🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

PRESENTED BY ALTHEA 🤝

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that ages like a fine wine. Some day, we’ll look back on this 2025 vintage and remember that people were finally beginning to accept that mushrooms don’t burn holes in your brain. Cheers. 🥂

Here’s what we got this week.

• Psilocybin can relieve depression for 5 years 🍄

• RFK promises legalization within 12 months ⏳

• Lykos has new leadership and more cash 💸

• Psychedelics for elite athletes 🏒

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MICRODOSES

🔬 Research

It’s on: The soon-to-be-merged atai Beckley posted positive results from its Phase 2b trial of 5-MeO-DMT for treatment-resistant depression. (See previous coverage.)
Psychedelic tourism: In a large survey, 32% of Americans who used psychedelics in the past year traveled for the opportunity. Colorado topped the list of destinations.
Rainbow medicine: Psychedelics may positively impact mental health and support identity exploration in LGBTQIA+ people.
Level the playing field: Ketamine appears to treat depression by flattening the brain’s hierarchies.
LSDNA: Red Light Holland is partnering with Arizona State University to advance psychedelic genome research.

🏛️ Policy

Natural Medicine 2.0: Colorado has begun formally reviewing ibogaine for medical use.
In check: An official working group representing Indigenous communities submitted its report with recommendations for the Colorado’s Natural Medicine program.
Stress test: A new Michigan bill would decriminalize psilocybin for adults with PTSD.
No, not like that: An Iowa lawmaker, who has pushed for state program to legalize psilocybin therapy, “condemns Compass Pathways” for trying to patent a synthetic version.
The revolving door spins again: Mike Davis, Usona Intitute’s Chief Medical Officer, is headed back to FDA.

📈 Business

Purchasing power-up: HealingMaps launched the first group purchasing organization for ketamine and psychedelic clinics.
Eastward expansion: Odyssey brought the legal psilocybin retreat model it pioneered in Oregon to Colorado.
Let go please: GH Research, one of the biotechs trying to commercialize 5-MeO-DMT, submitted its complete IND hold response to the FDA.
Won’t find this on FB marketplace: A cofounder of Mindstate Design Labs is selling one of the world’s largest and oldest ayahuasca grows.
State of the art: Neuroplastogens (non-hallucinogenic psychedelics) are gaining ground.

🫠 Just for fun

Legend has it a fine layer of LSD still coats the walls: Timothy Leary’s mansion and counterculture headquarters, “Millbrook,” is on the market for $65 million.
Stars, they’re just like us: Lorde says MDMA therapy helped her overcome debilitating stage fright.
OpenAI-assisted therapy: People are using ChatGPT as a psychedelic guide.
Meme of the week: Ruh-roh. Our Instagram’s in timeout. So in lieu of a meme, here’s the open letter to Meta we signed to end the censorship of psychedelic content.

THE PEAK EXPERIENCE

It keeps going and going

When psychedelic researchers talk about "durability," they don't mean whether your mushrooms can survive a washing machine cycle.

Don’t do that, btw. (Not medical advice.)

No, they're asking the million-dollar question: do the therapeutic benefits stick around long-term, or do patients slip back into old patterns once the shimmer wears off?

Back in 2020, a landmark study out of Ohio State hinted at an answer. Researchers gave 24 patients with major depressive disorder a single dose of psilocybin plus therapy, and most participants saw dramatic improvements that lasted at least a month. But what happens years later?

Well, five years after their original treatment, researchers tracked down the participants to see how they were doing. Here’s what they found.

• 🏃 Going the distance: 67% of participants were still depression free five years later.

• 💪 Beyond depression: Patients also reported less anxiety and better daily functioning.

• 🦋 Lasting transformation: Many described permanent positive changes in mindset, emotions, and relationships.

For context, traditional antidepressants require daily dosing and can take weeks or months to show any benefit… if they work at all.

Of course, there are caveats. The sample size was quite small, and participants may have received other treatments during the five-year gap. Plus, the three people who didn't participate in the follow-up were assumed to have relapsed. (Harsh but realistic.)

Still, these findings suggest psilocybin catalyzes deeper psychological changes that last long after the peak experience ends. For a field constantly debating whether psychedelic benefits are legit or just really impressive placebo effects, five years of sustained remission looks pretty durable indeed. 🫠

AFTERGLOW

Reset the countdown clock

When the government wants to avoid doing something, it kinda seems like they’ve got a playbook. Just form a special task force or fund another study. So when Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress last week that his administration aims to provide legal psychedelic therapy to military veterans "within 12 months," it was surprisingly direct.

Kennedy said at a House hearing that the FDA is currently running 11 clinical trials at the VA, with preliminary results looking "very, very encouraging." He also confessed he talks with VA Secretary Doug Collins about psychedelics “all the time.” (We know a few guys like that.)

Now, we don’t have to tell you talk is cheap. So is this just campaign rhetoric or a real policy shift? Well, the glass-half-full crowd will note that FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has already launched several initiatives to accelerate drug approvals. And just this week the House passed an amendment directing VA funding toward psychedelic therapy implementation and clinician training. So maybe, just maybe, Washington is really preparing for rollout, not just endless research.

Don’t call it a comeback

You didn’t think Lykos Therapeutics was done, did you? After a brutal 2024 that saw the FDA reject their MDMA therapy application and massive layoffs follow, the company is showing signs of life with new leadership and fresh cash. This week, we learned that Mike Burke, a pharma veteran who’s spent his career helping and operating specialty drug companies, is taking over as CEO. (If MDMA doesn’t qualify as a “specialty” product, not sure what does.)

Burke isn't flying solo, though. The company also brought in Javier Muniz as Chief Medical Officer, an 11-year FDA exec coming off a brief stint at MindMed. Meanwhile, former CEO Amy Emerson is transitioning to the board. Most importantly, Lykos closed a $50 million Series B co-led by Antonio Gracias’s and Chris Hohn’s foundations, providing much-needed runway after months of financial uncertainty.

This all sounds good for Lykos, but big questions still loom. Like what the FDA will demand next. (As far as we know, there’s still been no confirmation whether they’ll require another multi-million-dollar Phase 3 trial to reconsider approval.) So the timeline for getting MDMA therapy to patients remains anyone's guess, but at least Lykos has the resources to stay in the race.

CYCLISTS’ PICKS

• 🥊 Event: Today, Drug Science is hosting a 4-hour event on psychedelics and trauma recovery in elite athletes, featuring leading researchers and three former pro competitors.

• 🌳 Gathering: The Canadian Psychedelic Summit is headed back to Cortes Island, BC for its fourth year in August. This conference centers Indigenous voices, and scholarships are available.

• 📕 Book: Though few know her story, Timothy Leary’s wife Rosemary wasn’t a silent observer. The Acid Queen shines a light on her own fascinating life and pivotal role in the psychedelic movement.

• 🍬 Functional treat: SuperMush is running a summer sale. Take 40% off their superfood mushroom gummies for energy, passion, and sleep. (No code necessary.)

UNTIL NEXT TIME

That’s all for today, Cyclists! Whenever you’re ready, here’s how we can help.

ONE CYCLIST’S REVIEW

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DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. The use, possession, and distribution of psychedelic drugs are illegal in most countries and may result in criminal prosecution.