🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. Four out of five dentists recommend our sugar-free psychedelics newsletter. The fifth has a mouth full of cavities and skips integration, so don’t listen to him. 🪥

Here’s what we got this week.

Yeah, we're sponsoring our own newsletter. (Fyi, you can just do things.)

If you’ve been reading Tricycle Day for a while, you’re very informed. We’d venture you know more about psychedelics than 99% of people.

But there’s a big difference between knowing something and feeling ready for a guided journey.

So in two weeks, we're hosting a live panel with three licensed psilocybin facilitators who can help you cross that gap.

This conversation won’t be scripted. It’s more like a live Ask a Guide Anything issue.

As soon as you register, you can connect with other Cyclists in the chat.

Tick tock: In a small pilot study, psilocybin therapy reduced symptoms of post-treatment Lyme disease by 40%.
Slow and steady wins the race: Longer prep and integration sessions are linked to larger antidepressant effects in psilocybin therapy.
Size matters: Psilocybin produces different neurological and behavioral effects depending on the dose.
The call isn’t coming from inside the house: A new study challenges the popular idea that DMT is produced endogenously in the brain.
Bully proof: Ketamine could help adolescents build resilience against the negative mental health impacts of bullying.

Mahalo: Hawaii senators advanced a bill to create a psychedelics task force.
Waiting in the wings: A South Dakota “trigger” bill that would legalize crystalline polymorph psilocybin (Compass Pathways’ product) upon FDA approval is now with the governor for signature.
Less is more: Missouri lawmakers consolidated and advanced four sweeping psychedelics bills.
Handle with care: The founder of Fireside Project has ideas on how Colorado can manage the real risks of ibogaine.
Hot seat: At her confirmation hearing, Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means, got grilled about her psilocybin use.

Exit interview: Oregon psilocybin industry insiders weigh in on recent service center closures.
Follow your nose: The FDA is aligned with AtaiBeckley’s Phase 3 strategy for BPL-003, the company’s intranasal 5-MeO-DMT formulation.
Ka-ching: Between a public offering and a warrant exercise, Compass Pathways just added $350 million to its war chest in a week.
Roll call: Here are five companies targeting CNS disorders with psychedelic compounds.
More than drugs: Some psychedelic pharmaceutical companies are discarding central components of psychedelic therapy.

Go touch grass: Feeling spiritually connected to your surroundings is good for your health.
Unplug or else: Michael Pollan says our consciousness is under siege.
Cautionary tale: Lil Jon’s son, also a musician, tragically drowned after taking psilocybin mushrooms.
Trip report: For The New York Times Magazine, a man recounts his experience with ibogaine in riveting detail.
Meme of the week: When everyone’s chasing altered states, but no one’s interested in altered traits…

In political science, there’s a useful concept called “the Overton window.”

While that’d make a great name for the 5D portal that opens after a fourth hit of DMT, the term actually has nothing to do with psychedelics.

… except for today.

The Overton window describes the range of policies the public considers acceptable at any given time. And right now, psilocybin is smashing its lil’ blue face against the glass.

A new report from the RAND Corporation (which, for reasons we won't question, keeps a pretty close eye on America's psychedelic habits) surveyed 10,000+ U.S. adults about legalizing specific psychedelic substances.

Yup, they went ahead and squeegeed the window for us. Enjoy the view.

Hey, even some naysayers are leaving the door cracked. Among respondents who said psilocybin should generally remain illegal, ~1 in 6 still said they'd make an exception for treating a health condition.

So, Americans aren't clamoring for a free-for-all. Most want some guardrails. If you've been paying attention to Oregon, Colorado, and (soon) New Mexico, that’s exactly what's coming together, each with its own tweaks and adjustments.

Keep in mind that culture shapes policy → policy funds research → research shifts culture. So once that window opens, good luck closing it. 🫠

Reports of MDMA's death have been greatly exaggerated. Ok yes, the FDA did reject Lykos's 2024 bid for MDMA in PTSD, and the comedown has been rough. But AtaiBeckley just posted encouraging Phase 2a results for another MDMA-based contender. They’re targeting social anxiety disorder, not PTSD, and refusing to get (*ahem*) tripped up by psychotherapy.

AtaiBeckley’s drug, EMP-01, is an oral formulation of R-MDMA. If you slept through high school chemistry (tsk tsk), MDMA is made of two mirror-image molecules called enantiomers. Think left and right hands. R-MDMA is the right hand, isolated to keep MDMA's pro-social, empathogenic effects while dialing down the dopamine and norepinephrine shock. In the 71-person trial, participants received two doses over six weeks, and 49% showed significant improvement, compared to 15% on placebo.

Even with those numbers, a theoretically cleaner profile, and the fact that SAD hasn't seen a new drug in 20+ years, investors weren’t exactly glowing. The stock dropped ~14% on the news. Still, for a heart-warming molecule the FDA mercilessly smacked down 18 months ago, any sign of life is worth watching.

Utah surprised everyone in 2024 when it became the first state to medically legalize psilocybin and MDMA in hospital settings. (Yes, even before New Mexico.) But that program has been stuck in a holding pattern ever since. Now, a new bill could get things moving again. And they’re adding 5-MeO-DMT to menu, too. (Making up for lost time, are we?)

HB390, which just passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously, would authorize the Huntsman Mental Health Institute to run a clinical study on psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD. The bill covers psilocybin, MDMA, and 5-MeO-DMT as legal compounds for federally-compliant research and comes with a $4.2 million price tag. It has bipartisan sponsorship and is now headed to the full Senate.

There’s a reason Utahns are doubling down. The state’s veteran suicide rate is 50% higher than the national average. Something’s gotta give. We’re no experts, but a deep-red state championing psychedelics through its legislature (twice!) says something about the political appetite for these medicines. Guess saving human lives isn't a partisan issue after all. Huh.

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

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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.