Memoir

Decrim activists [at the local level] mark first anniversary of Denver’s historic psilocybin mushroom vote

The success of the campaign “just shocked people,” [Kevin Matthews of IP-301 which allows individuals to cultivate psilocybin-containing mushrooms at home for personal use] said… through a combination of education, outreach and innovation – as well as the open-mindedness of the local electorate – the campaign prevailed. More remarkable than the policy change in Denver,…

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