🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that finds the childlike wonder in the little things. Like the morning dew on a flower, the zing of a bite of strawberry, or… a kind reply to one of our emails. 👉👈

Here’s what we got this week.

• An “awe practice” can relieve depression 😲

• Psychedelic church group is suing the DEA 💒

• MAPS conference takes over Denver ⛰️

• A mushroom tincture for deep sleep 🍄

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MICRODOSES

🔬 Research

Lasting impression: A single dose of psilocybin provided cancer patients relief from depression for 2 years (and counting).
Cool, now do vets: One year after a single dose of psilocybin, 30% of veterans were still in remission from depression, down from 50% at the 6-month mark.
Where’s the BDNF? A study that concluded DMT is the only psychedelic to increase BDNF levels in humans has been retracted.
Crisis of faith: Psychedelic experiences can both cause and resolve spiritual struggles.
Step up to the plate: The metaphors commonly used in psychedelic therapy have pros and cons. Maybe it’s time for new ones.

🏛️ Policy

Yeehaw: Texas passed the nation’s first ibogaine research bill. (See previous coverage.)
Not so fast: Iowa’s governor vetoed a trigger bill that would have proactively rescheduled Compass Pathway’s psilocybin drug upon FDA approval.
Task masters: Louisiana’s Senate passed a bill to create a state psychedelics task force. Lawmakers in North Carolina want to do the same.
If at first you don’t succeed: The Missouri legislator who pushed to legalize psychedelic therapy for vets this session plans to refile next year.
Doing numbers: Oregon Psilocybin Services released its first quarterly data report on client counts and demographics.

📈 Business

Milestone alert: The Center Origin facilitated Colorado’s first regulated high-dose psilocybin healing session.
Granted wisdom: The nonprofit Chacruna Institute received a $150,000 grant from Kindred Trust.
End of the road: Journey Colab is winding down and returning all remaining capital to its investors.
Capitol gains: Clearmind Medicine has hired a lobbying firm.
Tap to taper: "Uber for getting off antidepressants” just launched in the US.

🫠 Just for fun

Silver linings: “Bad trips” can have surprising benefits.
Splitting mycelia: Defining what constitutes a mushroom has become a hot topic with high economic stakes.
The source of all life: 15 images from the 2025 UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition.
Meme of the week: Me blowing up my life after taking psychedelics…

THE PEAK EXPERIENCE

Awe yeah

Full disclosure: No psychedelics were ingested in the making of this study.

But stick with us because it’s still pretty… awesome.

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about “non-hallucinogenic psychedelics” (sometimes called psychoplastogens or neuroplastogens). See, drug developers would love to bottle up the benefits of psychedelics without all the “inconvenient” parts. The 8-hour sessions, the visionary journeys, the risk of realizing you hate your corporate job, etc.

And hey, maybe it’s possible. We’ll see. But in the meantime, a new randomized controlled trial suggests stripping away the experience is missing the point.

The study found that teaching people to cultivate awe—that spine-tingling emotion of vastness and wonder—significantly improved depression and wellbeing in long COVID patients. Here's what happened when 68 participants learned a 3-step awe practice.

• 📉 Depression plummeted: 17% decrease in symptoms (vs. 2% increase in controls)

• 🫠 Stress melted away: 12% reduction in stress levels

• 📈 Wellbeing improved: 16% improvement in overall mental wellbeing

The intervention was ridiculously simple: pay attention, slow down, and expand on moments of awe for less than 30 seconds, three times daily. Yet it was profound. Effect sizes were "medium to large," meaning these results weren't just statistical flukes.

This research adds fuel to the argument that subjective experiences (not just receptor binding or neuroplasticity) are behind psychedelics’ therapeutic benefits. After all, awe is one of the core features of mystical experiences, and this study shows it alone can drive mental health outcomes.

Of course, you don't need to take a heroic dose of mushrooms to access a transcendent state. You could simply pause and notice the sunset.

Or just re-read our newsletter three times a day and marvel at how we manage to make each line so pixel perfect. 🫠

AFTERGLOW

The spirit of the law

When the Founding Fathers cooked up the separation of church and state, they probably weren't imagining a future where the Drug Enforcement Administration got to decide whose religious beliefs were “sincere.” Yet here we are. Now, an association of entheogenic churches called Sacred Plant Alliance is ready to fight for its members’ freedom to use psychedelic sacraments. So they’re suing the DEA.

Quick background: In 2009, the DEA laid out a process churches must follow to get an exemption from the Controlled Substances Act. But that guidance requires them to stop using their sacrament while their petition is pending. (Never mind that the DEA offers no timeline whatsoever for decisions.) SPA claims the DEA’s guidance is unconstitutional and violates both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and federal administrative law.

Even if you don’t speak legalese, here’s how you know the system is fundamentally broken. In 15 years, the DEA has approved exactly one (1) such petition, while dozens more have languished in bureaucratic limbo. If it’s successful, this lawsuit could create the first clear and standardized pathway for religious groups to commune with entheogens. Ben Franklin would be proud. He seems like a psychonaut, no?

See you in Denver

Local psychedelic meetup feel a little sparse this week? That's because everyone and their integration coach has descended upon Denver for Psychedelic Science 2025. After a one-year break, MAPS is reconvening its fedora-and-feather-filled conference in Colorado, the only state in the US where you can legally trip your face off with no professional supervision. How convenient.

This year's theme is "The Integration," which feels fitting given that psychedelics have officially graduated from counterculture to having their own state-sanctioned healing centers. The conference promises over 500 speakers across tracks covering everything from therapeutic protocols to policy reform, plus the usual expo hall filled with retreat operators and people selling very expensive palo santo sticks.

While organizers expect over 7,000 attendees, that's down from ~12,000 in 2023. MAPS founder Rick Doblin admits there's been "a sobering" since the last conference, likely referring to the FDA's rejection of MDMA therapy and various stalled state legalization efforts. But we'll be there; no fair weather fans here at Tricycle Day. If you spot us wandering around the convention center looking slightly overwhelmed, come say hi.

CYCLISTS’ PICKS

• 💧 Sleep tincture: This Amanita muscaria extract from Psyched Wellness knocks us right out. Safely, of course. Take 10% off with code TRICYCLE10.

• 📔 Pocket primer: Mattha Busby’s latest for Hoxton Mini Press is a pithy and vibrant explainer to the past, present, and future of psychedelics.

• 🎥 Now in theaters: The new A24 film, Friendship, includes a hilarious and unexpected scene after the main character licks an exotic psychedelic toad.

• 🗺️ Unofficial guide: The sheer volume of events competing for your attention at PS2025 is dizzying. This resource maps out your options so you can form a game plan.

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.