Category Archives: Psychedelics

And God said, Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it. Genesis 1:11

He created the heavens without pillars.and We sent down water from the cloud, then caused to grow [on the earth] vegetation of every noble kind. Surah 31:10

Over the past two decades, the world has witnessed the depressing consequences of military conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere not to mention the specter of another major conflict involving Iran. The fallout from these conflicts should compel experts in international relations and foreign policy to engage in more courageous and visionary thinking about how to address these problems, which have deep roots in collective trauma, as well as sectarian narratives that are reinforced by trauma.

Psychedelics may represent an underutilized tool for building peace between groups with longstanding conflicts.

A growing body of scientific research is demonstrating that psychedelics, in combination with psychotherapy or structured ceremonies, have the potential to help people heal from psychological ailments such as trauma and post-traumatic stress, which correlate with a diminished capacity for empathy and emotional regulation, and are associated with an increased probability of acting on violent impulses.Furthermore, psychedelics are known to relax rigid narratives and strengthen connections between people.

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We believe that psychedelics can contribute to peace-building initiatives by healing collective trauma, cultivating new empathetic connections between people and nations, and attenuating the psychological drivers of conflict. By doing so, these substances can enable new insights and solutions to emerge.

In recent years, scientists, therapists, and activists affiliated with Imperial College London, Hebrew University, Kibbutzim College, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and the University of Haifa have been conducting intriguing observational research on Israelis and Palestinians who have been participating together in ayahuasca ceremonies.

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew that contains DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine), which is one of the most powerful psychedelic substances on the planet. This combination of psychoactive plants, which communities in the Amazon have long regarded as sacred medicines, can spark profoundly visionary and empathic states of consciousness.

In May 2021, researchers published a paper in Frontiers in Pharmacology that described encounters between Palestinians and Israelis after they ingested the brew together. A few excerpts of interviews from the study are especially moving, and they highlight how psychedelic experiences can help people process collective trauma, lead to new empathic bonds, and shift rigid narratives. (Disclosure: Dr. Leor Roseman, one of the authors of this piece, is a contributor to the 2021 study.)

A Jewish-Israeli participant reflected upon his experience listening to one of his Arab acquaintances during the ceremony: Suddenly you hear the language you most hatedand suddenly it is sending you into love and light, and thats the way it always is.

Another Jewish-Israeli participant concurred: When someone is saying Allahu Akbar in a ceremony, one can feel how the room is flooded with love and how people burst the limits of their normal consciousness and connect to something beyond. [] It is a moment of great expansionand suddenly when everyone feels it and connects to more truth, to more love. [] This is a huge process of healing

A Palestinian participant in one ayahuasca ceremony recalled a vision in which he had this weird experience of being in the body of an Israeli soldier. [] The whole experience was the eye coming down to look for shooting and as the trigger is pulled. [] I could feel him after, this is painful, this is not an easy life after.

A Palestinian similarly described a vision of a past life in which she was a Jewish combatant who was killed in an unspecified conflict.

Another Jewish-Israeli who was formerly a member of an elite Israeli military unit recalled a quite real vision in which he was conducting a house raid and then re-experienced it from the perspective of the Palestinian family. In this vision, he experienced the agony he inflicted upon the Palestinian family, and this motivated him to want to redress the unjust structure of which he is part.

These powerful experiences which can enable people to cross the psychological bridge not only from cognitive to emotional empathy, but also, momentarily, to a profound state of sympathy have clear peace-building implications. The feelings of expansion and awe that are associated with these moments of recognition suggest that rigid narratives are being modified, and that one can perceive their connection to the other in a new and surprising way.

Psychedelics alone are not a panacea, however.Their effects are dependent on the context in which they are used.Some experts warn that psychedelics, when not administered responsibly in the right context, can exacerbate paranoia and cause people to dig even deeper into exclusivist ideologies or other hardened ego defenses. Therefore, they advise that volunteers with severe conflict-related trauma should receive prior psychotherapeutic treatment before being considered for psychedelic-assisted peace-building sessions that take place in more complex group settings.

Furthermore, strong experiences of connection and harmony between participants can sometimes lead to a spiritual bypassing of unjust political realities, and can even suppress actions toward peace and liberation. Considering these risks, an intentional use of psychedelics for peace-building should include political education and discussion as part of the preparation for the experience.Ultimately, more research is needed to better understand the benefits and potential risks of using psychedelics in peace-building initiatives.

Still, there is reason for cautious optimism that scientific research into the potential peace-building applications of psychedelics could yield great dividends. We propose that psychedelic experiences can:

Being able to see the world through the eyes of ones enemy is essential to making peace.To whatever extent psychedelics such as ayahuasca enable us to do so, they could help positively transform our world from the negotiating table to the battlefield.

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Peace with psychedelics: Palestinians, Israelis took ayahuasca - Big Think

For the past several decades, psychedelics have been widely stigmatized as dangerous illegal drugs. But a recent surge of academic research into their use to treat psychiatric conditions is spurring a recent shift in public opinion.

Psychedelics are psychotropic drugs: substances that affect your mental state. Other types of psychotropics include antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. Psychedelics and other types of hallucinogens, however, are unique in their ability to temporarily induce intense hallucinations, emotions and disruptions of self-awareness.

Researchers looking into the therapeutic potential of these effects have found that psychedelics can dramatically reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse and other psychiatric conditions. The intense experiences, or trips, that psychedelics induce are thought to create a temporary window of cognitive flexibility that allows patients to gain access to elusive parts of their psyches and forge better coping skills and thought patterns.

Precisely how psychedelics create these effects, however, is still unclear. So as researchers in psychiatry and machine learning, we were interested in figuring out how these drugs affect the brain. With artificial intelligence, we were able to map peoples subjective experiences while using psychedelics to specific regions of the brain, down to the molecular level.

Every psychedelic functions differently in the body, and each of the subjective experiences these drugs create have different therapeutic effects. Mystical type experiences, or feelings of unity and oneness with the world, for example, are associated with decreases in depression and anxiety. Knowing how each psychedelic creates these specific effects in the body can help clinicians optimize their therapeutic use.

To better understand how these subjective effects manifest in the brain, we analyzed over 6,000 written testimonials of hallucinogenic experiences from Erowid Center, an organization that collects and provides information about psychoactive substances. We transformed these testimonials into whats called a bag-of-words model, which breaks down a given text into individual words and counts how many times each word appears. We then paired the most commonly used words linked to each psychedelic with receptors in the brain that are known to bind to each drug. After using an algorithm to extract the most common subjective experiences associated with these word-receptor pairs, we mapped these experiences onto different brain regions by matching them to the types of receptors present in each area.

We found both new links and patterns that confirm whats known in the research literature. For example, changes in sensory perception were associated with a serotonin receptor in the visual cortex of the brain, which binds to a molecule that helps regulate mood and memory. Feelings of transcendence were connected to dopamine and opioid receptors in the salience network, a collection of brain regions involved in managing sensory and emotional input. Auditory hallucinations were linked to a number of receptors spread throughout the auditory cortex.

Our findings also align with the leading hypothesis that psychedelics temporarily reduce top-down executive function, or cognitive processes involved in inhibition, attention and memory, among others, while amplifying brain regions involved in sensory experience.

The U.S. is going through a profound mental health crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet there have been no truly new psychiatric drug treatments since Prozac and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the most common type of antidepressants, of the 1980s.

Our study shows that its possible to map the diverse and wildly subjective psychedelic experiences to specific regions in the brain. These insights may lead to new ways to combine existing or yet to be discovered compounds to produce desired treatment effects for a range of psychiatric conditions.

Psychiatrist Stanislav Grof famously proposed, [P]sychedelics, used responsibly and with proper caution, would be for psychiatry what the microscope is to the study of biology and medicine or the telescope for astronomy. As psychedelics and other hallucinogens become more commonly used clinically and culturally, we believe more research will further illuminate the biological basis of the experiences they invoke and help realize their potential.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Study maps psychedelic-induced changes in consciousness to specific regions of the brain - PsyPost

Some studies on ketamine and addiction, however, suggest that its antidepressant effect wears off over time, and participants may need repeated infusions. This is a potential problem because the drug itself has the potential to become a drug of abuse and overdoses can, in rare cases, be fatal.

Researchers who are enthusiastic about psilocybin say its longer, more intense psychedelic experience make it a more long-lasting therapeutic. It generally requires just a single session or sometimes several sessions to be effective, provided its integrated with psychotherapy or some other form of counseling.

People have greater mental flexibility following psilocybin, said Matthew Johnson, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins who leads the smoking trial. That increase in openness might be a permanent change that can help in overcoming addiction.

Although psilocybin remains illegal under federal drug laws, some cities, including Denver, and Santa Cruz, Calif., have decriminalized it. Oregon, in November 2020, voted to become the first state to legalize it for medical use.

Psilocybin is considered safer than ketamine and is not habit-forming, but it does have its downsides. The greatest risks may come from a person who uses the drug alone and wanders into traffic or other dangerous situations while high. Even in the supervised setting of a research laboratory, users often experience side effects, such as vomiting or loss of coordination, and the trip itself can produce anxiety, pain or even a psychotic break.

One of the big challenges of these treatments is that the effects are somewhat unpredictable, Dr. Bogenschutz said.

The California Institute of Integral Studies is one of the best known organizations offering a certificate program to train future therapists working with psychedelics, but since psilocybin-assisted therapy remains illegal, an underground treatment market has popped up around the country.

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The Next Big Addiction Treatment - The New York Times

TEMPE, Ariz., April 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SABI Mind (SABI), an Alberta-based psychedelic therapy clinic group that provides treatments for mental health and chronic pain, is pleased to announce Canada's first research partnership with U.S. based Reverie Psychedelics (Reverie). A leading and rapidly growing psychedelic clinic and research organization that coordinates clinical trials and associated partnerships between psychedelic companies and clinical sites. This collaboration will provide academics and psychedelic companies researching psychedelic therapies access to SABI clinics, qualified clinical staff, and Reverie's expanding suite of clinical trial support services as these novel treatments work their way through the rigorous drug development process.

SABI Mind and Reverie Psychedelics Partner To Expand Research Into Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies

"I am elated to have the opportunity to work alongside the outstanding team and research-experienced physicians and staff at SABI," said Robert Wallace, Founder and CEO of Reverie. "This is our first Canadian clinical research partnership and will provide researchers from Canada, the US and around the globe with qualified clinical trial sites and SABI patients with access to emerging psychedelic treatment options."

Having developed and coordinated the Canadian Psychedelic Survey (CPS), SABI has already established itself as an academic leader in the psychedelic treatment space. Thiscollaboration with Reverie will support and expand SABI's clinical trial goals and capabilities.

"While there is a growing amount of evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapies, this is the dawn of the Renaissance in psychedelic drug research and development," says Philippe Lucas Ph.D., President of SABI Mind. "Dozens of companies and academic institutions are currently developing psychedelic medicines, and SABI is pleased to partner with the skilled and experienced team at Reverie to support research into novel psychedelic-based treatments and expand our understanding of how they might improve the health and quality of life of chronically ill patients around the world."

About Sabi Mind, Inc.SABI Mind is a Calgary-based clinic group supporting the careful mending of mental health and chronic pain through psychedelic-assisted therapies. SABI Mind empowers those discouraged by the conventional treatment methods with a patient-centered model supported by experienced psychiatrists, anesthesiologists, therapists, client experience specialists, and other clinic staff specially trained in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Find out more at http://www.sabimind.com.

About Reverie PsychedelicsReverie Psychedelics (Reverie) is a leading and rapidly growing psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy clinic and research organization. Reverie's clinics are structured to provide qualified individuals access to psychedelic therapies, special access programs, and clinical trials focused on psychedelic-based treatments. Find out more at http://www.reveriepsychedelics.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sabi-mind-and-reverie-psychedelics-partner-to-expand-research-into-psychedelic-assisted-therapies-301519691.html

SOURCE Reverie Psychedelics

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SABI Mind and Reverie Psychedelics Partner To Expand Research Into Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies - Benzi - Benzinga

Jaden Smith says he likes when it rains.

Its a pretty fitting outlook for the MSFTSrep co-founder, whose brands ethos is: Today I Hope You Run In The Forest, Swim In The Depths Of The Ocean, Bask In The Sunset And Stare In The Stars.

The environment isat the forefront of the Trippy Summer 22 Collection, which features water-print tees,jackets and pants, rainbow knit vests, and more. I just want to help to change the world and the fashion industry when it comes to sustainability, he says, noting that although the clothes are playful and nod topsychedelics, theyre also an ode to nature and help speak to what the future of aplanet powered by mushrooms could look likeenvironmentally and spiritually.

When I sit down with him in Toronto ahead of the Trippy Summerpop-up at Holt Renfrew, (hes also in town as part of his run on Justin Biebers Justice World Tour) hes decked out some of the bold, bright, delightfully psychedelic pieces that call back to the hippie culture from the 60s. Hes sporting MSFTSreps blue and orange printedpuffer jacket over straight-legged jeans that are emblazoned with the brands rainbow star logo. Its a vibrant mix of hues that perfectly encapsulate the happy, kaleidoscopic mix of wavy patterns and aquatic printsbehind the latest collection, and as he points out, serve as a way to expand ones consciousness.

Reflecting on the 10 year anniversary of MSFTSrep, he shares how he feels fashion empowers people, his advice for young designers, and his vision for the future of the MSFTS community.

The interview, lightly edited for clarity, is below.

Obviously, the collection takes its inspiration from the 60s. And I mean, the counterculture from that time speaks to so many things, from music to civil rights. So what kind of really attracted you to that [era]?Learning more about psychedelics.Itsmostly inspired by [the time] towards the end of the 60s, kind of like if Woodstock was happening now, what would people be wearing there, you know what I mean?So, you know,this is just a small little section of that in a larger, broader vision, because Trippy Summer is something that happens every year. So really, the collection is all about expanding our consciousness, you know, and helping people to understand that they have access to other states of consciousness within them.

Keep an open mind and keep expanding.Yeah.

Were trying to create the conditions for someone to get inside ofTrippy Summer and togointo a mystical state and to really have an epiphany that changes their life, because ithas happened to me before. Andthats why I am doing this.

I was also going to touch on the fact that during the 60s, the environmental movement was really big during that time period. I know youve been a really big advocate for sustainability, sowhy is thattop of mind when it comes to something like this?I just want to help to change the world and the fashion industry when it comes to sustainability, and I want to use more products thatI want people to use more recycled plastic and Iwant people to use more vegan leather. I want people touse more recycled materials in general.I pray that one day thriftedclothing will be a part of every major collection in the world, to where were going back and werethrifting clothes, and were reusing theold clothes inour new collections to use something old to create something new. I think thats really important.

Thrifting is so big nowadays I feel like its just become such a cool thing in and of itself. So I feel like if other people start to get on it more, its going to keep going.Totally.

And then, so the clothes are also about empowering young people. Why do you think that fashion is such an important tool for being able to do that, for us to express ourselves?Because I feel like when you wear clothes, they can also help you to express who you are through those clothes and say, You know, Im this type of a person or Im that type of a person. Itsreally, really important. You know what I mean? Like, Hey, I feel like this about the world, I feel like that about the world. Those things are really important when it comes down to making clothes. And you know, when youre wearing clothes, it kind of can express so much about you,so we feel like we want to make sure that were expressing things on the behalf of our audience and the MSFTS, and that they can wear clothes andfeel like, Yeah, I feel seen whenI wear this or I can give away a part of myself when I wear this and show people who I really am or what I believe, you know, andpush the world forward in super small ways.

You know, my goal is to make shirts thatreally make people think, like reallymake people think. One of the things were [doing with] the clothes this year is the goal is to create the conditions for a spiritual epiphany.Andthat is what MSFTSrep is. So were trying to create the conditions for someone to get inside ofTrippy Summer and togointo a mystical state and to really have an epiphany that changes their life, because ithas happened to me before. Andthats why I am doing this.

Itskind of a trippy thing because it ties into the whole idea of shrooms and psychedelics. So was there a particular trip that you had that sort of shaped this? Or have there been several?Its been a series of trips that have really helped me to realize that I need to go out in the world and really push this movement and thatI need to bea psychedelic world leader. You know, thats how I feelIreally need to not just cross the bridge myself and seesomething amazing and not tell anybody. I really want to let people know that, hey, there [are]other things inside of us that can help us in so many different ways in talking about mental health. Psychedelic therapy is going to be something that is increasingly happening in the world, and well see what happens withlegislation all over the world in the coming yearsbecause things are really on a fast track to change and go into more of a psychedelic, mysticalfuture where we can really study these things.

I just feel like in general, mushroom power is something that we need to cultivate for the future of humanity. And not just with psychedelics.

Yeah, I was going to say, I mean, people said the same thing about weed and nowits legal here.Yep, yep. Thats what its all about.

Id also noticedthatsome of the photos that you shared of the collection, theyre all inlittle rainbow Polaroids. And Polaroid also is very retro, and kind of fits into the whole idea of this as well. So tell me a little bit about how that feeds into everything.Oh, we justlike those, and we have a really great partnership with Instax and we just love the company. And yeah, we do a lot of work together and we just love that aesthetic for Trippy Summer. And then we canjust be out in the field, actuallyon shrooms or something and take those photos and then use them and post them andsay, Yeah, this is real. This is a real thing.

Yeah, Imjust out here, you know, sounding the alarm for the other psychedelic leaders in the world for us toall come together to really make a change. I just want to say this too, here, that theres also science that shows that you can grow mushroomsinto the shape ofa table, or you can grow [them]into the shape ofpackaging to removethe need for Styrofoam. Themycelial networkgoes across the entire planet andtheres a mushroom that eats plastic, theres a mushroom that eatsoil from oil spills. Penicillin was invented from [fungi].Mushrooms are so smart. So I just feel like in general, mushroom power is something that we need to cultivate for the future of humanity. And not just with psychedelics.

If youre reading this article right now and youre a young designer and you want to work for MSFTSrep, reach out to us cause were always looking for other young people.

Yeah, theres mushroom leather, too.Yeah, mushroom leather, thats a huge thing for us that we already use in our upcoming collections. [There are] so many things withmushrooms.

Do you have any advice for any other young up-and-coming designers? I mean, you were so young when you started this.I would say, Yo, keep going.Even if you dont fully have your voice at the beginning, you can find it ifyoureally stick to it. Andmaybe you will have your voice in the beginning, but youll never know if you dont try. The number one thing is [to] go out there and try and make it happen, and if you really want to design and thats what you want to do, reach out to us. We love working with young designers. Welove working with new people. If youre reading this article right now andyoure a young designer and you want to work for MSFTSrep, reach out to us cause were always looking for other young people. And you know, thats what MSFTS is about. Its being that platform for the young designer to discover their voice and then go and stand out.

So MSFTS turns 10 this yearin the next 10 years, what do you hope to achieve with the community and with the brand?I hope to build schools everywhere across the world, and help kids [who] are going through mental health problems inside of schools and the way that schools are structured. Its draining on our mental health. I think the signs are very clear and it doesnt help us to become the best versions of ourselves all the time. But its not about just complaining about things that are not right, its about making them better.

So thatll be my biggest dream, to build schools and retreats where people can go, and take psychedelics and learn about themselves and eat vegan food andjust go to a full retreat, get massages, work out and make artwork, work and then go to therapy sessions, go to rehabilitation sessions, you know, make their body and everything better. Real big changes. Were making clothes right now, but thats not our end goal, to be selling clothes in 10 yearswe will be, but thats not going to be our main thing.

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Jaden Smith on His Trippy Summer '22 Collection and the Power of Mushrooms - Complex

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biomind Labs Inc. (Biomind Labs or the Company) (NEO: BMND) (OTC: BMNDF) (FSE: 3XI), a leading biotech company focused on innovation and research on endogenous tryptamines (biomolecules acting as psychoneuroplastogens) for the treatment of mental health disorders and beyond, is pleased to announce that CEO Alejandro Antalich and Scientific and Clinical Advisor Dr. Drulio Barros de Arajo will present at Benzinga Psychedelics Capital Conference that will be held in Miami at the Fontainebleau on April 19th, 2022.

This conference brings together leaders of the biggest publicly-traded psychedelics companies with investors from across North America.

This is a great opportunity to get a comprehensive understanding of Biomind Labs diversified portfolio of molecules targeting specific indications and tailored drug delivery systems, as well as its robust intellectual property strategy and future plans. Also, this is a great opportunity to learn about the Companys advances on strategic commercial arrangements, such as the commencement of a commercial clinical trial on its proprietary drug candidate BMND06, a novel formulation based on the psychedelic molecule mescaline.

Neuroscientist Dr. Arajo will be sharing a unique scientific approach to one of the most promising psychedelic molecules, N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The Company is currently conducting a second Phase II investigational new drug clinical trial with an inhaled formulation of DMT, the results of which may assist the Company in identifying the most effective method of administrating its DMT candidate in patients with depression.

About Biomind Labs Inc.

Biomind Labs is a biotech research and development company aimed at transforming biomedical sciences knowledge into novel pharmaceutical drugs and innovative nanotech delivery systems for a variety of psychiatric and neurological conditions. Through its acceleration platform, Biomind Labs is developing novel pharmaceutical formulations of the main psychedelic molecules, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and mescaline for treating a wide range of therapeutic indications. Biomind Labs focus is to provide patients access to affordable and modern-day treatments.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking information (forward-looking information) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements in this document include, among others, statements relating to the ability of the Companys innovation and research on endogenous tryptamines to possibly treat mental health disorders and beyond, the results of the Companys second Phase II investigational new drug clinical trial with an inhaled formulation of DMT, statements regarding the Companys commercial clinical trial on its proprietary drug candidate BMND06, the Companys ability to provide patients access to affordable and modern-day treatments, the Companys development of novel pharmaceutical formulations from the main psychedelic molecules, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and mescaline for treating a wide range of and other statements that are not historical facts.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, among others: (a) the Company may require additional financing from time to time in order to continue its operations which may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms and conditions acceptable; (b) compliance with extensive government regulation; (c) domestic and foreign laws and regulations could adversely affect the Companys business and results of operations; (d) the stock markets have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the performance of companies and these fluctuations may adversely affect the price of the Companys securities, regardless of its operating peers; (e) adverse changes in the public perception of tryptamine-based treatments and psychedelic-based therapies; (f) the impact of COVID-19; and (g) general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

The Company makes no medical, treatment or health benefit claims about the Companys proposed products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada or other similar regulatory authorities have not evaluated claims regarding tryptamine-based treatments, psychedelic-based therapies or other psychedelic compounds. The efficacy of such products has not been confirmed by approved research. There is no assurance that the use of psychedelic tryptamines, tryptamine derivatives or other psychedelic compounds can diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. Vigorous scientific research and clinical trials are needed. The Company has not yet completed commercial clinical trials for the use of its proposed products. Any references to quality, consistency, efficacy and safety of potential products do not imply that the Company verified such in commercial clinical trials or that the Company will complete such trials. If the Company cannot obtain the approvals or research necessary to commercialize its business, it may have a material adverse effect on the Companys performance and operations.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

The Neo Exchange Inc. has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and is not responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the contents herein.

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Biomind Labs to Present at Benzinga Psychedelics Capital Conference in the U.S. on April 19th 2022 - Business Wire

Psychedelics, including psilocybin and MDMA, are promising for a variety of psychiatric disorders, but there are few data showing how these drugs interact with traditional psychiatric medications, new research shows.

Dr Aryan Sarparast

"Despite prolific psychedelic research and public interest, I was surprised to see little clinical research on how psilocybin and common psychiatric treatments interact," study investigator Aryan Sarparast, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, told Medscape Medical News.

The review was published online March 7 in Psychopharmacology.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently granted breakthrough therapy designation to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for major depression and treatment-resistant depression and to MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.

The investigators assessed the volume of available research on interactions between psychedelics and traditional psychiatric medications, such as antidepressants.

They found 40 studies dating back to 1958, including 26 randomized controlled trials, 11 case reports, and three epidemiologic studies.

Only one randomized clinical trial evaluated the interaction between psilocybin and the most common psychiatric treatment, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), said Sarparast.

However, this study is "reassuring and overlaps with our hypothesis that there is a low risk of psilocybin and most psychiatric drugs causing harm when combined," he noted.

Yet all of the clinical trials exclusively included young healthy adults, who were often recruited from university campuses. "We don't have data on what happens when a depressed person on an SSRI takes psilocybin," said Sarparast.

He added that he is concerned that the lack of evidence on drug-drug interactions will lead some providers to require patients to be tapered off existing traditional psychiatric medications before initiation of psilocybin therapy.

This may force vulnerable patients to choose between their existing therapy and psilocybin.

In addition, patients who opt for the "DIY method" of tapering risk mental health relapse and medication withdrawal effects. "That's a very, very tough place to be," Sarparast said.

Ideally, said Sarparast, he would like to see a study in which depressed patients who have been receiving long-term antidepressant treatment are randomly assigned to received low, medium, and high doses of psilocybin. "This would clarify a lot of question marks," he noted.

Commenting for Medscape Medical News, Roger McIntyre, MD, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, University of Toronto, Canada, said, "The point in this article is very well taken. Indeed, more research is needed" on potential interactions between psychedelics and traditional psychiatric medications.

"Before we embark on completing research and development for psychedelics or, for that matter, any psychoactive substance we should endeavor to identify what the potential safety and toxicity concerns are when they are co-prescribed with other prescribed medications, over-the-counter medications, and other substances (eg, marijuana) that people take," McIntyre said.

A case in point a recent study conducted by McIntyre and colleagues revealed "significant drug-drug interactions with cannabis, which never receives that much attention," McIntyre said.

Also weighing in for Medscape Medical News, Albert Garcia-Romeu, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, confirmed that there is "an evidence gap" on psilocybin's and other psychedelic drugs' interactions with other medications.

"This has not been formally studied for a number of reasons, but mainly because psilocybin has primarily been considered a drug of abuse. Psilocybin has only recently started to be looked at as a potential medication, and as such, research on drug-drug interactions is still limited, but growing," Garcia-Romeu told Medscape Medical News.

He noted that studies are underway to better understand potential interactions between psilocybin and other medications.

"This will allow us to better understand how psilocybin should be used medically and what types of interactions could occur with other drugs or medications," Garcia-Romeu added.

The study had no specific funding. Sarparast, McIntyre, and Garcia-Romeu report no relevant financial relationships.

Psychopharmacol. Published online March 7, 2022. Abstract

For more Medscape Psychiatry news, join us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Psychedelics' Interaction With Psych Meds: More Q's Than A's - Medscape

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For the nascent psychedelics sector, 2021 was the year when foundations were established for a future that may hold impressive payoffs. It remains to be seen if those payoffs will materialize in 2022, or if theyll take a little longer, but signs appear positive for a potentially strong growth market, according to new report.

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The Defiance ETFs report notes that drivers for the growth include legislative changes toward psychedelics, investments rising for example, Peter Thiel backing the psychedelic start-up Atai Life Sciences as well as some clinical trials reporting positive results, and the rise in demand and acceptance of psychedelics-based treatments.

While theres a range of different predictions for the psychedelics market in the next few years, they share a positive trend. DataBridge predicts that the U.S. market for psychedelics will grow at a CAGR of 11.5% between 2021 and 2026, reaching $6.4 billion by 2028, while Research and Markets forecasts the global market to rise at 14.5% CAGR from $3.2 billion in 2021 to $6.3 billion in 2026, the report notes.

Its clear that analysts expect the market to grow dramatically, even if they disagree about the precise size of that growth, according to the report.

Sylvia Jablonski, CIO and co-founder of Defiance ETFs, told GOBankingRates that there are more than 2 billion people with untreated mental health disorders, and that number is growing.

Nearly 30% of mental health patients have not found a cure, or a treatment that worked for them in the realm of conventional therapies, and have often given up, Jablonski said. Billions of dollars have been spent fighting mental illness, but there hasnt been a cure that works for all patients. However, clinical research done by some of the most esteemed academic institutions and research groups like MAPS [Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies] or Hopkins, to name a few, have proven that psychedelic-based medicines can revolutionize treatments, and provide potential cures to patients.

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She explained that psychedelics essentially help the patient, guided by a medical professional, to a path where the brain rewires itself and allows for paradigm shifts which have led to lifelong disease control or even cure.

Investing in psychedelic firms now could be an opportunity to capture the beginning stages of what is looking to be on the path of a healthcare revolution, she said.

She added that these could be good value plays in the biotech/healthcare space, which is also a potential defensive play, like consumer staples, an improving or failing economy doesnt mean people wont get sick and need therapy, she added.

Some stocks to consider, she said, include Mind Medicine, which is focused on LSD and the psychedelic drug ibogaine, which targets depression, anxiety, attention deficit and addiction. The stock is also in the top psychedelic stocks recommended by the Motley Fool, which puts the companys valuation at $1 billion.

Compass Pathways is another stock to consider, Jablonski said, as it is well funded. The Motley Fool said the drugmaker is conducting the largest clinical trial in history of a psilocybin therapy with its phase 2 study evaluating COMP360 in treatment-resistant depression.

COMP360 is Compass Pathways only pipeline candidate right now. However, its one of the most advanced of all the psychedelic drugs in development, with the potential to move into late-stage clinical testing in 2021, according to The Motley Fool.

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In May 2021, Defiance ETFs launched the first US-listed psychedelics ETF, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PSY, and tracks The BITA Medical in Psychedelics, Cannabis, and Ketamine Index, according to the funds prospectus.

Companies included in the index must have a minimum market capitalization of $75 million and operate in the production, distribution or services related to medical psychedelics, medical cannabis or other medicinal drugs and their derivatives.

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Yal Bizouati-Kennedy is a former full-time financial journalist and has written for several publications, including Dow Jones, The Financial Times Group, Bloomberg and Business Insider. She also worked as a vice president/senior content writer for major NYC-based financial companies, including New York Life and MSCI. Yal is now freelancing and most recently, she co-authored the book Blockchain for Medical Research: Accelerating Trust in Healthcare, with Dr. Sean Manion. (CRC Press, April 2020) She holds two masters degrees, including one in Journalism from New York University and one in Russian Studies from Universit Toulouse-Jean Jaurs, France.

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Stage Set for Psychedelics Stock Boom: Here's Where ...

In 1966, researchers at the International Foundation for Advanced Study in California gave mescaline to 27 men who were engineers, physicists, mathematicians, architects, furniture designers, and artists.

While on the drug, one came up with a new conceptual model of a photon particle; another envisioned a new approach to the design of a vibratory microtome, a lab instrument that cuts material into small slices; and an architect produced a design for a home that was later approved by his client. The mescaline seemed to help facilitate creative problem-solving, particularly in the illumination phase, the researchers wrote.

These kinds of stories are common in psychedelic folklore, leading to the belief that psychedelic compounds lead to Aha or eureka moments, and that answers can be revealed during a trip in one fell swoop. Besides understanding particle physics, people often feel like they receive knowledge about themselves or the nature of the universe.

In his 1902 book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James wrote that one feature of a mystical-type experience is this noetic quality, or a feeling of deep knowing. They are illuminations, revelations, full of significance and importance, all inarticulate though they remain; and as a rule they carry with them a curious sense of authority, he wrote.

But how can we tell if the insights received while under psychedelics are true? In a recent talk for the UCL Society for the Application of Psychedelics, Johns Hopkins cognitive neuropsychopharmacologist Manoj Doss said its likely that psychedelics can evoke illusory insights, or the feeling of a profound insight that is misattributed to ideas that arise during a psychedelic experience.

This too, James was familiar with. After inhaling a large amount of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, James wrote furiously on the topic of Hegelian dialectics, a complex kind of philosophical argument. At the moment of transcribing, his thoughts were fused in the fire of infinite rationality, he wrote. But when he was sober again, his revelatory insights were incomprehensible. Meaningless drivel, James called them. He published an excerpt from his notebook in the journal Mind:

What's mistake but a kind of take?

What's nausea but a kind of -usea?

Sober, drunk, -unk, astonishment.

Everything can become the subject of criticism

How criticise without something to criticise?

Agreementdisagreement!!

Emotionmotion!!!!

By God, how that hurts! By God, how it doesn't hurt!

Understanding the nature, and veracity, of psychedelic insights will be crucial if these drugs are to be taken by more and more people, especially those who will seek them out to have insights that better their mental health and well-being.

Luckily, insights, or "Aha moments," have been studied by psychologists outside of psychedelic research for decades. Insights have been found to be unique cognitive phenomena that are often associated with correct solutions to problems, but within insight research, theres also been recent work on false insights: insights that feel real, but are objectively incorrect.

False insights can be induced in the lab through some simple tricks, and feelings of insight can spill over in how people regard other worldviews and factsmaking untrue facts or extreme beliefs seem more true, a subject highly relevant to psychedelics. The feeling of insight does not guarantee that an insight is correct. Certainly not all psychedelic insights will be false, but recognizing that they probably wont all be true either, despite how they feel, makes room for problematic insights to be tested, and not simply accepted as untouchable truth.

An Aha moment is the experience of suddenly believing you understand something, or suddenly solving a problem that you've previously been unable to solve. A classic example comes from the life of Archimedes, the Greek mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. Archimedes was asked to determine if a gold crown made for King Hieron II had been mixed with silver, rather than made with pure goldbut the king didnt want Archimedes to damage or melt down the crown while figuring it out.

Puzzling over how to do this, Archimedes took a bath. He noticed that the water splashed onto the floor when he got in, displaced by the volume of his body. In a flash of insight, he realized he could compare the crowns volume in water to another piece of gold or silver with the same mass, and compare the density.

A person doesnt need to come up with a brilliant solution, like Archimedes did, for an Aha moment to exist, said Jonathan Schooler, a psychologist at the University of California in Santa Barbara. What characterizes it is that abrupt feeling of truth.

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John Kounios, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Drexel University and coauthor of The Eureka Factor, has shown through brain imaging and behavioral experiments that insights do seem to be the result of a real and distinct kind of emotional and cognitive process, not just a typical new idea with an emotional flourish tacked onto it.

There is also research showing that when an Aha moment accompanies a solution, it's more likely to be right, said Ruben Laukkonen, a postdoctoral fellow at The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In studies using a task called the remote associates, people are given three words, and they have to come up with a corresponding fourth word. When people solve these problems, sometimes they have an Aha moment and a solution pops into their mind. Other times, they solve it through more slow and careful analysis. In these studies, if people had an Aha moment, they were more likely, on average, to have gotten the correct answer.

People may have learned that this Aha feeling is often associated with correct solutions throughout their lives, Kounios said. It might be why when people have an idea that feels like an Aha, and it's accompanied with a sense of profundity, theyre more likely to think those ideas are true. When we have Aha moments, we often treat its content as sacred. James Joyce wrote in Stephen Hero, his posthumously published autobiographical novel, that epiphanies must be recorded with extreme care, seeing that they themselves are the most delicate and evanescent of moments.

But even in those laboratory studies, Laukkonen said, false insights were lurking amongst the true ones. False insights were when people had the same feeling of sudden knowing, but what they knew wasnt correct. Researchers have mostly followed and tried to characterize true insights, but recent work has turned to examine these false insights.

In 2020, Laukkonen and colleagues gave people an anagram to solve, and then presented them with a fact that was either true or false. When people successfully unscrambled the letters in the anagram, and felt an Aha moment doing so, they were more likely to think that false facts were truemisattributing the Aha feeling from the anagram to whatever the fact was.

This worked for world views, too: people were more likely to endorse statements like free will is an illusion if they were given a key word, like illusion, in a scrambled format first. If we elicit a little insight experience, even using something as trivial as an anagram, that feeling that is elicited can color anything that's happening at that moment, Laukkonen said. The feeling of insight could essentially be moved around and put onto other things.

In another recent study from this year, Hilary Grimmer, a PhD candidate at The University of Queensland, Laukkonen, and others were able to elicit an Aha feeling in people who were objectively having a false insight.

People were given a list of words that all shared an association, like wheelbarrow, seedlings, glove, and soil. Then, they were given an anagram that looked like a word that would belong with that list, but actually didnt. For example, paired with the list of gardening words, they would be given the anagram for endanger, which shares a lot of letters with the word "gardener." People would solve the anagram as "gardener," and feel like they had an Aha moment even though their solution was incorrect.

These studies showed different kinds of false insights: In one, people who had a true Aha moment from solving an anagram misattributed that feeling to other, untrue, facts. In Grimmers study the Aha moment occurred around a solution that was objectively wrong. But both reveal how the feeling itself of the Aha moment isnt always paired with the truth.

"It seems like that feeling can just exist on its own," Grimmer said. "We can have the same feeling of insight, regardless of actual truth."

People on psychedelics wont be solving anagrams and responding to facts; their insights will be more complex, and so will the contexts around them. But knowing that the feeling of insightfulness can be elicited with false information, or moved around and applied to unrelated information, is essential when considering insights that come from psychedelics.

Doss thinks a number of factors could make psychedelic experiences a breeding ground for the feeling of false insight or knowing. Studies have found that in a psychedelic experience, words or concepts that wouldnt typically be associated can be relatable. While the people in Grimmers study were misled to think gardener based on the gardening words, this could mean that more tenuous associations could prime people to have false insights while in an altered state.

People can be set up to expect true insights, based on what they're told at the outset of a trip. When people are told under psychedelics that they will come up with certain insights, you're going to be more inclined to attribute the feeling of insight to the truthiness of ideas that you might come up with, Doss said. I think all these things kind of come together in a perfect storm to potentially create something that feels very real but doesn't necessarily have to be."

People might have different thresholds, even under sober conditions, for how much information they need to have an Aha moment. You might have 10 pieces of information in your head and if all 10 of them snap together, you have this coherent insight about something, Kounios said. But what if only nine of them snap together, or eight of them snap together?" Its possible that psychedelics could lower that threshold, Kounios said, to create Aha moments with less input.

Another important lesson from insight research is that some people may be more swayed by insights, and the positive feeling that comes with them. In 2020, Kounios and his colleagues used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain activity when people solved anagrams with Aha moments, finding that in the moment of insight, there was a sudden burst of high frequency brainwaves.

Some people in the study were high in a personality trait called reward sensitivity, a trait that is found in thrill seekers and others motivated by pleasure. In those people, there was another burst of brain activity a tenth of a second after the insight in the brains reward system, the same area that is engaged when people eat delicious food, take addictive drugs, or have orgasms. People who were not high in reward sensitivity didnt exhibit this. Kounios said it suggests that some people can have an insight without always having the feeling of pleasure or emotion alongside it.

Though the study didnt collect subjective reports, Kounios said that anecdotally, those who were high in reward sensitivity got really into the tests, and thought they were fun. People like having insights, Kounios said. Its why a lot of people like to do crossword puzzles, read murder mysteries, have creative hobbies, do researchthey get a thrill from Aha moments.

David Yaden, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins who studies the subjective effects of psychedelics, thinks that its important to parse out the different kinds of Aha moments that different people may have while on psychedelics.

Not all insights can be tested, the way an anagram can be right or wrong. A person might have insights about the nature of reality or about their life, like realizing they should quit their job, or move to a different city; these kinds of insights will be hard to measure.

But there are others, like the predictions of events that may or may not happen, which could be tested. Creative insights could be judged by others for their novelty and usefulness. Simply put: before making the claim that psychedelics lead to more true insights across the board, that should be measured.

Psychedelic insights could also be assessed for an alignment with therapeutic goals or overall well-being. If a person has the insight that theyre not worthless, or that they are connected to others, that might align with the goal of improving depression symptoms.

These kinds of insights might not be falsifiable, but could be valuable to a person for their healing process, Laukkonen said. But in the cases when an insight feels real, but isnt helpful or true, the fact that the feeling is separate from the content can be useful, especially in responding to complex or traumatizing experiences, or pushing back on the guru effect, when people have insights that feel very authentic about their position over other people, or their reasons to cross ethical boundaries.

There's certain types of insights that I think that people need to be very cautious with, Doss said.

Not all psychedelic insights will be false, and many may be true insights, or just helpful, unfalsifiable ones. But knowing that the feeling of insight is able to be disentangled from the content of the insight itself is importantit paves the way for critical thinking and examination of an insight later on.

It can be difficult to question epiphanies that come with an Aha feeling, and they may be subjected less to ethical or critical analysis, Yaden said. Grimmer said that insight moments, under sober conditions, are more closely held onto. They have a memory advantage, people remember solutions that came with an Aha.

Some people suggest that once we've had an Aha moment, whether it's true or false, some amount of us will kind of always believe it because of that unique way with which it arrives in our consciousness, Grimmer said. They seem kind of sticky.

But all insights, true and false, should lead to more examination after the Aha momentwhether it occurs on psychedelics or not. It goes along with an idea that it's important to have epistemic humility, Yaden said, meaning we should be humble about our knowledge and what we think we know. The noetic quality doesn't excuse not having epistemic humility.

And checking an insight doesn't diminish the value of Aha moments. It just means that like any other thing that people do, it can be wrong, Kounios said. Ive always told my kids in school: when you do a math problem, check your results. The same logic should be applied to insights. If you have an Aha moment, check it. What do you have to lose?

Schooler agreed that insights should be revisited later on. When Archimedes had his idea, he still had to put the crown in water and see if he could actually calculate it, he said. It's important not to just stop at the epiphany phase.

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The Insights Psychedelics Give You Arent Always True

When South by Southwest held its debut festival, it was a four-day music showcase of 177 artists playing 15 venues. Thirty-five years later, it reaches way beyond music and plays out over 10 days citywide on scores of stages where it gives a preview of a future that will be funded by venture capital.

SXSW this weekend is wrapping up the 2022 edition of what has exploded into a mega-event known globally for its futuristic exploration of art, media, technology, sports, wellness, politics and activism.

A launch pad for ideas, brands and personalities that later become household names, SXSW each year draws tens of thousands of people to Austin seeking forward-thinking solutions and novel approaches to big problems.

Which is to say that the event has secured its place as a vital part of the venture capital ecosystem and its ever-optimistic quest to create the future of everything. And this year's installment has been no exception, featuring experts delving into some of Silicon Valley's biggest passion projects, from crypto and climate science to the metaverse and psychedelic drugs.

The return of SXSW following a pandemic hiatus also comes at a time when the city of Austinthanks in part to the festival itselfstars in another drama that hits home for the VC ecosystem: The rise of hot new metropolises winning over tech and other corporate leaders seeking locales that are more accommodating of their business and personal ambitions.

Conference visitors who were trying to plan out time slots in the packed schedule could be forgiven for feeling that they had to choose between equally buzzy but competing sessions: one could be about saving the world from climate change, the other about saving musicians' profits through shrewd use of NFTs and decentralized platforms.

It's a boom time in so-called Web3 innovations that empower musicians and other artists to claim economic control of their brand and intellectual property outside dominant channels owned by publishers and companies like Spotify.

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, created by artists are grabbing much of the spotlight, especially at music-crazy SXSW. The blockchain-based tokens can certify ownership and authenticity of digital creative assets and even physical ones (like an artist's branded merchandise). Musicians are tapping into them for a sizable revenue stream of royalty payments for sales of their branded work on secondary markets.

Kelsey Byrne, the singer-songwriter also known as Vrit, is one of them. Byrne educated herself on tokens during her own pandemic isolation and emerged with a rising name in music but also a knack for using NFTs to make a sustainable living as an indie singer. "The whole point of this is to work outside the system," she said on a panel.

Another panelist told of several artists with small followings who've been able to rack up meaningful revenue. "You can have less fans but make more money," said Sam Hysell, co-founder of digital media company NFT Now. The model is taking off. In December, investors valued NFT marketplace OpenSea at over $13 billion in a $300 million VC funding round.

Take weed. Organizers programmed at least 20 panel discussions or featured speakers on the topic as seen through issues including racial equity, regulation, consumer products, social change and international markets.

Investment in VC-backed cannabis companies retreated to $2.8 billion last year from its high point of $3.6 billion in 2019, according to PitchBook data. Investors are taking aim at the world cannabis market estimated to be worth more than $32 billion last year, mostly concentrated in North America. But opportunity for weed businesses in other world regions looms large, with 50 countries (not counting the US) having created legal cannabis markets on a national level, according to Prohibition Partners, a UK-based cannabis research firm.

"I think that provides an amazing opportunity, but it also leaves a question mark as to when the US will join the ranks," said Stephen Murphy, managing director of Prohibition Partners, who moderated a panel looking at the global pot business.

Another dozen or so other talks focused on the future (and present) of psychedelics: Psychedelics in wellness. As a market opportunity. In public policy. In tourism. Even in Judaism.

One of the best-attended panel discussions this year focused on the prospects for psychedelics to treat severe depression, PTSD and behavioral disorders. Such therapies remain on the fringes of Western medicine. But authoritative research is gaining traction, of course with Silicon Valley VC funding, among companies such as therapeutics specialist Atai Life Sciences, which is backed by Peter Thiel and recently got federal approval to do a clinical trial of a non-psychedelic form of ketamine intended for use as an antidepressant.

Another high-profile adherent is the influential entrepreneur Tim Ferriss, who took to the SXSW stage with a group of eminent psychologists to share intimate details of his experimentation with ketamine in his own battle (with "life-changing" effectiveness, by his own account) against chronic depression.

Outside the meeting hall, a passerby's T-shirt read, "Make Acid Great Again."

Regardless of how seriously you view the use of psychedelics in medicine, it's clear watching Ferriss speak that he has done his homework on the research and can hold his own delving into the scientific minutiae alongside some of the field's top experts.

Ferriss and his co-panelists like Roland Griffiths, a Johns Hopkins University pharmacology professor, said they see much promise in clinically supervised treatments through altered states of consciousness, but they also plainly acknowledged that modern medicine is in its infancy of truly understanding psychedelics.

To Pico Velasquez, a designer whose work has straddled physical and virtual dimensions, the power of the metaverse is to capture "beautiful intricacies of this world." But she also maintained it's not just about games or entertainment.

"Instead," she told one session, "it's an evolution of our lives, the future of work, the future of culture. The future of absolutely everything is going to get transported into this new space."

Some efforts to demonstrate the idea didn't quite land. At a late-night party thrown by Blockchain Creative Labs, an NFT-focused startup studio backed by Fox Entertainment, guests were invited into a pop-up exhibition that was meant to evoke the dazzling imagery associated with highly stylized digital environments. It was basically a flashy electronic installation on the walls.

At a demo kiosk for Qualcomm-owned chip designer Snapdragon, visitors could create their own digital avatars having their likeness scanned using face- and body-recognition software. My avatar, showing a fully bald man, was totally unrecognizable, but it did at least allow me to show I had a receding hairline of my own, using any color of my choosing.

Featured image of the Blockchain Creative Labs exhibit by Alexander Davis/PitchBook News

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SXSW stage is a collision of weed, metaverse, NFTs, acid and saving the planet - PitchBook News & Analysis