Daily Archives: January 29, 2021

Massachusetts General Hospital is working with a German company to research the effects of psychedelics on the brain.

Atai Life Sciences which on Tuesday jointly announced the collaboration with Mass General acts like an incubator for psychedelic therapy-focused companies, acquiring majority stakes in small biotechs and launching its own startups. Its looking for new ways to treat mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety.

We have a fairly large pipeline, said Srinivas Rao, atais chief scientific officer. We have many things going into the clinic this year moving at pretty much breakneck speed.

The collaboration with Mass General came about after the Boston teaching hospital recently established a group to study psychedelic therapy, called the Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics. Jerrold Rosenbaum, a psychiatrist at Mass General who specializes in treating psychiatric disorders and heads the program, said there is a need to better understand the effects of those substances on the brain.

Rosenbaum became interested in the field of psychedelic therapy when a friend who now serves as the director of the centers advisory council began inquiring about them, prompting Rosenbaum to reassess his misconceptions about hallucinogens.

I knew about psychedelics in the way that most physicians did, which was sort of the perception of them as recreational drugs, or drugs that were banned from research for decades, he said. As I started to learn more, I realized there was an opportunity here that we have let go undeveloped for decades.

The research center is focused on a phenomenon called neuroplasticity, or the ability of brain cells to change. Recent studies have shown psychedelics could boost this kind of activity, which, for example, could alter how depression affects the brain.

Rao said psychedelic therapy aims to enhance the effects of those substances by taking advantage of that neuroplastic state.

There seems to be a period of time where it is easier to establish new habits, and you want to exploit that in the week, maybe two weeks, immediately after the psychedelic event, he said.

Mass General and atai are not disclosing the financial terms of the collaboration or the specific substance that will be tested on animals and in the lab as part of the partnership. But the Mass General researcher coleading the effort, Stephen Haggarty, said it involves the next generation of psychedelics, and is different than psilocybin, the active chemical in magic mushrooms or LSD, commonly referred to as acid.

It is branching into other targets that may be important for neuroplasticity . . . where much more is needed to be learned before it could safely go into humans, he said. Based on reports of this molecule in humans, it looks like it has promise.

In November, atai announced the closing of a $125 million financing round, led in part by early Facebook backer Peter Thiel, bringing its total funding to about $250 million. The company was founded in 2018 as a way to raise money for London-based Compass Pathways, a publicly traded biotech that uses psilocybin therapy to treat depression.

Compass was cofounded by George Goldsmith and Ekaterina Malievskaia, who were motivated by the experience of family members suffering from depression. Rosenbaum said the couple was a major backer of the Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics.

Anissa Gardizy can be reached at anissa.gardizy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @anissagardizy8.

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Mass General to conduct research on how psychedelics affect the brain - BetaBoston

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The ongoing surge of development and investment into psychedelic medicine and psychedelic-assisted therapy is the direct result of newfound public support and legitimacy for these revolutionary treatments. That legitimacy is being built on the back of a growing body of research showing the benefits of these treatments and the intense need for alternatives to legacy approaches to mental healthcare. The flood of research is continuing, most recently with an ongoing study on psychosubstances as a potential treatment for veterans with PTSD. As more data supports the legitimacy of these treatments, companies that are commercializing psychedelic medicines, like Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (CSE: MYCO)(MYCOF), Numinus Wellness Inc. (NEO: NUMI) (TSXV: NUMI) (OTCPK: LKYSF), Tonix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TNXP), Hollister Biosciences Inc. (OTCPK: HSTRF),and Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc. (NEO: MMED) (OTCQB: MMEDF), are seeing increasing momentum.

Mydecine Innovations Group Moves the Psychedelics Space Forward

Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (CSE: MYCO) (MYCOF)has been both a driver and a beneficiary of psychedelic medicine's many recent breakthroughs. As a leading company in the psychedelic biotech and life sciences space, Mydecine has had a large role on the research and development as well as the commercialization front.

Through the company's clinical trial branch, headed by Mydecine's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rakesh Jetly, the company has been working to develop safe and effective pharmaceutical and natural health products for people affected by PTSD. Last year, Mydecine partnered with the Leiden University Medical Center of The Netherlands and the ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre for a first-of-its-kind series of clinical trials examining psilocybin for the treatment of PTSD. Since that point, Mydecine has expanded its Phase 2A clinical trial globally to incorporate sites including University of Alberta, Royal Ottawa Hospital, and Western Ontario. Mydecine has also signed on for a partnership agreement with Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation to advance its research and development efforts for mental health care solutions.

Mydecineis a leader in developing the business side of psychedelic medicine. On January 21, Mydecine announced that the company would be included as part of the first-ever psychedelics-focused Exchanged Traded Fund (ETF). The fund includes 17 pioneering companies in the US and Canada and began trading on Tuesday, January 26 under the ticker PSYK on the NEO exchange.

"While medicinal psychedelics are certainly not new, the legal market and the ability to invest in these cutting-edge companies certainly is new," Mydecine Co-Founder & CEO Joshua Bartch said in the company's release. "Together, with these 17 companies, Mydecine is helping to build an industry that is investing in and researching innovative solutions for treating previously untreatable mental illness."

Also in January, Mydecine Innovations Group announced that it has filed an application to list on the NASDAQ. This potential uplisting to the NASDAQ will expose Mydecine to an increased number of retail and institutional investors.

Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies Work to Advance Psychedelic Therapeutics

Psychedelic-focused health solutions company Numinus Wellness Inc. (NEO: NUMI) (TSXV: NUMI) (OTC: LKYSF) announced in January that the company has acquired an Orbitrap Exploris 120 Mass Spectrometer for use in the continued development of psilocybe mushroom related projects. Numinus says that this state-of-the-art instrument will accelerate the company's psychedelic standardized testing, as well as its research and development.

Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Tonix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TNXP) is focused on discovering, licensing, acquiring, and developing small molecules and biologics to treat a wide range of conditions, including pain, neurologic, psychiatric, and addiction conditions. In 2020, Tonix outlined a new statistical method to analyze future PTSD drug studies. With so much of the research on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy focusing on treatment of PTSD, Tonix Pharmaceuticals' statistical method could play a significant role.

Hollister Biosciences Inc. (OTC: HSTRF)announced last year that the company planned to acquire psychedelic-focused company Alphamind Brands. Alphamind has been developing several psilocybin-based products in addition to conducting research and development for psilocybin pharmaceutical applications.

Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc. (NEO: MMED) (OTCQB: MMEDF)announced in November that the company would be establishing a digital medicine division that will bring together a team of leading technologists, therapists, and clinical drug development experts to help the company with research and development of an integrated technical platform and comprehensive toolset for developing psychedelic medicines and experiential therapies combined with digital therapeutics.

Psychedelic medicines and therapies have the potential to not just be a huge market, but also a revolution in mental health care. Companies like Mydecine Innovations Group are making this revolution happen through research and development.

For more information on Mydecine Innovations Group, click here.

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Research and Development Moves the Psychedelics Market Forward - PRNewswire - PRNewswire

The psychedelics story has gone mainstream.

For one, the US FDA is supportive of psychedelics research.

Two, medical studies from institutions such as Johns Hopkins are finding that psychedelics can assist in the treatment of many health and mental issues impacting millions of people around the world.

A study in the journal, Nature -- Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms showed that 47% of treatment-resistant patients with depression showed positive responses five weeks after psilocybin treatments.

Our study demonstrates that psychedelics can produce beneficial behavioral effects without drastically altering perception, which is a critical step towards producing viable medicines inspired by these compounds," said David Olson of UC Davis, as quoted by Esquire.

Researchers at New York University found psilocybin mushrooms caused a rapid and sustained reduction in anxiety and depression in patients with cancer, as reported by the Financial Post. The list of findings goes on and on.

Three, theres rapidly changing consumer attitudes towards psychedelics, just as we saw with cannabis around the world.

Four, with plenty of clinical trials supporting psychedelic treatments, its only a matter of time before big pharmaceutical companies begin to invest heavily, and incorporate psychedelics into their own drug pipelines.

Five, Some early-stage investors are betting the drugs could disrupt the US$70 billion market for mental health treatment. The wave of enthusiasm over cannabis shares in recent years has, in some ways, spread to these drugs that were long associated with all-night rave parties, as noted by the Financial Post.

One of the Most Interesting Psychedelic Companies is NeonMind Biosciences Inc. (CSE: NEON)

The company just announced the appointment of accomplished pharmaceutical executive Robert Tessarolo as its President and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Tessarolo has 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently he held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Mind Medicine (Mindmed) Inc., a psychedelic drug discovery and drug development company now traded on the NEO exchange, from September 2019 to January 2020. Prior, Mr. Tessarolo was President and Chief Executive Officer of Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc., a diversified specialty pharmaceutical company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. His experience includes executive and key leadership roles that span over two decades including commercial and business development experience with obesity, addiction and neurologic assets.

These are exciting times in psychedelic drug development. There is an array of dynamic molecules that have been well characterized over the years but have not been adequately studied in the rigorous clinical trials necessary for regulatory approval. NeonMind grabbed my attention with its distinctive focus on the obesity market and desire to bring new treatment modalities to patients suffering with obesity. Over the years promising new drugs to treat obesity have failed to gain regulatory approval. This market remains underserved and patients dissatisfied with current treatment options. A safe and effective new approach would be well received," says NeonMind President and CEO, Robert Tessarolo. NeonMinds unique intellectual property portfolio makes it well positioned for growth. Im grateful to be at the helm of this organization to lead its growth as it matures and makes what could be a truly significant impact on the health and well-being of populations worldwide.

Mr. Tessarolo has extensive operational experience and an impressive track record of scaling high growth organizations in the pharmaceutical industry through product innovation and M&A. He was part of the early team at MindMed, a pioneer in psychedelic drug development and the first psychedelics company to list on a public exchange. Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. , which focuses on acquisitions, in-licensing, and selective investments in drug development, under his leadership, was restored to positive EBITDA with the execution of seven business development transactions in less than 18 months. He was the first employee of Watson Pharmaceuticals in Canada. Underhis leadership revenue grew from zero to $190M and he led the Canadian integration of major M&A transactions including Watson integration of Warner Chilcott (~$5B global acquisition), Forest Laboratories (~$28B global acquisition) and Allergan (~$66B global acquisition) in less than 18 months. He has secured tens of millions in financing and hundreds of millions in revenue for companies under his leadership.

In preparation for Robert Tessarolos appointment, NeonMind founder Penny White has been appointed Executive Chairman of the Board and today stepped down as President and CEO of NeonMind. The board is pleased to welcome Robert Tessarolo to the team, says Executive Chairman Penny White. Rob has the experience, drive and vision to lead NeonMind into the future and we are confident in his ability to deliver growth in value for our shareholders.

Psychedelics Could Create $100 Billion Opportunity, says Eight Capital

Other psychedelic companies are seeing interest, too, like Mydecine Innovations Group (CSE:MYCO)(OTC:MYCOF), Mind Cure Health Inc. (CSE:MCUR)(OTC:MCURF), Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE:TRIP)(OTC:TRUFF), and Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSXV:NUMI)(OTC:LKYSF).

Mydecine Innovations Group (CSE:MYCO)(OTC:MYCOF), an emerging biopharma and life sciences company committed to the research, development, and acceptance of alternative nature-sourced medicine for mainstream use, has been included in the first-ever Psychedelics Exchanged Traded Fund (ETF). The Horizons Psychedelic Stock Index ETF index, which was announced in December 2020 and includes 17 companies in the U.S. and Canada, is expected to start trading on Tuesday, January 26 under the ticker PSYK on the NEO exchange.

Mind Cure Health Inc. (CSE:MCUR)(OTC:MCURF) is pleased to announce its inclusion among 17 psychedelic companies in the first ever Psychedelic ETF. Horizon's Psychedelic ETF, is expected to commence tradingJan. 26, 2021under ticker PSYK on the NEO exchange. The ETF includes companies in the Canadian legal psychedelics industry, as well as U.S. companies engaged in legal activities involving psychedelic drugs and substances. The purpose of the ETF is to "invest in, and indirectly derive revenues from, companies in the psychedelics industry engaged in legal activities involving psychedelic drugs and substances."

Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE:TRIP)(OTC:TRUFF) just announced it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire 100% of Mera Life Sciences LLC, a company focused on developing a modern medicinal industry in St Vincent and the Grenadines, with their issued Psychedelic Licenses. "The acquisition of Mera and its coveted licenses would allow Red Light Holland to perform high quality psychedelic product research and development, cultivate, extract and process, and export not just Psilocybin, but with compounds such as Ayahuasca, MDMA, DMT, Peyote, Ketamine and many other natural based plants as well. We areThe People's Companyand we want to work closely with countries wishing to develop plant and fungus-based remedies - including treatment clinics, and we now understand that St. Vincent and the Grenadines shares our vision." said Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland.

Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSXV:NUMI)(OTC:LKYSF), a company creating an ecosystem of health solutions centered around developing and supporting the safe, evidence-based, accessible use of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies (PAP), is excited to announce it has acquired theOrbitrap Exploris 120 mass spectrometer with Vanquish Flex Binaryinstrument for its continued research and development ofPsilocybemushroom related projects at Numinus Bioscience, the Company's 7,000 square foot analytics and research laboratory. Implementation of the Orbitrap, a state-of-the-art high resolution mass spectrometry instrument, will continue the accelerated trajectory of Numinus Biosciences research strategy to optimize cultivation, harvest, and extraction ofPsilocybemushrooms. This follows Numinus successful completion of thefirst legal extraction in Canada by a public companyfor research and development purposes in December.

Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. NeonMind Biosciences Inc. has paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services to be distributed by Winning Media. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Winning Media owns ZERO shares of NeonMind Biosciences Inc. Please click here for full disclaimer.

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The Top Five Reasons Investors Are Pushing into Psychedelics - Baystreet.ca

Can the Trip app really expand your mind? I took it for a test drive to find out.

Ive been working from home since March 12, 2020. Well, I should probably say working.

My social media feeds are filled with photos of plump, homemade loaves of sourdough, job promotion announcements, and fellow writers sharing new works in publications theyve always dreamed of being published in.

Me? Im operating at about 40 percent capacity, sliding into debt, having difficulty concentrating, and feeling anxious as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to surge higher every day.

Im not deeply depressed, but only because I meditate every day, take vitamin D and B12, practice yoga, and talk virtually to a therapist once every 2 months.

Im definitely not killing it by any means.

So, I couldnt help but be curious about Trip, a new app by Field Trip Health, which is opening a chain of psychedelic therapy clinics in the United States and Canada.

Launched in September, the app is designed to support the at-home psychonaut on a trip fueled by psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, ketamine, or other psychedelics to improve mental health.

As winter crept in and made outdoor hangs with friends fewer and further between, I decided to give the app a try. Heres what happened.

Healthline does not endorse the illegal use of any substances. However, we believe in providing accessible and accurate information to help readers make informed decisions.

I smoke cannabis in the evening to wind down, but I havent had a macrodose of magic mushrooms between 25 grams for about a decade, and that was with friends at a party.

I did try some microdoses over the summer, though. Remembering how my moms hair had appeared to send off gentle wisps of smoke and how hard it had been to maintain my cool with that small dose, I thought 1 gram of golden teacher mushrooms (in chocolate form) would be plenty for me to trip safely, and effectively test drive the Trip app.

Along with lots of helpful literature about how to prepare for a psychedelic trip, how to handle a bad one, and how to meaningfully process the experience afterward, the app has a few features designed to enhance or support you while youre tripping.

Trip blends modern understandings of neuroscience and psychology with the wisdom of experienced practitioners in meditation, breathwork, and self-exploration, according to a press release for the app.

It supports users with intention setting, mood tracking, guided journaling and integration, and personalized music that has been scientifically designed to help guide you through emotions associated with different intentions, the press release states.

It sounds serious and scientific. But it also makes me wonder if anyone who made this app had ever tried shrooms before.

After indicating that Im about to embark on a new trip (aka, before the drugs kick in), the app prompts me to breathe in deeply, and then breathe out deeply, with an animated graphic of a blue sky in the background.

It then asks, How are you feeling right now?

There are five choices:

I select worse than usual and am then prompted to name the emotion. Apprehensive, I write, wondering how the heaviness of the pandemic and the absence of friends will make this mushroom adventure different from any other.

What is your intention for this trip? the app asks, with six options:

To grow, I select, feeling like this is, ultimately, more about content creation than self-care.

How are you hoping to grow? it then asks, as a purple mountain range glides by in the background. Through experiential learning, I type.

What type of Trip are you taking? it asks, and I simply call it Mushroom. Then, How far are you looking to go?

There are three options:

I choose moderate.

Then the app offers up five music options, all created by an AI company called LUCID, Inc., thats designed to support mental health.

It recommends Transcendence, a new-agey soundscape with birds chirping in the background. They say its best aligned with my intention to grow.

The other options include, Liberation, Connection, Valence, and Triumph, but its tough to distinguish too much between them. All of them sound like music Ive heard at spas, just with a little more piano sound here or more of a soft guitar sound there.

I go with the recommended Transcendence, and finally hit the Begin Trip button, and the app screen becomes an animated, aerial shot of a long river.

Theres a button in the middle that says Record a thought, where I guess I can do that. Transcendence plays in the background.

Despite hitting Begin Trip, my body hasnt yet processed the psilocybin; I feel nothing. So I decide to pause the music and put my phone down until they do.

Sitting by the Christmas tree with my cat in my lap, my vision wobbles and I feel lighter. The drugs are kicking in, and fairly heavily so much so that I quickly start Googling 1 gram of golden teacher mushrooms to make sure I havent gone overboard.

By the sounds of it, people are taking double or triple the dose Ive taken for this purpose.

Im very glad as the lights of the tree start to undulate and my cats fur begins moving like a prairie grassland in the wind that I havent ingested anything near that.

I look back at my phone, and this time, the app seems so much harder to use. I try and fail to hit the play button on Transcendence a few times because my motor skills are now impaired, but I get it going again.

I can barely look at the animation of the river at sunrise on my screen. I feel nauseated theres just far too much movement happening in there, but also not really anything going on to keep me interested. Im far more transfixed by the Christmas tree, and momentarily consider starting a cult devoted to my new lord, this tree.

I remember that Im supposed to record thoughts in the app, and shakily try to hit the red button for that purpose. But its just so hard when Im like this. I dont know if Im doing it right, and Im chuckling at how this seemingly basic thing has become so difficult under the influence of psychedelics. I find a pen and write down Christmas tree cult. Is this therapy?

Transcendence has also transformed its tone, taking on an intolerable doomsday vibe that makes it feel like something very bad is about to happen. I turn it off, too, and play Laura Marling, whose folky psychedelia sounds feel warm and comforting in a more human way.

For the next few hours, I thought about a lot of things, and as Id anticipated, the weight of the pandemic shrouded the experience with some darkness.

But I also delighted in the thought that Id likely be writing a satisfyingly negative take of the Trip app, and imagined Id be sharply recommending people experience nature and play beloved music instead.

But I felt differently when I reflected upon the app the next day.

At its very best, Trip introduces aspiring psychonauts to a solid checklist of considerations before embarking on a therapeutic psychedelic trip.

Thinking about the atmosphere, setting intentions, journaling and monitoring your emotions before and after a trip are all good ideas that I hadnt thought about in earnest before.

And the literature in the app is genuinely helpful.

But at its worst, its a marketing tool for a company struggling to open clinics at a crucial time in their business plans plans which have been thrown off-course because of COVID-19.

And after my trip one that many would consider on the lighter side I cant caution new consumers enough: Psychedelics alter consciousness, and they bring you to both bright and dark emotional places.

If you do decide to try home-based psychedelic therapy, do plenty of reading first, and consider having a friend with you in person or at a distance.

While Trip cant replace true psychedelic therapy under professional supervision, it offers a good foundation for intentional tripping, especially if youre new to psychedelics.

Kate Robertson is a Toronto-based editor and writer who has focused on drugs, primarily cannabis, since 2017. She has been published in The Guardian, Macleans magazine, the Globe and Mail, Leafly, and more. Find her at @katierowboat.

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I Tripped on Shrooms with an App: Here's What Happened - Healthline

Welcome to theCannabis Countdown, the Legal Marijuana Industrys Number One Curated Weekly News Recap.

In This Weeks Edition, We Recap and Countdown the Top 10 Cannabis and Psychedelics Industry News Stories for the Week of January 18th 24th, 2021.

Without further ado,lets get started.

*Yahoo Finance readers, pleaseclick here to view the full article.

10. Trump Grants Clemency to Marijuana Prisoners on Last Day in Office

One of the People on Trumps List Was Craig Cesal, Who Was Granted Clemency for His Cannabis Conviction That Landed Him a Life Sentence

As one of his final acts in theWhite House,President Trumpannounced that he has granted clemency to dozens of people withMarijuanaand drug convictions.

READ FULL TRUMP CANNABIS ARTICLE

9. With Biden in White House, Cannabis Pros Expect Fresh Influx of Investment Dollars

Cannabis Pros Are Expecting the Industry to Look and Feel Quite Different on the Heels of President Joe Bidens Inauguration

On the heels of theBlue Wave, the markets are anticipating that theMarijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Actpassed by the House in December will be approved by the Senate. The MORE Act which aims to decriminalize cannabis at the national level for the first time, and removeCannabisfrom the list of federally controlled substances and erase certain federal convictions would have otherwise had a slim chance of passage.

READ FULL BIDEN CANNABIS ARTICLE

8. Psychedelic Therapy Schools Are Popping Up Like Mushrooms

For Hundreds or Thousands of Dollars, You Can Get Certified to Administer Mind-Alteringand Some Say, Mind-HealingDrugs

Even beforeOregonandWashington, D.C., decriminalized medicalPsilocybin, the active ingredient in Magic Mushrooms, in November, a market was emerging for schools that teach mental and medical health professionals how to usePsychedelicsin their treatment. There are dozens of these schools, including theCalifornia Institute of Integral Studies, which offers a certificate in psychedelic-assisted therapies and research.

READ FULL PSYCHEDELICS SCHOOLS ARTICLE

7. UFC Announces it Wont Punish Fighters for Marijuana Use

The UFC is Starting 2021 With a Major Policy Change

The UFC says it will no longer count positive tests for carboxy-THCthe psychoactive ingredient found inCannabisas a violation of its anti-doping policy unless a fighter uses it with the intention of enhancing performance, Greg Beacham of the Associated Press reported.

READ FULL UFC MARIJUANA ARTICLE

6. Somerville Moves to Decriminalize Psychedelics

The City Became the First Massachusetts Community to Take Such a Step, Passing a Resolution Against Enforcing Laws Around Entheogenic Plants

Somerville this month became the firstMassachusettscommunity to move toward decriminalizing entheogenic plants, more commonly known asPsychedelics. At its Jan. 14 meeting, the City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution placing a low priority on the enforcement of such substances.

READ FULL MASSACHUSETTS PSYCHEDELICS ARTICLE

5. Arizona Begins Recreational Marijuana Sales, Just Weeks After Voters Approve Legalization

Arizona Marijuana Sales for the Adult-Use Market Officially Began on Friday After State Officials Began Notifying Retail Business License Applicants That Theyd Been Approved

TheArizonalaunch comes just weeks after voters in the state overwhelmingly passed aCannabislegalization initiative during Novembers election. This marks the fastest transition from voter-approval to sales implementation of any state that has legalizedMarijuanato date.

READ FULL ARIZONA CANNABIS ARTICLE

4. Why Investors Are Bullish About Psychedelics

Like Cannabis, the Psychedelics Industry Has Been Growing at a Locomotive Pace

A key reason is an intriguing trend within the mental health community: the evolving acceptance ofPsychedelicdrugs for treating depression and other mental disorders. Noting this development, market researcher Data Bridge recently projected that thePsychedelicssector could bring in a whopping $6.85 billion by 2027.

READ FULL BULLISH ON PSYCHEDELICS ARTICLE

3. These Four States Could Legalize Medical Marijuana Through Legislation in 2021

Legalization Seems More Likely in the Southeastern States After Mississippi Voters Approved a Citizen-Driven Medical Marijuana Initiative on Nov. 3

Four red states Alabama,Kansas,KentuckyandSouth Carolina could legalizeMedical Marijuanathrough their legislatures this year, and, if successful, they could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in business opportunities across the supply chain over time.

READ FULL CANNABIS LEGALIZATION ARTICLE

2. Could Psilocybin End Our Addiction Crisis?

The 8-week Study Compared the Effects of Psilocybin With Diphenhydramine, the Active Ingredient in the Antihistamine Benadryl

The researchers chose diphenhydramine because it makes some people feel nauseated or woozy. Two doses ofPsilocybinover a period of eight weeks significantly reduced alcohol use and cravings for alcoholics According to early results of a New York University phase 2 study. If this keeps going the way it looks like its going, I think it will lead to a large phase 3 trial that could be part of getting psilocybin rescheduled, said NYU psychiatrist and lead investigator Kelley ODonnell, MD, Ph.D.

READ FULL PSILOCYBIN STUDY ARTICLE

1. Cannabis Sales Records Smashed or Set in 2020, and Insiders Expect the Gains to Continue

The COVID-19 Outbreak Has Proved Devastating for Many Mainstream Industries, But for Those in the Cannabis Business, 2020 Turned Out to Be a Record-Setter

Sales of medical and recreationalMarijuanaproducts smashed former records set in mature markets such asColoradoandOregon. In emerging markets, includingIllinoisandOhio, sales set new, high bars for performance. Looking ahead,Cannabisindustry insiders dont expect 2021 to be much different.

READ FULL CANNABIS SALES ARTICLE

Photo by Jose Luis Sanchez Pereyra on Unsplash

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

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Cannabis Countdown: Top 10 Marijuana And Psychedelics Industry News Stories Of The Week - Benzinga

What a long, strange trip its been. The Grateful Dead, 1970

The rock and roll band, The Grateful Dead once said, What a long, strange trip its been. And nothing could explain the normalization of psychedelics more perfectly.At around the same time that the lyric above was written, Western governments were in theprocess of heavily criminalizing all psychedelic drugs.

What has followed is a half-century of horribly misguided drug Prohibition. Outside of a handful of smaller jurisdictions, it was not until 2020 that drug normalization pressures have resulted in the first serious moves toward the decriminalization and (eventual) legalization of psychedelic drugs.

Its now being called the Psychedelics Revolution. But to understand it, you first have to learn about the Cannabis Revolution.

The Cannabis Revolution

Cannabis wasnt heavily criminalized until after psychedelics Prohibition was well underway. This process was part of the (now infamous) U.S.-driven War on Drugs.

Along with the criminalization of cannabis came an intense anti-cannabis propaganda campaign. It was initiated by the government and parroted by the mainstream media.

A long list of supposed dangers was associated with cannabis use. All of which have now been debunked by real science.

In fact, via the approximate 100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, cannabis is (by far) the most benign of all recreational drugs.

It is non-toxic. It is not physically addictive. It has much milder psychoactive properties than other criminalized recreational drugs. Cannabis is successfully used medicinally to treat hundreds of different medical conditions.

The endocannabinoid system of the human body is essential for maintaining and regulating our health. The cannabinoids in cannabis (along with its terpenes and flavonoids) support this essential system. For this reason, cannabis also has numerous health-and-wellness benefits. None of the dangers associated with cannabis use have been able to withstandserious scientific scrutiny.Cannabis was also labeled a Gateway Drug, meaning that it supposedly led to people using even more addictive substances.

Out of all the governments anti-cannabis propaganda, this (ironically) had an element of truth to it. People would try cannabis. They would quickly discover that all the supposed dangers associated with its use were unfounded.

They would then assume (quite reasonably) that if everything they had been told about cannabis was a lie, then the dangers associated with hard drugs were also lying.Based on theliesthey had been fed about cannabis, people experimented with harder drugsa Gateway Drug.

Flash forward to the Cannabis Revolution.

Starting in the U.S. in the 1990s (and around 2000 in Canada), the war to end cannabis Prohibition has raged. Via ballot referendums in the U.S. and court challenges in Canada, people won the right to access the cannabis plants medicinal benefits.

For Canadians at the national level and for about one-third of the U.S. population, the recreational use of cannabis is now legal. A small number of dinosaur states in the U.S. continue to prohibit even the medicinal use of cannabis.

It has not been an easy war. The Corporate Media has largely continued its anti-cannabis propaganda campaign, undeterred by small details like truth and science. While the media (and many government officials) continue to fabricate cannabis health risks, they have added a new branch of propaganda. We have now been told that cannabislegalizationpresents all sorts of dangers to society.

More crime. Lower property values. Increased teenage drug use. These are among the supposed dangers associated with cannabis legalization. As jurisdictions have legalized cannabis for recreational use, we have seenlesscrime andlowerrates of teenage drug use. Most Americans consider cannabis legalization to be anamenity,if anything, it tends to promotehigherproperty values.

The People have seen how all the dangers they were warned about concerning cannabisusehave proven to be fiction. The People have seen how all the dangers they were warned about concerning cannabislegalizationarealso fiction.

Enter psychedelic drugs.

The Psychedelics Revolution

Roughly a quarter-century after the beginning of the Cannabis Revolution came the Psychedelics Revolution. Where the Cannabis Revolution has been a war, the Psychedelics Revolution has been more like the 60s love in.

While cannabis science still has to compete with cannabis pseudo-science, scientific research on psychedelics is unopposed by such disinformation. Thesamemultinational media corporations that continue to unapologetically spew anti-cannabis information cant find enough nice things to say about psychedelic drugs and their medicinal potential.

Such news stories like these highlight that point:

Psilocybin Sessions: Psychedelics could help people with addiction and anxiety(CBS News, August 2020)

We can no longer ignore the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat depression(The Guardian, June 2020)

Psychedelic Drugs Like LSD and Magic Mushrooms Linked to Transformative Experiences, Feeling Connected With Others(Newsweek, January 2020)

AMental Health Crisisrages around us, greatly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.Over 1 billion peopleworldwide are afflicted with stress-related disorders like depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD.

Clinical research is consistently showing that psychedelic drugs can not merely improve the standard of care for these conditions they canrevolutionizethese treatment markets.

Psychedelic Drugs: Powerful Medicine, Life-Changing Results

Where conventional medicine struggles to even adequately treat the symptoms of these conditions, psychedelics-assisted therapy is producing cures. From this we saw positive media coverage, exciting science research, and none of it was obscured by anti-drug propaganda.

Not surprisingly, while companies in the legal cannabis industry have generally struggled to get traction, new pubcos in the psychedelics space have thrived.

In the first year of trading for these public companies, most psychedelic stocks could deliver multi-bagger returns for their investors.

The Year in Review For Psychedelic Drug Stocks: 2020

Supported by exciting science and friendly media, this fledgling industry has been increasingly successful in raising the large sums of capital necessary to drive formal pharmaceutical research. In justthe last 3 months of 2020,the industry raised over $500 millionvia public placements and private financing rounds. Not bad for Year 1.

Cannabis: The Gateway Drug to Psychedelic Drug Normalization

Cannabis legalization advocates and legal cannabis companies have fought a war to get cannabis legalized and normalized across North America.

They have the scars to prove it. And that war is not over.

In contrast, the road to the normalization of psychedelic drugs is proceeding more like a coronation. The outcome (psychedelics legalization) seems almost preordained.

This can be explained as the cannabis industry has already fought the battles for the emerging psychedelics drug industry. The medical community is even more receptive to psychedelics-based medicine. The media is providing friendly, fact-based reporting. The People seem even more receptive to psychedelics.

Weve all seen the Cannabis Revolution. Weve seen the positive benefits that have flowed from it. As a result, the psychedelic drug industry is facing far less resistance. But is there more to it? Psychedelic drugs are much more amenable to a drug patent system than cannabis. Multinational drug companies will have the potential to generatefar more profitsfrom psychedelics than cannabis.

Then we have the U.S. military. The Department of Defense is dealing withan even worse Mental Health Crisis. Along with depression, anxiety, addiction (and suicide), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is at epidemic levels among military personnel.

Coupled with this, a recent article bluntly stated that 70% of Young Americans aretoo fat or dumbto qualify for military service.

The DoD cant afford a high attrition rate among those who qualify for service due to mental health disorders. Yet, the DoD currently has an abysmal track record in providing PTSD treatment (two-thirds of veteransexpress dissatisfaction with their treatment). The Department of Defense is also now one of the mostenthusiastic backers of psychedelic medicine, contributing$10s of millions for research.

Cannabisisa Gateway Drug. The Cannabis Revolution has done much of the heavy-lifting in public opinion and reducing the taboos in the corporate world toward these previously demonized drugs. This has paved the way for the Psychedelic Drug Revolution that is now unfolding. Would the psychedelic drug industry have been able to get off the ground without this cannabis-assist? Well never know.

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How Cannabis Became the Gateway Drug for Psychedelic Drug Normalization - The Marijuana Times

KCSA Strategic Communications, a leading integrated strategic communications firm that has carved out a specialization in the cannabis and psychedelics space, will be hosting its inaugural virtual Psychedelics Investor Conference.

The free virtual event will feature presentations and a panel from preeminent companies and industry leaders in the emerging space of psychedelics over two days, January 26th and January 27. The presentations will include corporate presentations, progress updates on clinical trials and research and development as well as an in-depth discussion of the capital markets opportunities for the rapidly expanding market.

Featured speakers will include Rick Doblin, Founder of MAPS; Field Trip Health (CSE:FTRP, OTC:FTRPF) Executive Chairman Ronan Levy, and former NHL Stanley Cup Champion, Daniel Carcillo, the founder of the psychedelics company Wesana Health, among many more.

KCSA's Lewis Goldberg said, Psychedelics have reached a critical point from a clinical and investor perspective. Unlike with Cannabis, this industry has already attracted significant interest from big institutional investors, and the KCSA conference will showcase many of the leading players, public, private and not-for-profit in the space.

To attend the live video webcast, you canregister hereor email KCSA Strategic Communications atConference@kcsa.com.

The full agenda below:

Time

Topic

Speaker

9:00am

Opening Remarks

KCSA Strategic Communications

9:15am

Keynote

Rick Doblin, Ph.D., MAPS

Amy Emerson, MAPS PBC

9:45am

Mindset Pharma Inc.

James Lanthier, CEO

10:10am

Field Trip Health Ltd.

Ronan Levy, Executive Chairman

10:35am

Psyched Wellness Ltd.

Jeff Stevens, CEO

11:00am

Cybin Inc.

Doug Drysdale, CEO

11:25am

Wesana Health

Daniel Carcillo, CEO

11:50am

MagicMed Industries Inc.

Joseph Tucker, MD, CEO

Time

Topic

Speaker

9:00am

Opening Remarks

KCSA Strategic Communications

9:05am

Awakn Life Sciences

Anthony Tennyson, CEO

9:30am

Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals

Jonathan Sporn, MD, CEO

9:55am

Novamind Inc.

Yaron Conforti, CEO

10:20am

Mydecine Innovations Group

Josh Bartch, Director, President & CEO

10:45am

Capital Markets Discussion

Lindsay Hoover, JLS Fund

Derek Ham, Canaccord Genuity

11:30am

Entheon Biomedical Corp.

Timothy Ko, CEO

11:55am

PsyBio Therapeutics Inc.

Evan Levine, CEO

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

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KCSA 2021 Psychedelics Investor Conference: What You Need To Know - Benzinga

This article by Jennifer Walker-Journey was originally published onPsychedelic Spotlight, and appears here with permission.

Researchers say psychedelics like ayahuasca, psilocybin, ketamine, ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT prove so beneficial to professional athletes because they have the ability to heal. The sacrifice athletes of high-impact sports make to succeed goes beyond the personal and physical. Researchers have found that repeated head blows and concussions can have detrimental long-term effects on the brainheadaches, dizziness, forgetfulness, insomnia, anxiety, depression, aggression, and in some cases, the desire tokill oneself or others.

According to a 2018 study published in the journalCell Reports, psychedelic medicines can actually increase connections between neurons and essentiallyrewire the brain. These structural changes suggest that psychedelic drugs may hold the secret to repairing circuits in the brain that cause mood and anxiety disorders.

People have long assumed that psychedelics are capable of altering neuronal structure, according to David Olson, assistant professor in the departments of Chemistry and of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, who led the research team, but this is the first study that clearly and unambiguously supports that hypothesis.

Conventional mental health therapies have offered little help. But a growing number of professional athletes are finding the path back to a better life with a more unconventional therapypsychedelics. These five athletes are leading the way in psychedelic therapy.

Dan Carcillo | The Players Tribute

Daniel Carcillo sat across fromReal Sports host Bryant Gumbela changed man. The former professional hockey players reckless abandon in the rink earned him the nickname Car Bomb. He was quick on the ice, but even quicker to throw punches at his opponents. During his 10-year career, he was diagnosed with seven concussions but believes he suffered at least 100 more.

The trauma to his brain had a lasting effect. He suffered from light sensitivity, slurred speech, headaches, head pressure, insomnia, impulse control. He felt overwhelmed with angst. Medication and psychotherapy didnt help. At times, he felt so hopeless that hed sit in his truck and contemplate how he could kill himself. He turned to ayahuasca for help.

Carcillos experience is not an isolated event. Former NFL star Kerry Rhodes told Gumbel he battled similar symptoms and feared he was suffering from early signs of CTE, the degenerative brain disease that dozens of former professional football players and players of other contact sports have suffered from as a result of repeated concussions. As with Carcillo, ayahuasca transformed his life for the better.

Former UFC fightersIan McCalland Dean Lister shared similar stories with Gumbel about how psychedelic medicine helped quell their mental anguish and addiction to drugs and alcohol so they could live more fulfilling lives. They hope to pass it forward to other former UFC fighters struggling with their own demons.

Former professional hockey player,Riley Cote, a.k.a. the Enforcer, was no stranger to psilocybin mushrooms. Butin a Cult Culture testimonialhe says he used them without understanding of their therapeutic and medicinal properties.

After retiring at 28, weighed down by deteriorating mental health and addiction issues, he headed to a clinic in Jamaica, a place he called a safe container. There, his psilocybin trip was guided by a group of true healers. He realized the mushrooms could heal his mind and improve his mental wellbeing. It just takes a little courage to step outside the box and trust in Mother Natures beautiful gifts she has blessed us with, he said. Now, 10 years later, he has a whole new perspective on life.

Former NBA starLamar Odomcredits ketamine and ibogaine for saving him from a debilitating addiction to drugs. He began using due to anxiety and past trauma. His psychedelic intervention was featured in the film, Lamar Odom Reborn, directed by Mike Zappy Zapolin.

Former heavyweight boxing championMike Tysoncredited his journey back to the boxing ring at the age of 54 with5-MeO-DMT. During his trip, he said, the medicine told me to get into shape. On Nov. 28, 15 years after his last fight, Tyson faced off with Roy Jones Jr., both rejuvenated and 100 pounds lighter.

Read the original Article on Psychedelic Spotlight.

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5 Athletes Who Healed With Psychedelic Therapy - Benzinga