Novamind Ventures Inc. (Novamind), a mental health and wellness company specialized in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, is pleased to announce that it has closed the acquisitions of Cedar Psychiatry LLC

Novamind Ventures Inc. (Novamind), a mental health and wellness company specialized in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, is pleased to announce that it has closed the acquisitions of Cedar Psychiatry LLC (Cedar Psychiatry),a specialized provider of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and Cedar Clinical Research LLC (Cedar Clinical Research), a dedicated research center focused on psychedelic medicines, both based near Salt Lake City, Utah (the Cedar Acquisitions). Total consideration paid by Novamind for the Cedar Acquisitions was CAN$3.05 million, consisting of CAN$1 million cash and CAN$2.05 million in Novamind common shares.

With the closing of the Cedar Acquisitions, Reid Robison, MD, MBA, co-founder of Cedar Psychiatry and Cedar Clinical Research, will join Novaminds senior leadership team.

Cedar Psychiatry by NovamindCedar Psychiatry is now the central hub of Novaminds global network of clinics and retreats offering legal, medically supervised psychedelic experiences. Founded in 2016, Cedar Psychiatry operates four outpatient mental health clinics near Salt Lake City, Utah, providing a wide range of services including psychotherapy, diagnostic evaluations, pharmacogenetic testing, psychiatric medication management and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

In addition, Cedar Psychiatry is a leading provider of ketamine therapy, having administered over 3,000 ketamine-assisted psychotherapy sessions and over 700 SpravatoTM(esketamine) treatments since its inception. Dr. Robison is a thought leader in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and psychedelic-medicine. He was one of the first clinicians to use ketamine off-label for the treatment of depression in Utah. In 2011, Dr. Robison established a ketamine infusion practice at Intermountain Medical Center, Utahs largest hospital. Dr. Robison supervises and trains ketamine-assisted psychotherapy practitioners at Cedar Psychiatrys clinics across Utah, and to date has guided thousands of ketamine therapy journeys and hundreds of SpravatoTMtreatment sessions.

Through Novaminds global network of clinics and retreats (operating exclusively in jurisdictions where certain psychedelics are legal), Cedar Psychiatry anticipates expanding its service offerings to provide patients with increased access to psychedelic medicine, along with screening, preparation, and integration services.

Cedar Clinical Research by NovamindCedar Clinical Research (CCR) now leads Novaminds clinical research activities. From its dedicated research center in Springville, Utah, CCR has developed a strong track record providing contract research (CRO) services, including hosting clinical trials. In 2012, Dr. Robison led the Utah site for the pivotal ketamine study for treatment-resistant depression by Janssen, leading to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of SpravatoTM. CCR operates at the leading edge of evidence-based care and is currently conducting a variety of clinical research studies examining conditions including depression, eating disorders, PTSD,and end-of-life anxiety.

Cedar Clinical Research is initiating its own research studies, integrating the data and learnings gained from patient treatment experiences and outcomes at Cedar Psychiatry, as well as related international retreats, to advance research on psychedelic medicine. Novamind is evaluating a pipeline of early-stage clinical research opportunities and expects to announce preclinical work on a psychedelic therapeutic protocol during Q3 2020.

About Cedar Psychiatry and Cedar Clinical ResearchCedar Psychiatry is an innovative provider of outpatient mental health services, operating psychiatry clinics specialized in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Cedar Clinical Research is a dedicated research organization focused on advancing psychedelic medicine. Both organizations are based near Salt Lake City, Utah, and are committed to evidence-based psychedelic healing. For more information visitwww.cedarpsychiatry.com.

About NovamindNovamind is building a global network of clinics and retreats that are required for a regulated psychedelics industry. We provide access to safe, legal psychedelic experiences, while advancing research for psychedelic medicine. For more information visitwww.novamind.ca.

Contact InformationNovamindYaron Conforti, CEO and DirectorT: +1 (647) 953 9512E:contact@novamind.ca

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Novamind Closes the Acquisition of Cedar Psychiatry, a Leading Psychedelic Therapy Organization in the US | INN - Investing News Network

Since the first psychedelic companies went public in March, an array of other psychedelic start-ups followed along in a trend that can now be safely referred to as the "Psychedelic Rush."

In the last two months, at least five different psychedelics companies announced plans to go public in Canada, including Cybin Corp., Entheon Biomedical, Novamind Ventures, Silo WellnessandHavn Life Sciences.

With the exception of Havn, each chose to go public by way of reverse take-overswith companies from the mining sector.

As was the case with the boom of cannabis in 2013, mining companies driving the junior capital markets in Canada have laid thegrounds for the development of high-risk venture industries.

Today, psychedelics are taking the lead.

What seems like an unusual combination of industries is actually a run-on-the-mill event for Canadian capital markets.

Richard Carleton, CEO of the Canadian Stock Exchange, explainedthat the Canadian small-cap space has been largely focused on early-stage mining exploration, includingoil and gas.

These companies have two possible outcomes. They either find something worth drilling and raise additional capital to develop a mine, or they dont find anything.

And so you have basically a group of companies that have raised some money, explored a property, didn't succeed and now the management team and the shareholders are looking for another opportunity,Carleton said.

Thats where psychedelicscome in. These companies are trying to raise money quickly, and going public through a reverse acquisition is one of the fastest ways to do it.

In a reverse takeover (RTO), a private company looking to go public will merge with a public company in order to bypass the lengthy and expensive process of an initial public offering.

Alan Friedman, Principal at Bayline Capital Partners adds that the mining companies are available, but they're not mining companies anymore.

Once upon a time they were mining operating companies.Today, they're defunct. They're just sitting there listed on the stock exchange. And they're good vehicles to reverse other assets into.

For Friedman, the mining sector has hot cycles that lastabout sevenyears.

In 2013, one of these cycles came to an end. That moment happened to coincide with the cannabis boom. Cannabis companies were looking for ways to go public and the mining, oil and gas sector had left the perfect riverbed for a high-risk, junior capital investment market.

The same thing is happeningwith psychedelics.

When you see psychedelics come along in 2020, it's the new hot, trendy business. They can raise money, but they have to go public quick," says Friedman. "Because a lot of the money that comes in is based on the fact they go public, because those investors like to see liquidity."

According to Friedman, the quickest way for a company to go public is by way of a reverse takeover, because the vehicle and the shareholders are already there.

80% of the companies in Canada go public by way of a reverse takeover," Carleton said. "So it's a very well-traveled path."

It's also less expensive.

It could be a good few hundred thousand bucks cheaper," Friedman added. "And it could be a few months quicker.

Friedman is currently working with a private psychedelics company called Mind Health, which is in the process of negotiating a reverse takeover, and plans to go public in three months.

RTOs, however, also come with their fair share of challenges.

When you're switching industries, the shareholders are not in any way necessarily interested in that story or in that sector. And what can happen in a number of instances is that at the first sign of any kind of buying interest, once the company has gone public, those shareholders tend to sell so that it's almost like there's a built-in overhang in the company's cap table, Carleton explained.

As a result, when the company goes public, its harder to see the same kind of exuberant price moves seen when companies that go public by way of an IPO.

Also, with an RTO, the new company inherits all of the liabilities associated with the former company. And of course, in the case of mining companies, there may well be environmental issues, saysCarleton.

Its crucial to do due diligence and proper research an RTO partner before committing to a deal,Friedman advised. Although in every case there's risk.

Nonetheless, RTOs are the preferred method of going public for small-cap companies in the junior markets/IPOs are reserved for larger, more established players who typically goafter senior equity markets.

Cybin CEO Paul Glavine is currently in the process of doing a reverse takeover with a mining company called Clarmin Explorations.

Cybin achieved full support from over 60% of Clarmin's existing shareholders, Glavine said in an email. In this case, Clarmins management team will step out to let Cybins team on the helm.

Other psychedelics companies, like Entheon Biomedical which merged with mining company MPV Exploration looked for added value in their partner company. CEO Timothy Ko saidMPV provided more than just a means to trade their stock on the open market.

"There was no shortage of interested, I guess, 'shell'partners. I think Canada has a plentitude of those opportunities available. But ultimately, it was a process of discernment where we had to say, 'okay, the nature of the investor and the management on the other side, do they have a strategic value to us?'"says Ko.

Entheon found that MPVs investors could add value to the company by bringing in their shared experiences in biotech, pharma and healthcare, and the management team could offer its experience raising money in the public markets.

Picture based on photos byPhoto by Dominik Vanyiand on Unsplash.

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Why Are Psychedelics And Mining Companies Merging In Canada? - Benzinga

Robyn

Robyn has teased a new song with SG Lewis.

The 41-year-old Swedish pop star took to social media to post a clip of the track and simply captioned the post with the date of August 5.

She wrote: "5/8", and added a puzzle emoji.

SG then posted the clip on his own Twitter page and reassured fans that the track is coming on Wednesday (05.08.20) and that Robyn had shared the US format for the date.

He explained: "English date format btw don't worry people it's coming Wednesday lol (sic)"

Earlier this year, Robyn revealed she was planning to hit the studio this summer to work on her next album.

Though it's not known whether the song will feature on the follow-up to 2018's 'Honey'.

She teased: "There are leftovers.

"Some of them I'm going to record this summer, I hope.

"Usually, I finish songs. If I start them, I finish them.

"The last album took eight years. I hope it won't take that long next time."

Robyn added that she has to feel "inspired" otherwise she won't write "good songs".

She admitted: "What keeps me doing it is that I love the feeling of being inspired. If you're not inspired, you don't write good songs."

Meanwhile, Robyn previously revealed she needed therapy before releasing 'Honey' and used psychedelic drugs to beat her depression.

The 'With Every Heart Beat' hitmaker spent so much time away from the music business after suffering in the wake of her split from her on/off filmmaker boyfriend Max Vitali and struggling with the grief she experienced when her mentor Christian Falk died of pancreatic cancer in 2014.

And the musician had therapy "three times a week" to help her get over both losses and also decided to use 'micro-dosing' with natural highs such as magic mushrooms and the ayahuasca brew of the Amazonian tribes to help her get her mind right.

She said: "I went to therapy three times a week. Well I think psychedelic drugs are definitely useful in those periods of your life. It balanced me chemically. To me it's like a cleanse. Like self-care. But it was a very now-and-then thing.

"Psychedelics are like travelling they shift your perception. You come to a new country and you're like, 'Oh that's what a bus looks like.' If you're stuck in one way of thinking, travel, take some mushrooms, do something that just gets you out of your head. I've also done ayahuasca, but that's a much more heavy thing."

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Robyn to drop new song this week - The List

The latest news on IP 34 and IP 44, Oregons drug reform initiatives

July 29 Oregons state Criminal Justice Commission released an analysis of the impact of IP 44, the statewide initiative to decriminalize small amounts of all drugs, on different racial and ethnic groups. The results, according to The Oregonian:

The draft racial and ethnic impact statement prepared by the Criminal Justice Commission suggests there would be a significant decrease in misdemeanor and felony drug possession convictions across demographic groups, if voters decide to decriminalize possession of small amounts of all drugs. Total convictions for Asian Oregonians could fall by 82.9%, for Latinos by 86.5%, for whites by 91.1%, for Blacks by 93.7% and for Native Americans by 94.2%.

Read the full text of the proposal here:Oregon Psilocybin Program Initiative (Initiative 34) (therapeutic use of psilocybin)

Read the full text of the proposal here:Oregons Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act (Initiative 44) (all-drug decriminalization and treatment)

Wellboth.

IP 34 (psilocybin) would legalize the medical use of psilocybin under the care of a licensed facilitator.

IP 44 (all-drug decrim) would decriminalize all drugs.

Its unclear whether IP 44, if passed, would make IP 34 redundant, as IP 44 would make possession of psilocybin no longer a criminal act.

Initiative 34, the Oregon Psilocybin Program Initiative, would create a program and screening process for providing psilocybin to individuals 21 years of age or older. Consumption would be supervised by licensed facilitators, and the program would exist under the purview of the Oregon Health Authority, as well as an advisory board of 14-16 individuals appointed by the governor. The measure requires a two-year development period for the Oregon Health Authority to lay out regulations for the program.

Initiative 44, Oregons Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act is the first measure of its kind to reach a statewide ballot in the United States. It would remove criminal penalties for the personal, non-commercial possession of all drugs listed as Schedule I, II, III, or IV by the federal Controlled Substances Act. Possession of small quantities would be classified as a violation similar to a speeding ticket. Penalties would be a $100 fine and/or a health assessment at an addiction recovery center.

IP 44 would alsoprovide holistic, wide-reaching treatment to drug users, including housing and accessible consultations with social service providers. The proposed program would be funded almost exclusively through $100 million in annual cannabis tax revenue.

Initiative 44 (drug decrim): No. Initiative 44 removes drug possession as an arrestable offense. There are no provisions within the initiative to allow or regulate the sale of drugs. I-44 does not remove or invalidate the states current regulations regarding the manufacture and sale of alcohol and cannabis.

Initiative 34 (psilocybin):Yes. The Oregon Psilocybin Services Program would license and regulate producers, processors, delivery services and possession of psilocybin exclusively for the administration of psilocybin services by licensed facilitators to qualified clients.

Initiative 44 (drug decrim): No. Because Initiative 44 does not allow or regulate the legal sale of drugs aside from alcohol and cannabis, there are no new taxes involved.

Initiative 34 (psilocybin): Yes. Medical psilocybin would be subject to a 15% excise tax.

We defer to the experts at the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), who have the most accurate information available:

Psilocybin is the main ingredient found in several types of psychoactive mushrooms, making it perhaps the best-known naturally-occurring psychedelic drug.

Although psilocybin is considered active at doses around 3-4 mg, a common dose used in clinical research settings ranges from 14-30 mg. Its effects on the brain are attributed to its active metabolite, psilocin.

Psilocybin is most commonly found in wild or homegrown mushrooms and sold either fresh or dried. The most popular species of psilocybin mushrooms is Psilocybe cubensis, which is usually taken orally either by eating dried caps and stems or steeped in hot water and drunk as a tea, with a common dose around 1-2.5 grams.

For more in-depth information, see this Psilocybin Mushrooms Fact Sheet published by DPA.

Leaflys coverage of psilocybin and the medical uses of psychedelics includes these articles:

Silluh-SIGH-bin. Well go with author Michael Pollans pronunciation in this YouTube clip:

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IP 34, medical psilocybin legalization:

IP 44, all-drug decrim:

IP 34, medical psilocybin legalization:

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Potential treatments for severe depression, addiction and other mental health disorders are being held up by excessive restrictions on psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, scientists and politicians have said.

Clinical trials suggest that psilocybin may be a safe and effective medicine for patients with certain psychiatric illnesses who do not respond to talking therapies, antidepressants and other drugs. But researchers say their work is being stymied by the government placing the strictest possible controls on the chemical compound.

In a report published on Monday, the Adam Smith Institute, a free market thinktank, and the Conservative drug policy reform group, urge ministers to order a review of psilocybin and remove the obstacles faced by researchers.

Under Home Office regulations, psilocybin is classified as a schedule 1 drug, along with raw opium, LSD, ecstasy and cannabis, and is not considered a medicinal compound. While clinical trials are allowed under licence, obtaining one takes more time and money than many researchers can afford, the authors say.

The report calls on government to make psilocybin a schedule 2 drug, a move that would dramatically cut the cost and time taken to obtain a licence and remove the stigma surrounding research into the drug.

Jo Neill, a co-author on the report and professor of psychopharmacology at Manchester University, said: Patients are losing out because its taking an awful lot longer and its costing a lot more money to get the research evidence we need to have psilocybin approved for use. And there are patients dying in the meantime, there are people killing themselves.

There are people who would be doing this research who arent because they cant afford it and they know its going to take them a year to get the licence. They cannot wait that long. If psilocybin were rescheduled, all the universities would have a programme on this. Its very frustrating.

Early trials suggest that one or two doses of psilocybin can lead to an immediate improvement in anxiety and depression, but such trials are often prohibitively expensive. Neill, who is also chair of the medical psychedelics working group for the nonprofit DrugScience, said one trial cost 20,000 because six separate licences at 3,000 each were needed to cover everything from manufacture to dispensing the drug.

We have a huge unmet medical need in psychiatry, she said. There are a lot of good treatments on the NHS, lots of talking therapy, and antidepressants work for some people. But theres a huge amount of people who are just not being treated. We need to heal people and these drugs are healing.

David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the report, said schedule 1 licenses cost thousands of pounds and took a year or more to get.

Most universities wont pay for them so research is stymied, he said. Schedule 1 status serves no role in stopping recreational use as there has never been diversion from a research lab to street use. Heroin and fentanyl two much more sought-after drugs are schedule 2, so I say let us store our psilocybin alongside them. It will be perfectly safe and much easier as all universities and hospitals are given schedule 2 status free as a right.

Crispin Blunt, the Tory MP for Reigate and chair of the Conservative drug policy reform group, said the schedule 1 classification had led to a scientific blackout lasting nigh on 50 years that precluded new treatments, and with them, the prospect of a better life for millions.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We need to strike the right balance between enabling legitimate research to take place in a secure environment while ensuring that harmful drugs are not misused and do not get into the hands of criminals. The current classification of psilocybin under schedule 1 does not prevent research or clinical trials under a Home Office licence.

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Ease restrictions on medical psychedelics to aid research, experts say - The Guardian

As cannabis investors increasingly cross over to the psychedelic side of the aisle, the race is on to see which company will be the leader. One of the biggest players in the space, Atai Life Sciences, remains a private company.

But there are already numerous publicly traded companies for an industry that -- like cannabis -- is still essentially illegal in the U.S.Plus, the jury is out on whether psychedelic treatment companies and psilocybin mushrooms will be legalized.

Having said that, investors are anxious to grab the next penny stock that may be poised to jump on the psychedelic bubble. Most of these companies are only in the beginning stages of working with psychedelics so there is lots of risk to be sure.

The Top 5 psychedelic companies as measured by market cap:

1. Mind Medicine (MMEDF) , whose market cap is at $60 million, like the others is a relative newcomer to the publicly traded arena. The company listed in March and has been racing ahead in its drug development pipeline. The company has moved beyond ketamine and psilocybin mushrooms and has also embraced LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) as a treatment compound. MindMed as it is called, has begun clinical trials for LSD to treat anxiety and cluster headaches. The company has clinical trials for MDMA (3,4 Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and DMT (the active ingredient in Ayahuasca). The company's immediate priority is to address the opioid crisis by developing a non-hallucinogenic version of the psychedelic ibogaine. So far Mindmed has spent $3.9 million on research and development and has no product revenue. MindMed has even said it may not generate revenue for several years. Think of MindMed as a typical biotech play, there is no quick revenue turn like a cannabis company.

2. Champignon Brands (SHRMF) logs in at $57 million. The company hasn't traded any Canadian shares since June, as trading was stopped until the company is able to update its disclosure obligations. Theover-the-countershares still trade. Since then it has filed business acquisition reports in connection with its previous acquisitions of Artisan Growers Ltd., Novo Formulations Ltd. and Tassili Life Sciences Corp. A couple of weeks ago, the company issued a statement that said it decided against a new rebranding effort. It also terminated its plan to buy the Wellness Clinic of Orange County. Champignon said it still planned to file a report with regards to acquiring AltMedCapital Corp. by Aug. 27. The company currently specializes in the formulation and end distribution of a suite of mushroom-infused beverage products and it sells Auralite crystals. The acquisitions are an attempt to move into ketamine treatment clinics.

3. Revive Therapeutics (RVVTF) comes in at $31 million. Revive's cannabinoid delivery technology is being advanced to fill the medical needs for diseases and disorders such as pain, inflammation, and wound care. Revive's cannabinoid pharmaceutical portfolio focuses on rare inflammatory areas such as liver disease. The company has been granted FDA orphan drug status designation for the use of CBD to treat auto-immune hepatitis (liver disease) and FDA orphan drug status designation for the use of CBD to treat ischemia and reperfusion injury from organ transplantation. In February, it announced plans to acquire Psilocin Pharma Corp. for $2.75 million. Psilocin has developed production solutions for the active compound Psilocybin. The precisely dosed formulations work with both natural and synthetically derived Psilocybin which will be targeted for clinical research and subject to eventually Food and Drug Administration approval in the treatment ofconditions such as depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, bulimia and anorexia. The company also filed an IND for a COVID treatment.

4. Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (MYCOF) (formerly known as New Leaf Brands) has a market cap of $18.7 million. The company recently announced the acquisition of NeuroPharm Inc. a Canadian-based developer of natural psychedelic-based treatments for mental health disorders in the Canadian and United States veteran communities. That company entered into a collaborative relationship with Leiden University Medical Center of The Netherlands for the initiation of clinical trials. The project, "NeuroPharm Veteran PTSD Research Project," is preparing a type of protocol to be used for a clinical trial for the specific treatment of PTSD in veterans.In June, the company signed a deal with Mindleap Health Inc. to buy MindLeap's Digital Telehealth Platform which is also focused on the psychedelics industry.

5. Numinus Wellness (LKYSF) is listed with a market cap of $18.2 million. Numinus Health Corp acquired Salvation Botanicals, a company that consists of a testing and research laboratory that is licensed by Health Canada to test cannabis and narcotics substances and a cannabis production facility capable of manufacturing extracts, edibles and topicals. In addition, it has a Dealer's License dated Jan. 1and issued to Salvation under the CDSA for possession, processing, sale, sending, transportation and delivery of psilocybin, mescaline, DMT and MDMA. The company has created a Clinical Advisory Council to explore psychedelic treatments, but so far that is the only effort beyond the license that has been made with regards to psychedelics. For the three months ended April 30, the Company had a net loss of $181,653 and no revenue.

Please note that due to factors including low market capitalization and/or insufficient public float, we consider these names to be a small-cap stocks. You should be aware that such stocks are subject to more risk than stocks of larger companies, including greater volatility, lower liquidity and less publicly available information, and that postings such as this one can have an effect on their stock prices.

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Numinus provides tailored treatments for clients of one of Canada's largest addiction treatment organizations

VANCOUVER, BC, July 29, 2020 /CNW/ - Numinus Wellness Inc. ("Numinus" or the "Company") (TSXV: NUMI), a company creating an ecosystem of health solutions centered around developing and supporting the safe, evidence-based, accessible use of psychedelic-assisted therapies, is pleased to announce its partnership with Together We Can Addiction Recovery and Education Society (TWC). TWC is one of Canada's largest addiction treatment organizations, a registered charity, licensed healthcare provider, and an approved Canadian Federal Government service provider for the veterans' community. The partnership has enabled TWC to enhance its mental health and addiction recovery support services with tailored mind/body wellness programs. Numinus's associated wellness clinic is benefitting from the partnership with a dedicated stream of revenue, reinitiated since the clinic's re-opening post-COVID earlier this month. The active service provider partnership is designed to ultimately support psychedelic-assisted therapies when authorized for use in Canada.

One in five Canadians suffer from addiction in any given year, and deaths from the current overdose crisisattributable to opioid and other addictions are growing. Numinus and TWC share the view that new solutions and integrative approaches are needed to enhance traditional recovery-based approaches to help people make transformative change, heal, and be well. The partnership currently extends the continuum of care provided to TWC clients with specialized mind/body programs which include modalities such as naturopathy, registered massage therapy, trauma and somatic therapies, and breathwork through Numinus's associated wellness clinic in Vancouver. Individualized programs are continually being developed for TWC clients, including Canadian Forces members and veterans dealing with addiction, PTSD, anxiety, grief and loss, and other diagnoses.

Says Brett S., a TWC client who has already benefited from the partnership, "While I was in treatment at Together We Can for my drug addiction, I was given the opportunity to try out the services of the clinic. They not only supported me through recovery from my addictions but also helped me address my ADHD. I'm so grateful that Numinus's services were part of my overall recovery."

Longer term, the partnership also aims to provide TWC clients early-access to safe, evidence-based, regulated psychedelic-assisted therapies through Numinus's implementation science partnerships and to provide Numinus with a key partner when it is able to provide these therapies in addition to its current services.

Although psychedelic-assisted therapies are not yet available outside of a research context, both parties are optimistic these therapies hold great promise as new treatment options for addiction and mental health care and that they will become increasingly accessible through regulatory approvals. A growing body of evidence suggests psychedelics, especially psilocybin, may dramatically improve outcomes from substance use disorders.While more research is required to fully define the outcomes and safety of the therapeutic use of psychedelic substances, the Canadian federal government is under increasing pressure to provide access to psilocybin-assisted therapy for various mental health and addiction conditions.

"The partnership with Numinus is so important for our clients. There is more demand than we can manage for our services, and our clients need the complementary programs Numinus provides," says Stacy Wilson, TWC Executive Director. "We are excited to find a partner that is aligned with our mission and to work with a team that is driven by heartfelt passion. We both believe whole body/mind integrated support is critical to recovery, and we are optimistic that psychedelic-assisted therapies will also play a significant role in addressing addiction recovery when they are regulated."

Adds Numinus Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Evan Wood, an internationally recognized clinician scientist and expert in addiction treatment, "The growing body of research into the role of psychedelic-assisted therapy in the treatment of substance use disorders is incredibly compelling. This partnership creates a wonderful opportunity to consolidate new strategies with an implementation science lens that can ultimately improve safe access to those seeking additional strategies for treatment and recovery."

About NuminusNuminus is a Vancouver-based health care company creating an ecosystem of health solutions centred around developing and supporting the safe, evidence-based, accessible use of psychedelic-assisted therapies. Numinus's ecosystem units include Numinus Bioscience, Numinus R&D, and Numinus Health. Each unit is undertaking distinct, synergistic initiatives to hasten approved access to psychedelic-assisted therapy models in Canada and position Numinus as a trusted industry leader for the eventual regulated rollout of these therapies once available. Numinus Bioscience includes a 7,000 square foot research and testing laboratory as well as numerous Health Canada licenses (through its wholly-owned subsidiary Salvation Botanicals), including a cannabis testing license which provides established and growing revenue. It is also a late-stage application for cannabis processing. Additionally, the Company holds a dealer's licence which allows it to import, export, possess, and test MDMA, psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, and mescaline, and it is the only publicly listed company in Canada to be issued a Health Canada license to produce and extract psilocybin from mushrooms for the purpose of developing proprietary extraction methods. These licences will allow Numinus to support the growing number of studies on the potential benefits of psychedelic therapies through research projects, product development, and the supply and distribution of these substances. Numinus R&D leverages established relationships to position the Company for partnerships to host studies, develop medical and therapeutic protocols, and influence regulatory approval. Numinus Health, with one clinic already prototyping systems for efficiency and profitability, is dedicated to delivering therapies that enhance and supplement existing optionscentred around psychedelic-assisted therapies when and where regulatedfor people wanting lasting physical, mental, and emotional health. For more information, visit http://www.numinus.ca.

About TWCFounded in 1993 and located in both Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, Together We Can Addiction Recovery & Education Society is one of Canada's premier treatment centres for men battling alcohol and drug addiction. Its mission is to educate and support individuals and their families who desire a new life in recovery. It provides over 310 individuals with an immersive 60-90 day recovery-based primary addiction treatment experience, followed by transitional housing in a therapeutic residential environment. For more information, visit http://www.twcrecoverylife.org.

Forward Looking StatementsThis news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, dependence on obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including acquiring and renewing federal, provincial, municipal, local or other licenses and any inability to obtain all necessary governmental approvals licenses and permits to operate and expand the Company's facilities; regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including federal and provincial legalization, due to inconsistent public opinion, perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry, bureaucratic delays or inefficiencies or any other reasons; any other factors or developments which may hinder market growth; the Company's limited operating history and lack of historical profits; reliance on management; the Company's requirements for additional financing, and the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability; competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; and the need to secure and maintain corporate alliances and partnerships, including with research and development institutions, customers and suppliers. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other risk factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. The Company has no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available as a result of future events, new information or for any other reason except as required by law.

SOURCE Numinus Wellness Inc.

For further information: Dana Harvey, VP Communications and Investor Relations, Numinus, [emailprotected], 778-929-3262; Daniel Maceachern, Operations Manager, TWC, [emailprotected], (604) 451-9854

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Numinus and Together We Can Partner to Support Addiction Recovery and Mental Wellness - Canada NewsWire

Psychedelics are a hallucinogenic class of psychoactive drug whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness and psychedelic experiences via serotonin 2A receptor agonism.[2] This causes specific psychological, visual and auditory changes, and often a substantially altered state of consciousness. "Classical" psychedelic drugs include mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT.

Most psychedelic drugs fall into one of the three families of chemical compounds: tryptamines, phenethylamines, or lysergamides. These chemicals all activate serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, which modulate the activity of key circuits in the brain involved with sensory perception and cognition, however the exact nature of how psychedelics induce changes in perception and cognition through the 5-HT2A receptor is still unknown. The psychedelic experience is often compared to non-ordinary forms of consciousness such as those experienced in meditation,[3][4] mystical experiences,[5][6] and near-death experiences.[6] The phenomenon of ego dissolution is often described as a key feature of the psychedelic experience.[3][4][6]

Many psychedelic drugs are illegal worldwide under the UN conventions, occasionally excepting use in a religious or research context. Despite these controls, recreational use of psychedelics is common.[7][8] Legal barriers have made the scientific study of psychedelics more difficult. Research has been conducted, however, and studies show that psychedelics are physiologically safe and do not lead to addiction.[9][10] Studies conducted using psilocybin in a psychotheraputic setting reveal that psychedelic drugs may assist with treating depression and alcohol addiction, and possibly also nicotine addiction.[11][12] Although further research is needed, existing results are showing that psychedelics may be useful for treating certain forms of psychopathology.[13][14][8]

The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words (psyche, "soul, mind") and (delein, "to manifest"), hence "mind manifesting", the implication being that psychedelics can develop unused potentials of the human mind.[15] The word was coined in 1956 by British psychiatrist, Humphry Osmond, the spelling loathed by American ethnobotanist Richard Schultes, but championed by the American psychologist, Timothy Leary.[16]

Aldous Huxley had suggested to Humphry Osmond in 1956 his own coinage phanerothyme (Greek phaneroein- "visible" and Greek thymos "soul", thus "visible soul").[17] Recently, the term entheogenic has come into use to denote the use of psychedelic drugs in a religious, spiritual, and mystical context.

Psychedelics have a long history of use in traditional medicine and traditional religion, for their perceived ability to promote physical and mental healing. In this context, they are often known as entheogens. Native American practitioners using mescaline-containing cacti (most notably peyote, San Pedro, and Peruvian torch) have reported success against alcoholism, and Mazatec practitioners routinely use psilocybin mushrooms for divination and healing. Ayahuasca, which contains the potent psychedelic DMT, is used in Peru and other parts of South America for spiritual and physical healing as well as in religious festivals.[citation needed]

Psychedelic substances which may have therapeutic uses include psilocybin, LSD, and mescaline.[14] During the 1950s and 1960s, lack of informed consent in some scientific trials on psychedelics led to significant, long-lasting harm to some participants.[14] Since then, research regarding the effectiveness of psychedelic therapy has been conducted under strict ethical guidelines, with fully informed consent and a pre-screening to avoid people with psychosis taking part.[14] Although the history behind these substances has hindered research into their potential medicinal value, scientists are now able to conduct studies and renew research that was halted in the 1970s. Some research has shown that these substances have helped people with such mental disorders as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcoholism, depression, and cluster headaches.[8]

Many of the currently known psychedelics are classified as having no accepted medical use in the United States.[18] However, in 2018 the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression.[19] In 2019, the FDA also granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for psilocybin therapy treating major depressive disorder.[20] In 2017, a Phase II clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD led to a designation of breakthrough therapy status by the FDA.[21] The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and the FDA have agreed on the design for the Phase III trial, and if the trial is successful the treatment could be approved as early as 2021.[22]

Recreational use of psychedelics is common.[7][8]

Psychedelic microdosing is the practice of using sub-threshold doses (microdoses) of psychedelics in an attempt to improve creativity, boost physical energy level, emotional balance, increase performance on problems-solving tasks and to treat anxiety, depression and addiction.[23][24] The practice of microdosing has become more widespread in the 21st century with more people claiming long-term benefits from the practice.[25][26]

Tryptamine, along with other trace amines, is found in the central nervous system of mammals. It is hypothesized to play a role as a neuromodulator on classical monoamine neurotransmitters, such dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine (epinephrine). Tryptamine acts as a non-selective serotonin receptor agonist to activate serotonin receptors, and a serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agent (SNDRA) to release more monoamine neurotransmitter, with a preference for evoking serotonin and dopamine release over norepinephrine( epinephrine) release.[27][28][29] This chemical class is well documented to cause classic psychedelic states, such as increased empathy, visual distorsions (drifting, morphing, breathing, melting of various surfaces and objects), auditory hallucinations, ego dissolution or ego death with high enough dose, mystical and spiritual experiences, closed eye hallucinations and complete detachment from reality with a high enough dose.[30] Psychedelic tryptamines that could be found in nature are psilocin, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT or they could be synthesised in a laboratory like 4-HO-MET or 5-MeO-DALT.

Phenethylamine is also a trace amine but to a lesser extent acts as a neurotransmitter in the human central nervous system. Phenethylamine instead regulates monoamine neurotransmission by binding to trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1), which plays a significant role in regulating neurotransmission in dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin neurons in the CNS and inhibiting vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) in monoamine neurons.[31][32] When VMAT2 is inhibited monoamine neurotransmitters such as dopamine cannot be released into the synapse via typical release mechanisms.[33]

Amides of lysergic acid are collectively known as lysergamides, and include a number of compounds with potent agonist and/or antagonist activity at various serotonin and dopaminereceptors. LSD is one of many lysergamides. A wide range of lysergamides have emerged in recent years, inspired by existing scientific literature. Others, have appeared from chemical research.[34]

Classic psychedelics are considered to be those found in nature like psilocybin, DMT, mescaline, and LSD which is derived from naturally occurring ergotamine, and non-classic psychedelics are considered to be newer analogs and derivatives of pharmacophore lysergamides, tryptamine, and phenethylamine structures like 2C-B. Many of these psychedelics cause remarkably similar effects, despite their different chemical structure. However, many users report that the three major families have subjectively different qualities in the "feel" of the experience, which are difficult to describe. At lower doses, these include sensory alterations, such as the warping of surfaces, shape suggestibility, and color variations. Users often report intense colors that they have not previously experienced, and repetitive geometric shapes are common. Higher doses often cause intense and fundamental alterations of sensory perception, such as synesthesia or the experience of additional spatial or temporal dimensions.[35] Some compounds, such as 2C-B, have extremely tight "dose curves", meaning the difference in dose between a non-event and an overwhelming disconnection from reality can be very slight.[citation needed] There can be very substantial differences between the drugs, however. For instance, 5-MeO-DMT rarely produces the visual effects typical of other psychedelics. It has long been known that psychedelics promote neurite growth and synaptic plasticity.[36][37][38] Psychedelics have also been shown to have potent anti-inflammatory activity and therapeutic effects in animal models of inflammatory diseases including asthma,[39] and cardiovascular disease and diabetes.[40]

Although not pharmacologically considered psychedelics, empathogen-entactogens are phenethylamines of the MDxx class such as MDMA, MDEA, and MDA have some overlap in the behaviors that they elicit with psychedelics. Their effects are characterized by feelings of openness, euphoria, empathy, love, heightened self-awareness, and by mild audio and visual distortions (an overall enhancement of sensory experience is often reported). Their adoption by the rave subculture is probably due to the enhancement of the overall social and musical experience.

Salvia divinorum is a dissociative that is sometimes classified as an atypical psychedelic with some overlap in its perceptual effects with serotonergic psychedelics. The active molecule in the plant, salvinorin A, is a kappa opioid receptor agonist, working on a part of the brain that deals with pain. Activation of this receptor is also linked to the dysphoria sometimes experienced by users of opioids either therapeutically or recreationally. An unusual feature of S. divinorum is its high potency (dosage is in the microgram range) and extremely disorienting effects, which often include "entity contact", complete loss of reality-perception and user's experiencing their consciousness as being housed in different objects, for example a pane of glass or a pencil. Cannabis (containing THC), particularly when taken in edible form is commonly referred to as a mild psychedelic, and produces behavioral effects with some similarity to true psychedelics.

Psychedelic drugs are not addictive.[9][10] There is also no evidence that they cause long-term harm to mental health.[41]

Ira Byock wrote in 2018 in the Journal of Palliative Medicine that psilocybin is safe when administered to a properly screened patient and supervised by a qualified professional with appropriate set and setting. However, he called for an "abundance of caution" because in the absence of these conditions a range of negative reactions are possible, including "fear, a prolonged sense of dread, or full panic." He notes that driving or even walking in public can be dangerous during a psychedelic experience because of impaired hand-eye coordination and fine motor control.[42]

Many psychedelic drugs have been declared illegal under the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971. In addition, many countries have analogue acts that automatically forbid any drugs sharing similar chemical structures to common illicit substances regardless of whether or not they are harmful.

Psychedelic culture includes manifestations such as psychedelic music,[43] psychedelic art,[44] psychedelic literature,[45] psychedelic film,[46][47] and psychedelic festivals.[48]

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Psychedelic drug - Wikipedia

Psychedelics, while they can cause pleasurable side effects, are mostly Schedule I classified drugs that are not only illegal but dangerous. While psychedelics can cause a person to feel a sense of oneness with the universe and experience spiritual or enjoyable hallucinations and distorted perceptions, they can also cause intense fear, paranoia, and panic.

Whether or not a person has a good trip or a bad tripall depends on many variables, and there is no assurance that even the same individual will experience a positive reaction twice. This is only one of the dangers of psychedelics which, while they have been used in spiritual rituals for centuries, can cause many harmful effects.

We can help you quit using psychedelic drugs. Call 800-895-1695 today.

The effects of psychedelics are extremely hard to predict. As stated by CESAR, psilocybin or psychedelic mushrooms are one of the most popularly abused psychedelics to this day, and the effects produced by psilocybin are highly variable and depend on several factors including the age, type, and dosage amount of the mushroom used, the setting the mushroom is used in, the users expectations, past drug experiences, and personality.

This is what makes psychedelic drugs so different from other commonly abused substances; it is very difficult to pinpoint how a person will react to these drugs or what they should even expect. While some effects like hallucinations, nausea, and an altered perception of space and time can all be expected to be experienced by the user, psychedelics may cause a different type of high in every user (each and every time) and their effects could last anywhere from an hour to six or more.

Psychedelic drugs can cause severe psychological distress and other harmful side effects.

While there isnt a strong amount of research on the issue of psychedelic drug addiction, it is possible in some instances. Especially with a drug like MDMA, some users report symptoms of dependence, including continued use despite knowledge of physical or psychological harm, tolerance (or diminished response), and withdrawal effects (NIDA).

Some other drugs (like LSDand peyote) only cause tolerance while the effects of salvia divinorum have not yet been researched enough to provide any conclusive results. The question of whether or not addiction to certain psychedelic drugs exists can be puzzling. In many cases, though, treatment may still be necessary to help with the effects abusing psychedelic drugs can cause.We can help you find the treatment you need. Call 800-895-1695 toll free today.

If you are concerned about your psychedelic drug abuse or that of another individual, here are some steps to follow in order to better the situation.

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Psychedelics - Mushrooms, LSD, Salvia

Most herbal formulas in our selection contain seeds with the well-known alkaloid LSA and other psychedelic, hallucinogenic ingredients. These substances are best used in the company of trusted friends and in a natural environment that you feel safe in. Psychedelics function in the same way as LSD. The difference between LSD and psychedelics is that the latter does not contain any synthetic substances that could be hazardous. In general, psychedelics are natural products and often mimic medications that doctors prescribe to their patients.

Product 1 to 9 (of 9 products) Result:1

Product 1 to 9 (of 9 products) Result:1

There are various types of psychedelics, which can be broken down into the form that you consume the substance and its chemical structure. The different usage types are:

Chemical structure varies for each psychedelic. Some contain the compounds that are also in alcohol. As such, these create a similar effect, but without the hangover, dehydration, or nausea. Others directly mimic the substances in LSD, but the psychedelic itself is different. However, the effect is practically the same. There are also substances that contain LSA, a substance that changes your sense of awareness in a variety of ways. You may see things differently than they are and think about them differently.

Psychedelics will make you hallucinate. This can happen in a number of ways. Some people only see moving images, while others begin to view the world in a totally different way. Hallucination is typically a fun experience. However, people can also have a bad trip. This is a trip that causes fear, sadness or other negative emotions. For this reason, it is important to use these substances in the company of people you trust.

Do you have any questions about our selection or using the psychedelics? Dont hesitate to contact us!

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Buy psychedelics online | Avalon Magic Plants

As recent trials of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy enter the last phase of testing, the coming need for many trained therapists and guides seems inevitable. Until recently, the only opportunity to train and work legally as a psychedelic therapist was in clinical trials. That will likely change over time as expanded access becomes the next step for current trials (evaluating MDMA and psilocybin) and if psychedelic-assisted therapies become FDA approved.

Many people are looking for information about psychedelic therapy and opportunities to become guides or therapists after reading Michael Pollans new book HowtoChange Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us about Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence [1]. Providers are seeking trainings to become more informed about psychedelic experiences. They also want to know how to become certified to administer psychedelics in clinical trials and potentially post approval.

Still, there remain many unknowns about what training programs outside of the drug sponsors will be acceptable by FDA to dispense MDMA or psilocybin post-approval. FDA has never regulated psychotherapy, but medical devices often require training in a certified program. Demonstration of competency and maintaining of the acquired skills is required for compliance with regulatory agencies. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is one example of a specialized device with specific training requirements. Its not yet known how FDA will regulate trainings for psychedelic-assisted therapies.

The FDA may approve MDMA for PTSD treatment as early as2021, as MAPS has projected based on an optimistic (and likely realistic)finding of significant and positive results from two on-going Phase 3 trials.If so, thousands of therapists and doctors will be needed to meet the increaseddemand and opportunity for greater access. PTSD can be a difficult to treatcondition with many individuals not accessing or responding to availabletreatments, so this call for expanded access will be an exciting opportunity toprovide care to a much larger number of people who are currently suffering.

The next likely candidate for FDA approval after MDMA is psilocybin for the treatment of depression. In late 2018, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, which will help expedite its approval as long as results from clinical trials remain positive

Despite many unknowns, some training programs already exist,and many more are expected to become available.

In 2015, the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) started a formal training program called the Certificate in Psychedelic-assisted Therapies and Research. The hybrid residential, in-person and online curriculum is a roughly 9-month course with rotating guest lecturers and a weeklong retreat. This program is broad in focus, interdisciplinary, and covers classic psychedelic medicines (e.g., psilocybin, ayahuasca, peyote, LSD) as well as the newer medicines (sometimes labeled empathogens or entactogens) like MDMA and ketamine.

To enroll in the CIIS certificate program, interestedindividuals must fill out an application, complete an interview, and receive anoffer from the programs selection committee. Applicants are required to be alicensed mental health or medical professional, counseling attorneys, or ordainedor commissioned clergy and chaplains. The tuition cost is currently set at$10,000. There are several information sessions scheduled throughout the yearto explain more and answer questions about the program. Each cohort generallystarts in the Spring and graduates in December.

More substance-specific trainings also exist. In anticipation of Expanded Access approval, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has now posted an application for the MDMA Therapy Training Program with an invitation to apply. Training is currently prioritized for providers who would likely qualify for the Expanded Access program. If accepted by FDA, more clinics will open for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD treatment during expanded access. Requirements for clinics and providers are provided as is a forum for providers to connect with others who are interested in starting up MDMA clinics.

While no strict criteria have been released about who would qualify, the MAPS website states that at minimum one person in the therapy team pair must be licensed to conduct psychotherapy. While the other person does not need to be licensed, they must display training in therapeutic relationship, ethics, and traumas.

Each clinic also needs a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) license, which requires a licensed medical provider who can prescribe (e.g., medical doctor (MD), doctor of osteopathy (DO), or other eligible prescriber). MAPS encourages interested providers to apply now in preparation for the expected post-FDA approval. The cost for training and supervision is currently set at $9,000.

Other industry drug sponsors, such as Usona Institute and COMPASS Pathways, and researchers at various universities have devised their own trainings and ways to prepare clinicians to work on clinical trials of psychedelics. At this time, there are no details posted on websites about what the trainings consist of, but journal publications have described procedures, such as the Usona Guide Manual [2].

The CIIS program is approximately 180 hours and covers awider range of topics related to psychedelic therapies. More time is spent onhistorical and philosophical aspects of non-ordinary states of consciousness,including non-substance induced ones as seen in Holotropic Breathwork and deepmeditation. The learning objectives are focused more broadly on psychedelicsand empathogens, rather than specifically on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy [3].

The MAPS program is a 5-part course with didactic training and experiential learning components. Trainees start with online e-learning modules covering MDMA pharmacology and its clinical safety profile, an introduction to the MDMA Treatment Manual [4], and some basics about clinical trials. A week-long, in-person training follows where MDMA session videos are viewed and discussed with the therapists who treated the study participants. The next parts involve role playing, observing MDMA sessions, and then treating a patient with supervision and evaluation from the trainers.

Some parts of these two programs overlap significantly. For example, the weeklong in-person retreat for both programs focuses on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and are taught by Michael and Anne Mithoefer, MDMA study therapists and lead instructors at MAPS.

Dating back to the first research studies of LSD in the1950s, a first-hand experience in a non-ordinary state of consciousness hasbeen perceived valuable for administering psychedelics. Its thought that byunderstanding the drug effects, the therapists can more readily establishempathetic rapport and presence to support a persons therapeutic process. Theycan also be better able to respect the power and significance of theseexperiences.

For indigenous communities, its deemed essential thatshamans or ceremonial leaders have personal experience with the psychoactive plantsthey give to others. But in Western medical practices, it is rarely the case thatdoctors are encouraged (or even allowed) to take a medication to understand theeffects a patient would feel.

Thus, psychedelics present a new challenge for psychiatricmedical training. If there is value in having a personal experience, then howcan providers legally pursue an experiential learning component to theirtraining? To date the evidence of potential benefits of doing so remainanecdotal due to lack of approved controlled research.

CIISs program is an above board program with no use of illicit substances. MAPS, however, received approval in their sponsored, FDA-approved study that allows trainees in their program to receive one dose of MDMA in a clinical setting if they also are eligible for the research study as a participant. As with all clinical trials, participants in the approved study must meet criteria to enroll and provide data to assess potential benefits or harms. Even if they meet the basic inclusion criteria, trainees are not required to undergo an MDMA session. Some might have conditions that would counter-indicate the use of MDMA. For example, pregnant women or individuals with cardiac disease would be excluded. Trainees may also simply not want to take a drug.

As alluded to earlier, Holotropic Breathwork is one alternative to reach a non-ordinary state of consciousness without consuming any substance. Through accelerated breathing and stimulating music, a person can enter into states similar to ones induced by drugs.

CIIS incorporates Holotropic Breathwork as experiential learning in their program. Therapists may consider alternatives, but they should do so while considering carefully the legal and ethical guidelines of their licensing board and professional organizations. Psychedelic Support and its partners do not encourage or condone the illegal use of substances.

Given this reality, other possible alternatives for experiential learning do exist. They include attending plant medicine ceremonies in other countries where it is legal, shamanic drumming/chanting practices, or extended meditation. Research is needed to understand if first-hand exposure by therapists impacts patient outcomes, and if so, what type of drugs or experiences are best for training. We encourage therapists exploring this new area to consult with their colleagues and even seek out legal counsel as they deem appropriate.

If becoming a psychedelic therapist is of interest to you, then there are things you can do now to help figure out if this path is right for you and if so, prepare for the future. You can start by reading books and articles about psychedelic-assisted therapies. If you want hands-on experience supporting individuals undergoing a difficult psychedelic experience, one great way to do so is to volunteer for harm reduction services at festivals.

Already a health provider? Network with other professionals interested in this topic and attend psychedelic conferences. If you are a clinician, consider joining a Psychedelic 101 and 102 Introductory Course by Psychedelic Support providers, Dr. Elizabeth Neilson and Dr. Ingmar Gorman. Check out our website Psychedelic.Support to view a current list of organizations offering professional trainings related to psychedelics.

Lastly, educate yourself and share what you are learning with others. A new profession is evolving, and more opportunities are becoming available for those who wish to pursue a career in psychedelic medicine.

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How to Become a Psychedelic Therapist - Training Opportunities

Last week was a rough one for me.

I woke up on Monday morning with a severe case of vertigo.

Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

The room was spinning so fast, and it didnt take long for me to start freaking out.

I had no idea what was going on.

I managed to get out of bed and walk to the kitchen where I attempted to sit down, but ended up losing my balance and falling over.

I really thought that something terrible was about to happen. I thought I was about to die. And as most folks do in such situations, I quickly started evaluating my life. Getting somewhat philosophical, if you will.

Has my life had purpose?

Have I offered any positive contributions to my community?

Have I offered any real value to society?

Have I offered value to my friends, co-workers, colleagues, and you, as well?

I have close to 50 years on me, and Im now looking back on nearly five decades, questioning whether or not Im content or satisfied with what Ive learned, what Ive offered, and what Ive contributed to the world.

Yes, these are big philosophical questions, and questions that I probably havent pondered since my college days. Back when books and teachers and peers challenged my limited world view, and schooled me and exposed me to new worlds and ideas that ultimately made me the person I am today.

For better or worse, Im content with the person I am today.

But is that enough?

If someone were to ask you at age 16, whether youd like your life to be considered one of contentment or one of great joy and extreme fulfillment, which would you choose?

Sitting here today at my laptop, typing out these words, Im forcing myself to face this question.

Am I truly happy and fulfilled? And if not, then why?

Truth is, I have no reason to complain.

I have an amazing family, great friends, and a job I absolutely love.

You know, I watched my father work two jobs for most of his working life. And I can tell you, the man never looked forward to going to work. As far as I know, anyway.

I dont think he ever liked his jobs, but he had a responsibility to take care of his family. He needed a paycheck, and didnt have the privilege of time or inherited wealth that wouldve allowed him the opportunity to pursue any kind of real passion. Yet, without much in the way of complaining, he took his responsibility to his family very seriously. And despite spending more than 40 years working jobs he didnt enjoy, he sucked it up so that his kids could have a good life. I believe that he sacrificed his happiness so that I could have certain advantages he never had: a stable home, a safe neighborhood in which to grow up, and a world where I never had to worry about having a roof over my head or food on the table.

Both my parents worked their asses off so I could have a good life. And yet here I am, questioning the value of this amazing life Ive been gifted.

Honestly, I feel pretty shitty even talking about it. How unappreciative I must sound. The fact that I even have the privilege of questioning the value of my existence is because of what my parents did for me.

Of course, it doesnt take a near death experience (or perceived near death experience), to be forced to confront our lives, goals, and purpose in a different way. Certainly not over the past few months, anyway.

Being on lock-down, worrying about pandemics, watching my country come to terms with a long history of intolerance and violence in a way that we havent seen since the 1960s. Or in my case, for the very first time. This is all very intense.

Ive actually been thinking about this a lot lately, particularly with how Ive been watching the United States become further divided. And I watch politicians use the recent uprisings in our country as fodder for sound bytes and re-election campaigns. They use these crises to their advantages by manipulating us to fight against each other, when in fact, the things we seem to be fighting about are shared concerns. Things that should actually be bringing us together, not separating us.

Are our jobs safe?

Do we have enough savings set aside for a rainy day (or many rainy days)?

Are our constitutional and civil rights still valid?

Is our personal safety at risk?

Is our food safe to eat, our water clean to drink, and our air safe to breathe?

These are not left vs. right issues.

These are issues that affect all of us, no matter which side of the aisle we call home.

But instead of uniting to address these issues, we are allowing these politicians and opportunistic media pundits to play us against each other.

How has this happened?

How did we get here?

Ive had a lot of time to think about this, and I really believe that much of this has to do with economics.

I know, it sounds weird, but bear with me, because my argument is sound.

Ive long been an unapologetic supporter of capitalism. Its just always made sense to me. This idea where individuals and businesses freely produce, buy and sell goods and services based on voluntarily agreed upon contracts.

I grow apples. You want an apple. I will sell you an apple for a mutually agreed upon price whereby we both benefit. You walk away with the apple, and I am compensated for the time, energy, and capital it took me to grow that apple, and have the ability to continue growing apples.

Yes, this is incredibly simplistic, but I am not an economist. So dont expect more from me on this.

But generally speaking, this works. Its a good thing, as such transactions are done voluntarily without interference or threats of violence, and with the goal of both parties gaining something of value.

Although, like all good things, sometimes flaws can be found in systems weve always believed to be inherently sound. The argument can be made that this is the case when it comes to what we understand as free market capitalism.

Im not saying these flaws render this system irrelevant. Quite the contrary, actually. Identifying those flaws, and addressing those flaws to make the system better is beneficial for all of us, and can strengthen the bedrock of this system that has allowed so many people to not only be lifted out from under the burdens of poverty, but actually prosper.

About 15 years ago, I read a book called Natural Capitalism, which suggests that natural and human capital are not adequately figured into the equation of what we would describe as industrial capitalism.

Human and natural capital are not free amenities in inexhaustible supply, but instead, finite and integrally valuable factors of production.

The authors argue that the traditional system of capitalism "does not fully conform to its own accounting principles. It liquidates its capital and calls it income. It neglects to assign any value to the largest stocks of capital it employs the natural resources and living systems, as well as the social and cultural systems that are the basis of human capital."

While I didnt find all of the arguments made in the book to be entirely valid, the basic fundamentals of Natural Capital are completely on point. The authors dont suggest that capitalism is ineffective or inferior to other economic models, but the points that are made serve as a reminder that our understanding of how economic systems work dont have to remain static. They can develop and evolve.

Look at our understanding of science, for instance.

The greatest minds once believed the earth was flat, fevers could be cured with blood-letting, and the earth was the center of the universe.

But as we evolved as a species, and continued learning and developing new understandings of biology, physics, and chemistry, our applicable systems and models also evolved.

While I maintain that the basic building blocks of capitalism are reliable, it is also potentially absent additional building blocks that could actually make capitalism an even stronger force for prosperity and freedom. Not just in the way we understand it today, but in a way that also takes into account the value of health, wellness, and equal opportunity.

In other words, imagine a system of free trade whereby there are fewer negative social, health, and ecological effects resulting from the production and consumption of goods and services.

It may be a bit hard to wrap your head around this at first, as our general understanding of what capitalism is, has been limited by what weve been taught up to this point.

As I noted, theories and systems are not always static. They can change and evolve. And such is the case with a relatively new model of capitalism that has been dubbed Doughnut Economics.

Despite the somewhat silly name, the concept is actually quite fascinating, and further strengthens my argument that investors can do well by doing good.

Doughnut Economics, in my opinion, is a more defined framework of what the authors of Natural Capitalism brought us, arguing that more prosperity can be created for more people if we're willing to look beyond the constraints of contemporary capitalism.

Kate Raworth, the architect of this model, proposed this framework to regard the performance of an economy by the extent to which the needs of people are met without overshooting Earth's ecological ceiling.

The main goal of the new model is to re-frame economic problems and set new goals. In this model, an economy is considered prosperous when all twelve social foundations are met without overshooting any of the nine ecological ceilings. This situation is represented by the area between the two rings as the safe and just space for humanity.

Heres the model that illustrates what shes talking about

At first glance, it may seem counterintuitive, as this is a bit of a departure from everything weve ever learned about free market capitalism, but Raworths argument deserves some consideration. That is, that a healthy economy shouldnt necessarily be designed to just grow, but instead thrive.

Understand, Im not saying Doughnut Economics is the perfect model for freedom and prosperity. I dont know. And surely there are plenty of economists that could counter the arguments made by those who say Doughnut Economics is superior to what weve been taught for decades about the benefits of capitalism. But on its surface, it sure as hell makes a lot of sense to me.

I'm particularly fascinated by this idea of distributive economics, not by way of increased taxation or a centrally-controlled distribution of income (two things I find to be at odds with wealth creation and prosperity for all), bur rather fair access to the wealth that exists in land and resources, the controlling of money creation, and owning technology and knowledge.

Certainly digital currencies, blockchain technology, and open source software have already given us a small peak at what the benefits of this could be.

Either way, I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about all of this in the coming weeks and months.

After all, if my life is to have any purpose, it must include educating myself on ways in which I can be an ally in the move to create a more prosperous and just world for everyone. Not just those born into privilege. This could be a way to further accomplish that.

Photo by Marcel Strau on Unsplash

The preceding article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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The Evolution Of Capitalism: A Cannabis And Psychedelics Investor's Proposal - Benzinga

Chris Webby holding a psilocybin mushroom

Honest, sincere and unapologetic. Chilled out, yet energetic. Smart, yet unpretentious. Successful and prolific, yet humble. Thats Chris Webby for you.

Guess cannabis, a bit of whisky, and the occasional psilocybin microdose have made him this way.

But whats behind this self-managed rappers success, both in music and business?

What inspires a guy who can talk about getting high by the beach and owning gold toilets as eloquently as he can talk about political corruption, sexual abuse, or racial issues?

This is the story of a white Connecticut rapper, his cannabis-infused rise to stardom, his entry into the business world, and all the things that have helped make this atypical musician one of the most prominent lyricists of the last few years.

Webby catapulted to fame in 2008 with a weed-themed song, LaLaLa, which to date remains his most listened-to track on YouTube.

Ever since, hes managed to build one of the most loyal fan bases in rap, largely on a pro-cannabis, anti-mumble rap, anti-creeps, anti-corruption, pro-freedom platform. Hes also dropped a few infamous freestyles on radio shows down the way, and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, from Mac Miller and B-Real, to Tech N9ne and Justina Valentine.

LaLaLa was the song that got me going in the first place, and it was a total weed song. But I dont consider myself to be a weed rapper, he said during a recent conversation. But some of my weed songs have been my biggest songs; they are a very important staple of my catalogue... I drop a weed song every 4/20, so theres at least one completely weed-themed song every year And this without considering the countless songs that reference weed.

See also: More Potent Than CBD, THC: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam Explains His Latest Discovery

Music and weed have always been such a hand in experience for me But I feel like Im so much more than a weed rapper: I stand for stuff.

And indeed, he does. Over the years, hes come after almost every major politician in the U.S., a long list of high profile sexual predators, and countless mumble rappers in his songs.

Since I last spoke with Webby a couple years ago, the rapper launched a new label, EightyHD, and signed hip hop artist ANoyd.

Chris Webby

Its nice to have something thats bigger than myself, he said. Instead of just working on Chris Webby stuff, I'm really trying to build a brand and work with other artists.

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic presented numerous challenges for a business that relies heavily on live shows, but Webby says hes managed to weather them relatively well.

As someone running a business, you need to adapt and adjust, he explained.

However, in spite of the popular belief about artists making a large majority of their money from live shows nowadays, one would be surprised to know that this is not the case for everyone.

Streaming is a pretty incredible revenue source when you own your masters, he voiced, adding that dropping new music consistently and understanding streaming services algorithms are key elements to success.

But playing the system wont get you anywhere on its own. For Webby, building a strong team around you is equally important.

In recent months, Webby also got into psychedelics, joining the many people advocating for the renaissance of psychedelics as a valid therapeutic option to treat certain mental ailments.

I haven't been smoking a ton of weed lately, but I've been taking mushrooms... I've really started to embrace psychedelics in a new way than I did as a kid. They can be used in a way that can be so productive, use them as an alternative to many other medicines The gate is really opening and people are seeing psilocybin really differently and I think thats a great thing because it can do a lot of good, he said.

See also: Mike Tyson Will Print (Yes, Print) Cannabis Beverages

Interestingly, Webby credits SNL comedian Pete Davidson for his newfound (or rediscovered) love of psychedelics. I visited him on a set and he was microdosing, and I did it with him. I felt great: it was not intense, I was around people and not freaking out, just feeling like it was really nice.

Ever since, the rapper has educated himself on the medical benefits of microdosing psilocybin, and doing it the right way by dosing it properly in a controlled environment.

It was, in fact, psychedelics that led Chris to one of the most important realizations of his life so far: love is the most powerful thing.

Chris Webby

This new-found appreciation for love as a whole, and as a tool, he says, has been a constant throughout his trips. The reckoning of the value of love.

I can be a pretty harsh critic. But sometimes you realize that the only way to combat this is with love, in a lot of cases. And that is a realization that Im always reminded of when I open that psychedelic door in my head.

I would also say that everything is connected. As an environmentalist, that's something that really rings true. You look at the tree in your yard and you think the tree has been around for a long time; a lot of animals have lived in this tree; this tree has provided food for the ecosystem of my lawn I've always looked at nature that way, but psychedelics really remind you we're just part of this whole thing, we're part of nature, and we're f*cking it up, obviously.

This year, before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, Chris rented a cabin in upstate New York, near Woodstock, and got all of his team up there. After a few days of administrative work, it was time to get to creating.

There's nothing like the energy of a roomful of people with a common goal in mind, he said.

Once again, psychedelics would come play for the team, inspiring recording sessions and even an entire song.

The song Drugs in a Suitcase came out of we tried the approach of watching movies with the sound off, which was a Mac Miller album. I had never really done that in the studio before and someone suggested it I thought it was an incredible idea, because movies are art, and to play a movie without the sound while you're working on music, and letting one inspire the other

See also: Little Dragons Yukimi Nagano On Psychedelics, Isolation And Connection

As a little gift to his fans, Chris Webby shared his video for Drugs in a Suitcase ahead of its official release on Friday. Check it out:

At the end of the day, its all about overcoming the stigma. Webbys ultimate goal is for people to understand that, even though he consumes cannabis and mushrooms, he is a productive human being. And others can be too.

Until recently, Webby was not a big believer in the benefits of CBD. He thought of it, like many others do, like snake oil.

Chris Webby

But quality and dosing are everything. Find the right product and dose for you, and youll likely feel the propper effects.

I have a new respect and love for CBD and hemp; CBD joints specifically. I'm someone who deals with mild-but-chronic back pain and, you know, that really, really helps and anxiety and stress

I feel like some people see CBD like it's just kind of all smoke and mirrors, but I will speak to the medical benefits of it and it's real. It can really chill you out, ease the aches and pains, and I'm a big fan.And so, in becoming a fan, Webby, in his characteristic entrepreneurial fashion, got into the CBD business.

See also: UNM Study: Cannabis Is Effective In Treating Depression, Improving Mental Health

I actually recently aligned myself with a really great cannabis company up in Maine called Humble Family Farms. One of the things were doing together is developing a CBD line, he concluded. Were really focused on genetics, and putting the quality and the farmers before profits.

Stay tuned for more on all things Chris Webby and cannabis.

Continue reading here:

Chris Webby Talks Cannabis, Psychedelics, Rap And Business: Everything Is Connected - Forbes

When it comes to mental health treatment, there have been two basic, and often opposing, views as to the best approach: pharmaceutical or psychotherapeutic. Psychedelic therapy is a treatment option that unites both, Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD, explained at the 2020 virtual Psych Congress Elevateconference.

You have the drug camp, and then you have the psychotherapy camp, and they dont really get on. In fact, they often fight, said Dr. Carhart-Harris, head of the Centre of Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London in England. Wouldnt it be wonderful if we had an intervention that was biological, that truly affected the brain on a direct level and also opened things up for therapeutic work? The argument is that psychedelic therapy really does that well in a synergistic way.

See a clip of the session here.

During his session, Dr. Carhart-Harris characterized psychedelic therapy as quintessentially biopsychosocial. When used in the appropriate context with professional support, psychedelics such as psilocybin, DMT, and LSD offer promise for helping people undo negative habits or biases associated with a range of mental health disorders to achieve improved well-being, according to the presentation.

Coined in the 1950s, the term psychedelic means to reveal the mind or soul. Molecularly, psilocybin, DMT, and LSD are similar to serotonin, which modulates a number of key functions in the brain, Dr. Carhart-Harris explained. The mechanism of action of psychedelic drugs appears to involve serotonin 2A receptors in the cortex. Serotonin 2A receptor agonism via psychedelic compounds stimulates plasticity and adaptability in the brain, and can create what Dr. Carhart-Harris termed pivotal mental states of pure plasticity.

The key question is, what do you do with that plasticity? he said. If someone spiked your drink at Burning Man, you might trip out and have a psychotic episode, and things arent going to go well. But if you take a psychedelic with a perfectly nurturing, supportive pair of therapists or guides, it could be really beneficial.

You could explore the furthest reaches of your mind and release a lot of trauma and repressed material, work through it, and come upon insights that are healthy and useful to improving mental health.

Psilocybin shows promise for improving well-being and easing symptoms of depression, addiction, end-of-life distress, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The environment a psychedelic drug is administered in, however, is important. In an optimal context, therapeutic guides prepare patients, sit with them during the experience, and talk with them afterward to help glean insights and integrate lessons. Trait absorption, therapeutic intentions, and listening to music all appear to affect emotional breakthrough and long-term outcomes.

I saw negative patterns in my life where if something bad happens, I used to just put it to the back of my mind, recalled a patient with treatment-resistant depression who received psilocybin therapy in a trial. Afterwards, I allowed myself to experience everythingeven if it is sadness. Now I know how to deal with my feelings rather than repress them.

MORE: Psych Congress Takes Deep Dive Into Psychedelics

One participant described openly crying during psilocybin therapynot in pain, but like a washing, a washing out. Another described a renewed ability to experience beauty after receiving psilocybin therapy. Although that study was open-label, the effect sizes of psilocybin in patients with treatment-resistant depression were huge, Dr. Carhart-Harris said.

More recently, he and colleagues performed a double-blind randomized controlled trial comparing two session of psilocybin therapy with 6 weeks of the antidepressant escitalopram. He urged conference attendees to watch for published findings.

The results are really excitingPsilocybin therapy comes out very well in this trial, Dr. Carhart-Harris said with a quick smile. I wish I could say more, but I cant. But the safety and efficacy outcomes are really, really promising.

Jolynn Tumolo

Reference

Therapeutic Mechanisms of Psychedelics: Changing the Landscape of Psychiatric Treatment? Presented at Psych Congress Elevate: Virtual; July 26, 2020.

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Psychedelic Therapy Offers a Synergy of Biological, Psychosocial Interventions - Psych Congress Network

Lavasani with her husband,Daniel Conner, and children Ramsey and Lola.

Melissa Lavasani hesitated last December as she prepared to submit the paperwork for a ballot initiative that would decriminalize natural psychedelics like magic mushrooms, mescaline, and ayahuasca. What are the moms at school going to say about this? she remembers thinking.

Lavasanis neighbors in the H Street, Northeast, neighborhood were likely to know her as the budget officer for the DC Department of Energy & Environment, or perhaps as the mother of two young neighborhood kids. What few knew at the time, though, is that Lavasani felt that substances many people think of as recreational drugs might have saved her life.

Lavasanis transformation into an advocate for drug-law reform began with a difficult second pregnancy in 2017. She developed sciatica and chronic pain so intensethat she often crawled up the stairs at night to go to bed. Things got even worse after she delivered a healthy baby and was hit with anxiety, severe depression, panic attacks, and suicidal ideation. A doctor prescribed antidepressants but, wary of the difficulties friends had encountered in finding the right medication, she decided to try talk therapy first. It was expensive, and it didnt help enough: It just got to a point where it was very clear that if something didnt change, I was going to take my life, she says.

Salvation arrived in the form of a friends recommendation to listen toan episode of the Joe Rogan Experience that featured the mycologist Paul Stamets speaking about the benefits of psilocybin mushrooms on mental health. This was not advice Lavasani, who holds two graduate degrees, normally would have followedI assumed people that took psychedelics were people that were trying to escape their reality, that couldnt deal with adulthood, she saysbut these werent normal circumstances. She ordered spores over the internet and tried to grow them at home using advice from online forums. That wasnt easy, she says, and she was extremely worried about using illegal drugs. But after a few days of microdosing, she began to feel normal again. Another friend recommended she visit an ayahuasca healer, which she tried in early 2019 against every good instinct I had. After a few sessions, she says, it was like I was I turned out to be not only back to myself, but almost like a better version of myself.

After learning of a campaign to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms in Denver (which squeaked through last year), Lavasani began to wonder whether such an initiative could pass in DC as well. She and her husband, Daniel Conner, met with Kevin Matthews, an organizer of the Colorado initiative, who connected her with David Bronner, the top executive at Dr. Bronners soap company, who has put substantial resources behind decriminalization and legalization efforts and had been interested in working on a campaign in DC.

That led to Lavasani and her husbandhooking up with Adam Eidinger, a veteran advocate who had been instrumental in getting cannabis legalized in the District with Initiative 71 in 2014. Lavasani was interested in potentiallycontributing to the campaign or playing a background role, but after a dinner in November 2019, Eidinger worked to convince her that she would be an effective face of be psychedelic reform in DC. Eventually, she agreed:This kind of controversial topic has to come from the most normal of people, she explains.

The measure, Initiative 81, was worded very carefully and conservatively. (Yeah, were pretty limited on what we can do in the District, Lavasani says.)It doesnt call for legalization of entheogenic plants and fungi; it asks that the DC police make psychedelic-related arrests among its arrests because of them among its lowest law enforcement priorities and that DCs Attorney General and the US Attorney for DC cease prosecution of people accused of drug offenses involving these substances. DCs Metropolitan Police Department did not respond to a query about how many people are arrested and accused of drug offenses involving psychedelics, but public data shows that marijuana arrests declined steeply between 2012 and 2019.

Almost as soon as Decriminalize Nature DC came together as an electoral force, though, the pandemic arrived. As part of the process of getting a question on the DC ballot, you must collect 25,000 signatures. With prompting from the campaign, the District government passed legislation in May that made it easier to collect signatures remotely. Decriminalize Nature DC sent out a mailer to 220,000 households that yielded thousands of signatures and, as the District began its phased reopening, set up tables outside grocery stores, knocked on doors, and solicited signatures in parks. In all, the campaign turned in more than 35,000 signatures in early July.

Before the Board of Elections could decide whether the campaign had fulfilled the requirements to get its issue on the ballot this November, an old foe of DC self-determination reappeared: US Representative Andy Harris, a Republican from Maryland who had previouslyhobbled the marijuana-legalization initiative with a budget rider. Harris threatened to force a vote in the House Appropriations Committeeon another budget rider to prevent the District from including I-81on the ballot.

Unlike in 2014, though, Harris is now a member of the Houses minority party. While it was never clear he could actually thwart the legislation, the publicity his threat received may have unintentionally contributed to growing Democratic sentiment toward statehood for the District. DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton framed his interference as meddling with DCs right to self-government, and voting members of the Congress apparently viewed it similarly. Harris withdrew his amendmentin mid-July.

Lavasani notes with some frustration that Congressional Republicans tended to speak about psychedelics as a way to party rather than as a therapeutic tool. (Psilocybin in particular hasshown some promise in researchabout treatment-resistant depression). That actually matches with some of the feedback Decriminalize Nature DC has received about the initiative, she says: The idea that this is just some white kids that want to party with this stuff. Ayahuasca in particular, she says, can be an extremely not-fun experience. Its emotionally painful, its physically painful, but afterwards the healing that you have experienced and continue to experience after the ceremony is really astounding.

Now that the issue is before the Board of Elections, she says her group will prioritize educating the publicabout the substances it hopes to decriminalize. Among residents of DCs predominately Black areas in particular, she says theres a tendency to conflate psychedelics with PCP, which although mind-altering is not a psychedelic and has had many deleterious effects in DC.

Lavasani says shes confident Initiative 81 will appear on the ballot and that her groups goal is to pass the initiative with overwhelming supportits shooting for 70 percent. (Initiative 71 passed with almost 65 percent support in 2014.) I think we can, she says. We got over 36,000 signatures in the middle of a pandemic.

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How the "Most Normal Person Ever" Became the Face of a Movement to Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms - Washingtonian

While cannabis takes a breather from the capital markets roller coaster ride that has characterized that sector lately, psychedelics are in the news lately and all the rage in the capital markets. Junior pharmaceutical companies, specialized clinics and Caribbean retreats are common water-cooler topics of conversation these days among capital markets investors and observers alike. To be sure, momentum is building and public perception is changing in Canada and in some parts of the United States toward reducing barriers to access for psychedelics. Low enforcement priorities in Denver, Oakland and Santa Cruz, as well as Oregons proposed laws to regulate cultivation, manufacture and sale of psilocybin products for medical purposes, broadens the discussion. Todays momentum has been a long time coming particularly as a viable new option for mental health treatment.

Psychedelics, entheogens, entactogens and dissociative anesthetics are a broad group of substances that are intensely psychoactive, with effects including visual and other illusions, mystical-type experiences, synesthesia, intensified emotional states and other disorienting effects. Duration of these effects may range from 15 minutes or less to more than 24 hours. The terms for these compounds and the plants or fungi they are sourced from vary depending on the perspective and context. For simplicity, we use the term familiar to most psychedelics as a blanket term for psychedelics, entheogens, entactogens and dissociative anesthetics.

Prohibition, regulation and sale

Psychedelics are not illegal. That said, many psychedelics are scheduled in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (the CDSA), making them controlled substances and unless otherwise authorized, possession and manufacture of any controlled substance is prohibited. Most psychedelics that are controlled substances are within a certain class of controlled substances called restricted drugs. Investigators for clinical trials, preclinical studies and other researchers may possess restricted drugs through exemptions issued under the CDSA. Authorization to manufacture, compound, package and otherwise work with restricted drugs is available through a dealers licence issued under the Food and Drug Regulations (the FDR).

Like any drug substance, a drug product including a psychedelic substance as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is saleable under the FDR once a drug identification number (DIN) is issued by Health Canada for use of the drug product in association with a given therapeutic indication. Clinical evidence establishing safety of a drug product and efficacy for treating a given condition is required for Health Canada to issue a DIN for the drug product. An MDMA drug product is on track to receive a DIN for use in treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the equivalent regulatory approval in the United States within the next two to four years. A psilocybin drug product for treatment-resistant depression appears to be close behind.

Psychedelics and mental health

Administration and application of psychedelic drugs diverges from previous approaches to the use of medication for treatment of mental health disorders. This point of divergence changes the economics of cost recovery for clinical trial expenses after being issued a DIN. Drug products traditionally used in treatment of mental health conditions are taken daily and unsupervised at dosage ranges intended to suppress symptoms of mental illness and to minimize overtly psychoactive effects. In contrast, in clinical trials MDMA and psilocybin are typically administered a small number of times at strongly psychoactive flood doses in a supervised therapy setting. Similar approaches will be followed in applications using flood doses of LSD, and for use of MDMA and psilocybin for other therapeutic indications. Clinics that currently administer racemic ketamine off-label for treatment of depression follow a similar model.1

The long duration of the effects resulting from a flood dose of most psychedelics increases the time required from therapists, often in specialized clinic settings designed to maximize the benefits of the psychoactive effects of psychedelics. Compared with previous approaches to management of mental health conditions, psychedelic assisted therapy uses a lower amount of drug substance and involves a greater amount of time spent with therapists. As a result, a much greater portion of the value chain for administration of a psychedelic drug product is captured by therapists relative to the manufacturer of the drug product. Microdosing psychedelics, which is generally defined as taking about five to ten per cent the dosage of a flood dose, presents a potential commercialization pathway for a drug product to be taken regularly and without supervision.

Mental health is a serious problem globally. This problem is likely exacerbated by the current global pandemic. Based on scientific evidence, psychedelics are likely to play a significant role in correcting this problem. Particularly in the last ten years or so, there has been growing attention on psychedelics and their potential therapeutic applications. World-class academic institutions and sophisticated, well-financed public companies are studying the potential benefits of LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, ibogaine and DMT for indications including end of life depression, treatment resistant depression, PTSD, eating disorders, Alzheimers disease, substance use disorder and others. Commercialization efforts are underway and we can expect to see MDMA, psilocybin and potentially other psychedelics used as APIs in drug products holding a DIN.

Psychedelics are not cannabis

While it is natural to draw a comparison to cannabis, psychedelics are not the next cannabis. Cannabis products are a commodity-based and highly regulated category of consumer packaged goods (CPG). Cannabis has a well-defined adult use market that was built on a multi-participant commercial medical cannabis industry. Cannabis is also commonly used on a daily basis. Robust consumer demand for cannabis products supports an industry including cultivation, processing, retail sale and all the picks and shovels needed to maintain consumer access to cannabis products.

In contrast to cannabis, there is no psychedelics industry at least not today. Rather, psychedelics are a disruptor for health care delivery and pharmaceuticals. Cannabis is a single heterogeneous commodity in high demand for manufacture of CPGs. In contrast, psychedelics are a diverse group of chemicals that vary widely in their effects.2 Also contrasting with a commodity-based CPG industry, psychedelics for use in a therapeutic context are typically used sparingly and can currently be commercialized only as drug products regulated under the FDR.

There is plenty of noise circulating around psychedelics. While drug products holding a DIN and including a psychedelic substance API are likely to disrupt how therapy is delivered, there is no medical access program in Canada similar to the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations for any psychedelics and there may never be. We believe that the market, and the strengths that distinguish the leaders, will be very different for psychedelics compared with cannabis.

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Reopening the doors of perception: The psychedelics renaissance in Canada - Lexology

Strategic acquisition by GreenStar adds innovative company focused on the development of effective therapeutics using psychedelic medicine

GreenStar Biosciences Corp. (CSE:GSTR) (OTC Pink:GTSIF) (GreenStar or the Company) is pleased to announce, further to its press release dated July 21, 2020, that it has completed the acquisition of 100% of Toronto, Ontario-based Eleusian Biosciences Corp. (Eleusian) (the Transaction) through the issuance of common shares of GreenStar. In addition, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jonathan Gilbert to the Companys board of directors and Mr. Maghsoud Dariani as its Chief Science Officer.

Highlights:

With the acquisition of Eleusian and appointments of Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Dariani, GreenStar believes it represents a new standard for excellence within the psychedelic medicine industry. GreenStar will now have a very strong business development team complemented by experts to identify new market growth opportunities.

Jonathan Gilbert, is an accomplished business executive with a successful exit in the psychedelics sector. Previously, he was the CEO of Scythian Biosciences, Inc., a publicly traded research and development company focusing on the prevention and treatment of concussions and traumatic brain injury using a proprietary cannabinoid combination. Mr. Gilbert is also experienced in strategic investments and partnerships related to the cultivation, distribution and retail sale of legal cannabis.

I am very pleased to join the board of directors of GreenStar. This is an exciting step as GreenStar and Eleusian come together to realize our common objective of building a premier therapeutic wellness business focused on development of effective therapeutics using psychedelic medicine, said Jonathan Gilbert. I look forward to working with the board and management team to further expand new opportunities and development initiatives.

We are extremely pleased to complete the acquisition of Eleusian and add such well-regarded industry executives as Jonathan and Maghsoud to our board of directors and senior management team. Eleusians focus on developing proprietary technologies in addition to development work involving psilocybin, NAC and MDMA for mTBI, PTSD and brain injuries is extremely exciting, said Thomas Baird, GreenStar CEO.

The Transaction was completed pursuant to exemptions from the prospectus and registration requirements under applicable securities laws. None of the GreenStar Shares issued to Eleusian shareholders in connection with the Transaction were registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and none may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any GreenStar Shares, nor shall there be any distribution of GreenStar Shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About GreenStar

GreenStar is a growth-oriented technology and services company that provides real estate, financial, management, IP and branding support to businesses. The Company operates a growing portfolio of tenant partner companies focused on transformational medicine and applies refined strategies to help partner companies reach their full potential. Based in Vancouver, BC, GreenStar intends to facilitate growth through acquisitions and development of additional assets, products and technologies by leveraging its capital markets, branding and operational expertise.

About Eleusian

Eleusian Biosciences Corp., a Toronto based company, is focused on development of therapeutics for multiple pathological psychological diseases based on psilocybin plus N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) compounds. Eleusian is collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of scientists and physicians at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami to develop effective therapeutics for the treatment of mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury/concussion) with PTSD or PTSD alone based on Psilocybin (the active ingredient of psychedelic mushrooms) and NAC. NAC has been shown to have efficacy in treating mTBI, particularly in reducing neuronal losses and also reducing impaired cognitive and neurological symptoms after injury to head. For more information, visit the companys website atwww.eleusian.bio.

For further information please contact:

GreenStar Biosciences Corp.Thomas Baird, CEOinfo@greenstarbiosciences.comTel: (604) 834-9499

THE CSE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACYOR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Disclaimer for Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as will, may, should, anticipate, expects and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company, the acquisition of Eleusian, the Companys expansion initiatives and pursuit of M&A activity are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations are risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of the forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including changes to the regulatory environment; and that the current Board and management may not be able to attain the Companys corporate goals and objectives. As a result, the Company cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release and the Company does not intend to update any of the included forward-looking statements except as expressly required by applicable Canadian securities laws.

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GreenStar Biosciences Completes Acquisition of 100 Percent of Eleusian Biosciences Corp. and Appoints Jonathan Gilbert to Board of Directors and...

Strategic acquisition by GreenStar adds innovative company focused on the development of effective therapeutics using psychedelic medicine

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 27, 2020) - GreenStar Biosciences Corp. (CSE: GSTR) (OTC Pink: GTSIF) ("GreenStar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce, further to its press release dated July 21, 2020, that it has completed the acquisition of 100% of Toronto, Ontario-based Eleusian Biosciences Corp. ("Eleusian") (the "Transaction") through the issuance of common shares of GreenStar. In addition, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jonathan Gilbert to the Company's board of directors and Mr. Maghsoud Dariani as its Chief Science Officer.

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With the acquisition of Eleusian and appointments of Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Dariani, GreenStar believes it represents a new standard for excellence within the psychedelic medicine industry. GreenStar will now have a very strong business development team complemented by experts to identify new market growth opportunities.

Jonathan Gilbert, is an accomplished business executive with a successful exit in the psychedelics sector. Previously, he was the CEO of Scythian Biosciences, Inc., a publicly traded research and development company focusing on the prevention and treatment of concussions and traumatic brain injury using a proprietary cannabinoid combination. Mr. Gilbert is also experienced in strategic investments and partnerships related to the cultivation, distribution and retail sale of legal cannabis.

"I am very pleased to join the board of directors of GreenStar. This is an exciting step as GreenStar and Eleusian come together to realize our common objective of building a premier therapeutic wellness business focused on development of effective therapeutics using psychedelic medicine," said Jonathan Gilbert. "I look forward to working with the board and management team to further expand new opportunities and development initiatives."

"We are extremely pleased to complete the acquisition of Eleusian and add such well-regarded industry executives as Jonathan and Maghsoud to our board of directors and senior management team. Eleusian's focus on developing proprietary technologies in addition to development work involving psilocybin, NAC and MDMA for mTBI, PTSD and brain injuries is extremely exciting," said Thomas Baird, GreenStar CEO.

The Transaction was completed pursuant to exemptions from the prospectus and registration requirements under applicable securities laws. None of the GreenStar Shares issued to Eleusian shareholders in connection with the Transaction were registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and none may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any GreenStar Shares, nor shall there be any distribution of GreenStar Shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About GreenStar

GreenStar is a growth-oriented technology and services company that provides real estate, financial, management, IP and branding support to businesses. The Company operates a growing portfolio of tenant partner companies focused on transformational medicine and applies refined strategies to help partner companies reach their full potential. Based in Vancouver, BC, GreenStar intends to facilitate growth through acquisitions and development of additional assets, products and technologies by leveraging its capital markets, branding and operational expertise.

About Eleusian

Eleusian Biosciences Corp., a Toronto based company, is focused on development of therapeutics for multiple pathological psychological diseases based on psilocybin plus N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) compounds. Eleusian is collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of scientists and physicians at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami to develop effective therapeutics for the treatment of mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury/concussion) with PTSD or PTSD alone based on Psilocybin (the active ingredient of psychedelic mushrooms) and NAC. NAC has been shown to have efficacy in treating mTBI, particularly in reducing neuronal losses and also reducing impaired cognitive and neurological symptoms after injury to head. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.eleusian.bio.

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For further information please contact:

GreenStar Biosciences Corp.Thomas Baird, CEOinfo@greenstarbiosciences.comTel: (604) 834-9499

THE CSE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Disclaimer for Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company, the acquisition of Eleusian, the Company's expansion initiatives and pursuit of M&A activity are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of the forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including changes to the regulatory environment; and that the current Board and management may not be able to attain the Company's corporate goals and objectives. As a result, the Company cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release and the Company does not intend to update any of the included forward-looking statements except as expressly required by applicable Canadian securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60524

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GreenStar Biosciences Completes Acquisition of 100% of Eleusian Biosciences Corp. and Appoints Jonathan Gilbert to Board of Directors and Maghsoud...

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An anonymous donor has committed $1.75 million to The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation in Torrance, CA to fund a multi-site clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the compound psilocybin in individuals with severe psychological distress associated with a terminal medical illness. The donation will also support education and outreach programs related to the use of psilocybin within the field of palliative care.

This innovative, first-of-its-kind psychedelic study in palliative care will be conducted at several leading medical schools across the United States, including Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. The study will be led by Charles S. Grob, MD, a Lundquist Institute investigator and Professor of Psychiatry and Bio-Behavioral Sciences at the UCLA School of Medicine, and Anthony P. Bossis, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine. Both are experts in the use of psychedelic compounds as a palliative treatment model for those suffering with end-of-life existential distress.

The psychedelic treatment model in patients with advanced-cancer reactive anxiety has been shown to be highly efficacious and safe in both pioneer studies conducted in the 1960s and early 1970s, as well as studies conducted in the modern era at Lundquist/Harbor-UCLA, Johns Hopkins and NYU, said Grob.

In their pilot research investigation, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in 2011, Grob and his colleagues were the first to show that administration of psilocybin to terminal cancer patients had dramatic effects in relieving the psychological stress and anxiety caused by impending death. In clinical trials with 80 volunteers at Johns Hopkins University and NYU School of Medicine, Bossis published similar findings in the Journal of Psychopharmacology in 2016. We dont die well in America and have few approaches to relieve end-of-life emotional suffering, said Bossis. Clinical research has demonstrated that psychedelic-generated mystical experience dramatically reduces depression, anxiety, and demoralization in end-of-life existential distress and can improve quality of life and a sense of personal meaning.

Drs. Grob and Bossis, along with the strong support of the Lundquist Institute, have been on the forefront of the movement advancing the scientific investigation of psychedelics as possible treatments for patients who suffer from a variety of negative emotional states and disorders, said Ira Lesser, MD, a Lundquist Institute investigator and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

The Lundquist Institute continues to attract significant donor support for our work. This study is another example of how our investigators are constantly striving to find solutions to help people in need, said David Meyer, PhD, President and CEO at The Lundquist Institute.

About the Lundquist Institute: Research with reach

The Lundquist Institute, formerly the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed), is an engine of innovation with a global reach and a 68-year reputation of improving and saving lives. With its new medical research building, its state-of-the-art incubator, BioLabs at The Lundquist, existing laboratory and support infrastructure, and a 15-acre tech park in the planning stages, the Lundquist Institute is poised to serve as a hub for the Los Angeles areas burgeoning biotech scene. The research institute has over 100 principal investigators (PhDs, MDs, and MD/PhDs) working on more than 600 research studies, including therapies for numerous orphan diseases, and is responsible for innovations including the first FDA-approved treatment for sickle cell disease in 20 years. Find out more at https://lundquist.org.

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The Lundquist Institute Accepts a $1.75 Million Anonymous Donation to Improve the Quality of Dying - Business Wire

In recent years, Gwyneth Paltrow has been in the spotlight regularly - less for her films, and more for the controversial health practices shared by her million-dollar lifestyle brand GOOP.

From encouraging people to "steam their vaginas" to participating in "bee venom therapy", the actress is now exploring the use of the drug "MDMA" in therapy sessions.

Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

Gwyneth Paltrow has been known to endorse unconventional methods of healing and wellness.

In the most recent episode of The Goop Podcast, Paltrow interviews academic Rick Doblin, the director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, about the stimulant drug's role in potentially helping couples resolve their conflict.

Doblin is currently trialling the drug for medicinal use in the United States, including for PTSD.

READ MORE:* Gwyneth Paltrow's 'The Goop Lab' treats fake science like the real thing: Here's why that's dangerous* Catherine Zeta-Jones is coming out with her own Goop-inspired lifestyle brand* What fans really got for $8500 at Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop summit * Gwyneth Paltrow: Chris Martin and I were 'meant to be together'

"There's continuing research underway looking at the potential therapeutic benefits of MDMA," Paltrow says as she introduces her guest.

The Oscar winner claims the drug, a type of ecstasy, can be "life changing" and is "really looking forward to it being legal" so she can have MDMA therapy sessions in the US.

Doblin details the ways MDMA is used in psychology therapy - including aiding symptoms associated with PTSD, alcoholism, eating disorders and tension in relationships.

The pair discuss MDMA therapy's role in navigating how "people store, process, and release memories".

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"I'm really looking forward to it being legal, because I want to try this out." - Gwyneth Paltrow

"The capacity for healing is going to be a real gift to the world," Doblin says.

Paltrow responds: "I'm really looking forward to it being legal, because I want to try this out."

The actress, who famously 'consciously uncoupled' from Coldplay singer Chris Martin, revealed in her Netflix series The Goop Lab last year she and husband Brad Falchuk had taken MDMA together in Mexico.

The wellbeing enthusiast called the moment a "productive" session, and a "very, very emotional experience."

In a post to the GOOP website, Paltrow claims Doblin "explains the landscape of psychedelic research, how it's changed, and how close we may be to making MDMA-assisted psychotherapy a legal prescription treatment for PTSD."

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Paltrow and husband Brad Falchuck took MDMA together during a trip to Mexico.

The website, which has been regularly under fire for its controversial health claims, includes a disclaimer to readers: "The legal status of psychedelics depends on where you use them.

"In the US, recreational use is illegal. If psychedelics are taken without careful attention to dose, set [mindset], and setting [environment], it's possible for things to go wrong. As always, consult your doctor before beginning any protocol."

Recreational use is also illegal in New Zealand.

GOOP was previously hounded for encouraging the use of "yoni eggs", designed to be inserted into women's vaginas, and was fined US$145,000 for making "unsubstantiated" marketing claims.

The company hired a team of fact checkers following the incident.

Getty Images

Gwyneth Paltrow, Michaela Boehm and Elise Loehnen promoting The Goop Lab television show.

Recently, former GOOP-approved psychiatrist Kelly Brogan claimed there is "potentially no such thing as the coronavirus."

"Could this contagion be a reality for others? Absolutely. It's not for me," she said in a since-deleted video on Facebook.

GOOP distanced itself from Brogan, a spokesperson explaining to the Daily Beast: "We would suggest reaching out to Dr Brogan directly as she didn't make those comments on Goop's platform."

This article originally appeared on 9Honey and is republished with permission.

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Gwyneth Paltrow endorses use of ecstasy in couple's therapy - Stuff.co.nz