🫠 This Week in Psychedelics

PRESENTED BY ALTHEA & FOUNDATIONS 🤝

Welcome to Tricycle Day. We’re the psychedelics newsletter that rejects all the doom and gloom. “Love and light” feels a little bypass-y though, doesn’t it? Guess we’ll go with old faithful: it is what it is. 😘

Here’s what we got this week.

• A study on psychedelic retraumatization 💔

• Sensorium raises $25M to develop kanna-like drug 🌼

• New research suggests microdosing is heart safe 🫀

• Shroomer’s mushroom benefits database 🍄

FROM OUR SPONSORS

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At no cost, you’ll learn the difference between recreational, intentional, and therapeutic use; how to choose the right medicine for your goals; and why one size does not fit all.

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MICRODOSES

🔬 Research

Happy ending: In Australia’s first randomized controlled trial of psilocybin therapy in patients with terminal illness, clinically significant reductions in depression lasted up to 6 months.
The IV league: Ketamine intravenous therapy significantly reduced PTSD and depression symptoms in real-world care settings.
Crystal clear: A new study explains why MDMA, despite a similar chemical structure, is not as widely abused as methamphetamine.
The more you know: Researchers found 4 genetic biomarkers that predict a positive response to psilocybin-assisted therapy for generalized anxiety disorder.
Same wavelength: Meditation and psychedelics facilitate similar types of mystical and psychological insights that predict wellbeing.

🏛️ Policy

Reciprocity first: Colorado is preparing to add ibogaine to the state’s natural medicine program. In a recent meeting, the advisory board recommended following the Nagoya Protocol.
Raise your voice: Psychedelic Safety Institute is running a survey to help ensure a thoughtful rollout of Colorado’s natural medicine program.
Go Blue meanies: A University of Michigan student group is suing the school for denying its permit to host a psychedelic mushroom festival.
You listening? A U.S. Senate Committee held a hearing on the benefits of psychedelic therapies for veterans.
Fjord-ward thinking: Norway has approved public funding for generic ketamine in treatment-resistant depression.

📈 Business

Pharma is hungry: AbbVie inked a $1.2 billion deal to acquire psychedelic biotech Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals. (See previous coverage.)
Grow the pie: Analysts predict the psychedelic drugs market will cross $10.11 billion by 2032.
Swiss precision: Zurich-based Reconnect Labs has emerged from stealth mode with several psychedelic-inspired drugs in pipeline.
Defrocked: An Episcopal priest (whom we interviewed in 2023) has been removed from ordained ministry for endorsing psychedelics.
Psychedelic psyllabus: 32 universities around the country are planning to launch classes on psychedelics.

🫠 Just for fun

Pure awareness: 5-MeO-DMT offers a practical way to study consciousness in its most basic form.
Speaking of 5-MeO: Longevity guru Bryan Johnson says it showed him the expansive map of human consciousness.
Philistines no more: Here’s what happens when people eat mushrooms and look at art.
Do they have email in Black Rock City? Because Burning Man is in full swing.
Meme of the week: POV: you’re thinking about trying psychedelic therapy…

THE PEAK EXPERIENCE

Trip down memory lane

If we popped a microdose every time we heard this phrase…

“There are no bad trips; only challenging ones.”

…we'd have dissolved our egos so thoroughly by now we'd be communicating exclusively through impulses in the electromagnetic field.

But a new study out of the UK suggests this feel-good mantra oversimplifies things, especially when "challenging" means unlocking traumatic memories you didn't even know you had.

Researchers surveyed 600+ people who'd had difficult psychedelic experiences, specifically focusing on those who believed their post-trip difficulties were linked to early childhood trauma. Here's what they saw when they dug deeper.

• 👁️ If memory serves: 39% remembered past childhood trauma during their trip, in some cases for the first time ever.

• 😰 The body keeps the score: 22% experienced physical, symbolic re-embodiment of trauma without explicit memories.

• 💔 Feeling fragmented: 50% reported feeling completely overwhelmed and disintegrated during the experience.

• 🌱 Mixed outcomes: 50% ultimately found healing through proper integration, 22% ended up retraumatized, and 28% fell somewhere in between.

To answer the question we bet you’re pondering, the difference between healing and harm came down to support systems.

Those who processed their experiences with therapists, support groups, or structured reflection generally turned their nightmarish trips into breakthrough moments. Meanwhile, those who white-knuckled it alone were more likely to spiral into what one participant called "a dark night of the soul for literally a year."

We don’t mean to slam the no-bad-trips crowd. To their credit, study participants who experienced trauma recall were more likely to believe psychedelics' benefits outweigh the risks. Sounds like classic post-traumatic growth to us.

The researchers are simply calling for trauma-informed approaches across all psychedelic work. And look at you! You’re now 289 words more informed. 🫠

AFTERGLOW

Kanna you believe it?

A biotech startup founded by Harvard and Mass General scientists just raised $25 million to bring the world's first FDA-approved kanna derivative to market. Right on cue, too. Last month, Sensorium Therapeutics announced that their lead compound had cleared regulatory hurdles and would begin human trials this quarter.

According to patent filings, Sensorium’s investigational drug is based on mesembrine and mesembrenone, kanna's main bioactive compounds. Like the South African plant medicine that inspired it, the drug is expected to hit two targets at once. (Kanna blocks serotonin reuptake like SSRIs and inhibits PDE4, an enzyme involved in stress and mood regulation.) As a result, you get potential anxiety relief without the sedation or addiction risks of benzos, or the long ramp-up time of traditional antidepressants.

Kanna has been having a major wellness moment lately. (Maybe you’ve noticed brands like Fun Guy and KA! Empathogenics sponsoring these very emails.) But Sensorium is betting big bucks that kanna isn’t just a trendy CPG; it’s serious medicine. As Christopher Nolan once wrote, “You either die a supplement, or you live long enough to see yourself become the pharmaceutical.” Or something like that.

Be still, my microdosing heart

University of Colorado researchers just delivered some reassuring news for the microdosers among us. Chronic LSD use at sub-hallucinogenic doses does not appear to damage your heart. The study, published this week, directly addresses growing concerns about cardiovascular risks from long-term psychedelic use.

The worry stems from fenfluramine, a serotonin-targeting appetite suppressant that caused heart valve damage and was pulled from the market in the '90s. Since LSD activates the same receptors, scientists wondered whether microdosing could pose similar risks. To find out, researchers gave mice the equivalent of human microdoses for eight weeks straight, monitoring their hearts with regular ultrasounds. The microdosing mice were just fine, while a fenfluramine-treated control group developed the expected cardiac damage.

To state the obvious, microdosing has absolutely exploded in popularity. Unlike high-dose psychedelic therapy, microdosing appeals to people seeking cognitive and emotional benefits without the day-long commitment. (Or, ya know, the identity crisis of becoming a drop in the ocean of everything.) Of course, mice aren’t humans, so more studies are warranted. But we’ll take this as a signal that microdosing may be easier on your ticker than the doomers predicted.

CYCLISTS’ PICKS

• 📊 Index: Shroomer’s database of culinary, functional, and medicinal mushrooms includes photos, cultivation difficulty ratings, and deeper research on their benefits.

• 🧘 Virtual retreat: Heart Mind Institute’s free, 8-day Art of Meditation Summit features 66 beloved teachers representing several contemplative traditions.

• 🍫 Treat: Alice Mushrooms just released two new flavors of their chocolate sleep and focus supplements. Take 20% off with code TRICYCLEDAY.

• ☠️ Event: District216’s next marquee event in Santa Barbara is a celebration of death and psychedelics. As usual, expect lively discussions, experiential activations, and curated vendors.

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.