🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that’s only afraid of one thing… landing in your spam folder. Shoot us a reply, so the inbox overlords know you want our emails, and we can put an end to these nightmares. 😱

Here’s what we got this week.

• A new theory on how psychedelics work 🦠

• Iowa House passes psilocybin therapy bill 🍄

• Ketamine works without the talk therapy 🗣️

• The first conference just for facilitators 🪶

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MICRODOSES

🔬 Research

Trauma proof: Being under the influence of a classic psychedelic during a traumatic event may have a protective effect against PTSD and anxiety.
Wicked smart: A single psychedelic dose can enhance cognitive flexibility and learning weeks later.
Vapor trail: In a Phase 2a trial, vaporized DMT showed rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, with an 85.7% response rate.
Splitting headaches: Psilocybin’s effects on headache frequency are unrelated to any experience of altered states or mental health benefits.
Don’t try this at home, kids: Younger psychedelic users face a higher risk of hallucinogen persisting perception disorder than older users.

🏛️ Policy

Not their first rodeo: Building on last week’s approval of the Texas Ibogaine Initiative, two more psychedelic bills have passed through committee and are headed to the House floor.
Second chance: A new Massachusetts bill is revisiting psilocybin legalization, after voters said ‘no’ to Question 4 last November.
You are forgiven: Colorado lawmakers advanced a bill that would empower the governor to grant pardons for psychedelic-related convictions.
The heroes’ dose: California senators have unanimously approved a bill to create a psilocybin pilot program for vets and first responders.
Not the Netherlands: There’s one country in Europe where psychedelic therapy is already legal.

📈 Business

To the moon: Why did Compass Pathways’ stock price pump last week?
Skin in the game: MIRA Pharmaceuticals hit an R&D milestone for its ketamine-like ointment for neuropathic pain.
Site seeing: Cybin has onboarded 18 sites for its Phase 3 clinical trial program so far, tracking toward its goal of 45.
Nature’s medicine: The FDA has authorized Filament’s Phase 2 trial of botanical psilocybin for opioid use disorder.
Pack it up: The owner of a psychedelic wellness center in Detroit is selling his property in protest of “relentless harassment” from the city.

🫠 Just for fun

Vintage acid: The world’s best LSD was created in the 60s and still circulates today.
Head cases: A community of cluster headache sufferers has found relief in psilocybin.
Forest bathing: There’s a scientific method to making your nature walks more restorative.
A budding paleontologist? RFK Jr. took his first acid trip in hopes of meeting the dinosaurs.
Meme of the week: Me after a psychedelic epiphany about the eternal nature of the self…

THE PEAK EXPERIENCE

Fear factor

Neuroscientists have been throwing around theories about how psychedelics work for years.

Is it the neuroplasticity? The mystical experiences? Some secret third thing we’ll never be able to measure?

All fair guesses, but a new study in Nature suggests something refreshingly different. Maybe psychedelics heal by fixing a broken relationship between your immune system and your brain.

Here's what the new research says.

• 🧠 Immune invasion: When you're chronically stressed, inflammatory immune cells called monocytes migrate from your body into your brain.

• 🔄 A vicious cycle: These immune cells increase crosstalk in your amygdala (the brain's fear center), which amplifies anxiety and creates more inflammation.

• 🍄 Psychedelics protect: In mice models, MDMA and psilocybin appear to block these monocytes from accumulating in the brain, effectively cutting the fear-inflammation cycle.

• 🧫 In humans, too: Most exciting of all, researchers found similar patterns in human brain tissue samples and depression datasets.

If you think this through, you quickly realize we’re not just talking about how psychedelics work, but also why “mental” health conditions like depression develop in the first place.

Maybe it’s an imbalance between the immune and central nervous systems that causes some emotional disorders. If that’s true, then psychedelics would be addressing the root, not just the symptoms.

Another reason to believe: this neuro-immune model could also explain why psychedelics show promise across such a wide range of conditions, from depression and anxiety to inflammatory diseases.

So let this be your reminder that the only thing to fear is fear itself… and runaway monocytes apparently. 🫠

AFTERGLOW

Iowa, you’re up

Another day, another state coming out of the psychedelic closet. (We love to see it.) The Iowa House just passed House File 978 with a 84-6 vote, paving the way for a state-regulated psilocybin program that would help Iowans access psychedelic therapy.

Unlike its psychedelic predecessors, Iowa isn't messing around with advisory boards for rule-making. Instead, the bill lays out precise regulations from the jump, mostly similar to what’s come out in Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico. Where it does break the mold, though, is its language preventing municipal governments from party pooping overreaching. That means cities wouldn’t be able to create ordinances to block psilocybin businesses locally. (Sorry, NIMBYs.)

The measure now races to the Senate before the legislative session ends May 2. If approved, the state would start accepting applications in July 2026, with treatment limited to 5,000 patients in clinical settings. 5,000 may sound like a lot, and it is! That just leaves a measly 468,000 more Iowans who need help.

Therapy-assisted ketamine?

Great news for introverts who hate talking about their feelings. A new study has some therapists nervously adjusting their glasses after finding out that ketamine works just as well with or without psychotherapy for treating depression and PTSD.

Researchers analyzed data from over 600 patients who received either ketamine alone or ketamine plus psychotherapy. And contrary to popular assumptions, both groups showed virtually identical improvement patterns—symptoms declined rapidly within days and plateaued after about two weeks. The only differences came down to demographics: younger women benefited slightly more from the therapy add-on, while older men actually did better with ketamine alone.

The study raises questions not just about ketamine’s mechanism of action, but also around cost-benefit analysis. Ketamine infusions already strain many patients' wallets, so not having to budget for talk therapy sessions could make the breakthrough treatment more accessible. Of course, the researchers admit they didn’t look at super long-term outcomes, so hang tight, therapists. You’re not out of job yet.

CYCLISTS’ PICKS

• 📆 Conference: ACT is inviting psychedelic facilitators to Austin, TX to exchange ideas and tools for the mind, body, heart, and spirit. Take 15% off tickets with code TRICYCLE.

• 🏆 Ceremony: The first annual Psychedelics Design Awards will include panel discussions and, of course, winner announcements. Take 15% off tickets with code TRICYCLEDAY15.

• 📕 Book: Zach Leary (yes, that Leary) just released his new book, Your Extraordinary Mind, on how to use psychedelics in the 21st century.

• 🛠️ Resource: The nonprofit Microdosing Collective put together a free, 7-step starter guide for microdosing newbies.

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.