Category Archives: Psychedelics

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When I met David Bronner at a cannabis dispensary in Berkeley, California, last fallapproximately 1,000 years ago in the B.C., or before-coronavirus erathe CEO of Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps made good on my hunch that the Southern Californiacompany, known for its minty tingle and wordy label, is one of the few American corporations that give zero fucks.

In a good way.

Id arrived at Berkeley Patients Group early, to get settled in before Bronner and his partner, Mia Hardwick, arrived. I recall thinking that if a doctors office and Hot Topic had a baby, this is almost certainly what itd look like. The Misfits played overhead, almost, just almost pulling you out of the distinctly clinical and well-lit surroundings. Beneath the large glass display sat various types of cannabis flower, neatly arranged: Jack Herer, Biscotti, Gorilla Glue #4, Pineapple Punch.

Bronner showed up looking less the part of Company Executive than California Dude, in clay-colored, natural linen pants and a T-shirt, his long hair pulled into a ponytail and tucked under a cap. But it fithis official title, after all, is actually Cosmic Engagement Officer. He had to hunch his over-6-foot frame to get a good look at the inventory.

Could we check out a Brother Davids Pineapple Punch? he asked the budtender.

She handed him a small, brown paper box. Like fresh juicy pineapples after an amazing day at the beach, a sticker on it read, Pineapple Punch is your cannabis partner for sunshine, freedom and creative flow.It boasted about being grown under the California Sun, In the Soil of Mother Earth, without chemicals, by fairly paid family farmers.

Ill actually go ahead and buy one. I already know its really good, Bronner said, with a knowing smile.

Hes tried it, of courselikely many times. Pineapple Punch is a product from Bronners new(ish) cannabis line, Brother Davids. Launched on Earth Day last year, April 22, Brother Davids is an entity separate from the organic soap empire founded by Davids grandfather in 1948 and is a means to introduceto the market a chemical-free, fair labor, cannabis program created with help from Bronner, Sun+Earth Certified. Because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, he explained to me, it cant be legally certified as organic, a determination made by the USDA, and consumers are largely left without knowing which growers are pesticide-free or employ fair labor practices. Sun+Earth Certified aims to be that standard.

This type of outside-the-box innovation is something of an informal guiding principle for the guy behind Dr. Bronners; its almost quite literally that insufferable trope, Be the change you want to see. If the soap company needs something to make its products ethically and environmentally friendly, and that something doesnt already exist (or its not currently legal), Dr. Bronners will actually make change happen.

Its practically baked into the companys DNA: In addition to founding the company, Emanuel Bronneraka Dr. Bronner, though he wasnt really a doctorheld strong moral convictions. He gave lectures on the interconnectedness of humanity and sold soap in downtown Los Angeles. In 1950, after Emanuel realized people were simply taking the soap and leaving, he printed his sermons on the label. Dr. Bronners bottles still carry Emanuels message: We are All-One or None!

Over the years, Dr. Bronners has put in real work to make change happen, unlike so many brands now trying to capitalize on socially conscious consumers (see this piece from my colleague Inae Oh from earlier this week if you dont know what I mean). The self-described activist brand hasput its weight behind causes like animal welfare, criminal justice reform, and fair pay. It has spent millions in support of state ballot measures that require the labeling of genetically modified foods. Back in 2001, Dr. Bronners helped leada lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Agency to allow oil derived from hemp in their products, eventually notching a win at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004.Bronner himself has been arrested twice for hemp-related protests: First for planting hemp seeds on the lawn of the Arlington, Virginia, DEA Museum in 2009, and then again in 2012 for pressing oil from hemp plants in front of the White House while locked in a steel cage. And, as my former Mother Jones colleague Josh Harkinson chronicled after spending a wild evening drinking beers and smoking spliffs with Bronner back in 2014, the exec grew his own fair-trade, organic palm oil and coconut oil overseas when he couldnt source it elsewhere.

In 2019 alone, it donated nearly $7 millionabout 5 percent of its revenueto a variety of charitable causes. But of all causes last year, Dr. Bronners gave the biggest bit of changemore than $3 millionto drug policy reform. In the past, Dr. Bronners drug-related activism largely centered on cannabis legalization, but now the company is turning its energy to a radical, new frontier: psychedelics.

That was our focus when we met up last fall, back when it was, needless to say, a simpler time. News of the novel coronavirusand the corresponding wild demand for hygienic productswouldnt come until months later. Today, the soap company has seen demand for its products spike, but at the same time its kept a keen focus on supplying soap and sanitizers to front-line workers and at-risk communities. Its been nuts, Bronner told me over the phone last month. Production has been dialed up to 11, he said, and during the past couple of months, the company simply hasnt been able to meet all its orders. Still, as of mid-May, it had donated more than 25,000 units of hand sanitizer and soap to those in need; it had also given $20,000 to the San Diego COVID-19 Community Response Fund and $50,000 to Californias Immigrant Resilience Fund,which is helping to support the 2 million undocumented Californians who are not eligible for federal stimulus money. (Dr. Bronners also announced this week that its donating $25,000 to organizations, both in Minnesota and nationally, that are working to end anti-Black racism and abuse.)

Even without the increase in coronavirus-related demand, Dr. Bronners constructive capitalism model has seemed to work for its bottom line: The company has grown every year since at least 2010, and in 2019, brought in $129 million in salesa 60 percent jump from what it sold fiveyears earlier.

We definitely get told, angrily, to just stick to making soap by whoever doesnt like the position were taking on a given issue, Bronner said. But I would say overall, even people who disagree with us respect that were out there standing up for our beliefs.

As Bronner likes to say, Whatever your subculture is, were your soap.

Dr. Bronners founder, Emanuel Bronner, with liquid soapDr. Bronners

As we drove across town in his rented Kia Soul to the Peoples Cafe, a vegan coffee shop, Bronner told me, I totally believe that we have a right to use psychedelics responsibly in our own home, out in nature. He pointed out that research shows psilocybin, a psychedelic chemical found in hallucinogenic mushrooms, can have healing properties, especially for people struggling with mental health conditions like addiction and anxiety. As he wrote in a September blog post on the companys website, We firmly believe that the integration of psilocybin therapyis crucial to healing epidemic rates of depression, anxiety, and addiction. (In 2018 and again in 2019, the Food and Drug Administration granted breakthrough status to psilocybin for treating depression and major depressive disorder, a designation based on promising clinical evidence that allows companies to expedite a drugs development. Some of the most advanced findings have been with cancer patients, where research shows psilocybin can decrease depression and anxiety.)

Just before we met last year, Bronner and Hardwick had flown in from Portland, Oregon, where they had attended the official launch of an effort to essentially legalize magic mushrooms for these purposes. IP 34 is a state ballot initiative Oregon voters will likely consider in November that would legalize psilocybin for therapeutic uses in restricted settingsa possible model for the rest of the country, according to Bronner. Dr. Bronners, he had announced the day before, would donate $150,000 to the initiative. Last year, the company had financially supported the passage of Initiated Ordinance 301 in Denver, Colorado, which made history when it became the first city to decriminalize psilocybin. (Oakland, California, became the second major city to do the samelast summer.)

But like all things, the coronavirus threw a wrench into big plans for 2020. While Oregon had most of its signaturesto move the initiative forward before the pandemic hit, Bronnerannounced last month that the company would be giving an additional $1 million to the campaign supporting IP 34. Were stepping up bigger than we expected in Oregon, just because its a difficult fundraising landscape right now, Bronner told me. Its likely IP 34 will reach a goal of 145,000 signatures before the July 2 deadlineone way or the other, were gonna make it happen, Bronner said. Still, the company had planned to sponsor an Oregon-based conference on psilocybin therapy which was canceled because of COVID-19. The coronavirus also effectively ended a similar initiative in Californiathey didnt have enough signatures when COVID hit to finish the deal, Bronner said.

As we walked up to the restaurant, I asked Bronner about his own psychedelic experiences, which he has been open about in the past. He told me that his first encounter was with mushrooms, in a friends room while he was studying biology at Harvard. I remember looking down on my arm, and whoahe recalled thinkingwhat does it mean that Im in quantum continuum with my environment? At a quantum level, theres not a difference between me and the world. And when I eat and I poop, the world is pouring through me. He believes that in addition to helping people suffering from mental illness, this feeling of connectedness with the world brought on by psychedelics may help people be better stewards of the planet. Bronner said the response to his companys push for psilocybin therapy has been very positive, at least on social media.

David Bronner protested the federal ban on hemp by locking himself in a cage full of hemp plants in Washington, DC, in 2012.Bill OLeary/The Washington Post/Getty

While the Oregon psilocybin initiative is what Bronner saidbetween bites of a vegan chicken quinoa burrito and a vegan omelet he split with Hardwickhe was most excited about for 2020, he was still focused on the broader mission of fair cannabis policy. States including Montana, South Dakota, and Arizona could see recreational, adult-use pot on the ballot in November, meaning these will be the key battleground states for Dr. Bronners. (Efforts in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Ohio have stalled out due to COVID, organizers say.) In all, the company plans to spend north of $2 millionin 2020 on drug policy reform, split between support for legalizing cannabis, approving psilocybin therapy, and replacing jail time with addiction treatment. (Ballot initiatives on jail diversion are in the works in Oregon and Washington, though its unclear if these initiatives will have enough signatures to qualify.) Dr. Bronners support will translate to donations, but also social and marketing resources, maybe even some limited-edition soap bottles.Dr. Bronners has in the past printed labels to build support for issues including GMO labeling, minimum wage, and regenerative organic agriculture. Its currently prepping a special bottle dedicated to integrating psychedelic therapy to launch in September, according to Bronner.

Its almost like, maybe this company is too good.Initially, I wondered if Dr. Bronners was practicing some kind of dark magic; how could an activist company, an unapologetic one at that, also be so profitable? Oh, and did I mention Dr. Bronners caps executives salaries at five times that of the lowest-paid employee? Im pretty much a glass-half-full kind of person, but still, I wanted to find something to latch on to, be skeptical of, poke holes in, or, at the very least, find ridiculous. While maybe there was just a little bit of the latter, what I saw really was a refreshing kind of corporate existence in an era when a self-serving business executive is literally running the country. Its definitely a more sucky environment, Bronner says of working for reform under Trump, but [George H.W.] Bush sucked, you know? Its not new. You just kind of keep workingeven under Obama, there was plenty of shitty things. You just gotta do what you can.

Toward the end of lunch, I asked Bronner which of the then-plentiful Democratic presidential candidates he liked. He said he didnt have a favorite and hadnt really been following the campaigns, but said he supported senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, though he reallyliked Sen. Cory Booker. Finishing off a cardamom chai tea with oat milk, Bronner said Booker, who has backed legislation to legalize cannabis nationwide, is super dope. Getting at least one prediction right about 2020, he added, I mean, he doesnt have much of a chance, but hes awesome.

I want to give him 420 bucks, Bronner said to Hardwick. Remind me were going to give him 420 bucks. (I checked back later; he did.)

Read this article:

Dr. Bronner's Soaps Wants to Protect You From COVIDand Legalize Your Right to Magic Mushrooms - Mother Jones

Netflix's new documentary "Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics" delves into research on psychedelic drugs like LSD and "magic" mushrooms and how these largely illegal substances could help treat anxiety and depression.

But the film's most entertaining moments come from celebrities like Anthony Bourdain, Ben Stiller, Sarah Silverman, and A$AP Rocky, who all recount the wildest psychedelic drug trips they've experienced.

In the documentary, which premiered on May 11, rapper A$AP Rocky told viewers a rainbow shot out of his penis after he took LSD. When Sting did psychedelics, the grass started talking to him. And for Rosie Perez, her psychedelic trip made it feel like her body became one with her mattress.

The detailed anecdotes reveal just how many famous folks have had otherworldly experiences and hallucinations, and offer insight (or just plain old entertainment) into what it could be like for a psychedelics newbie to trip for the first time.

Sting sings "My Songs" at the Expo Plaza at the beginning of his German tour on June 6, 2019. Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images

Sting said he viewed his his many psychedelic trips as a "valuable experience." The 68-year-old singer said he's had bad trips, but they've always taught him something and put his ego into check.

He recalled on particular trip in which his friend John gave him peyote, a psychedelic naturally found in a type of cactus plant, which he'd never taken up until that point.

Sting said he took the peyote at 11 AM while living on a farm, and after an undisclosed amount of time, "the grass starts talking to me, and very quickly, I enter this psychedelic realm."

"The trees are waving kind of musically at me," he continued.

Then John approached him and asked Sting to help him assist a cow on the farm who was about to give birth.

"What the experience does is it presents you with the idea of mortality right there," Sting said, pointing at his forehead. "It's your own mortality, the mortality of the planet...that is the central issue of consciousness," when tripping on a psychedelic drug, he said.

He and John successfully helped the cow give birth, and during the 20 minutes it took, he became increasingly high. "For me, the meaning of the universe cracked open," he said.

Silverman, a comedian, said "not a lot of thought went into" her first psychedelic trip, which took place in New York City where she was working at the time.

She was hanging out at a go-to restaurant with her comedian friends, when she saw a "hippie" walk into the venue.

"He had these pretty substantial white pieces of paper...boop, boop," Silverman said to signify she and her friend took them from the man when he offered, and put them on their tongues. It was LSD, or "acid."

She said they started tripping 45 minutes later.

"And the hot chocolate came, and the foam or the whipped cream was, like, breathing, and it was too alive to drink," she said.

"We floated to Washington Square Park with a gaggle of people we had never met before. Semi-homeless, maybe-ish people. We found ourselves feeling each other's faces and laughing and crying and realizing huge things," Silverman said.

Then, she and her friend got into his car, and they drove up to a red light. When the light turned green, her friend froze, and that's when Silverman realized he'd forgotten how to drive.

"He doesn't know what he's doing, how cars work," she said.

5/18/16 Anthony Bourdain at at The 2016 Turner Upfront. (NYC) Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx/AP

The late Bourdain, whose interview was conducted before he died in 2018, said he took a lot of LSD growing up.

"You know, I became a teenager just as the 60s were ending, and you know, and I was cruelly disappointed I missed out on the entire hippie era," he said.

One weekend, Bourdain and his friends each said they were staying at another friend's house.

Instead, they bought and took acid, weed, and Lebanese hash, a drug derived from the resin of the cannabis plant, and Quaalude's, a synthetic depressive drug, and then drove to the Catskill mountains in upstate New York.

They picked up two women hitchhikers who worked as dancers on the way. "We immediately let it slip as well that we were fully loaded with a pretty dizzying array of controlled substances, " Bourdain said. The women ended taking them too, and they all went back to one of the women's homes.

Once one of the women took a Quaalude as Bourdain and his friend hit their peak high, and that's when things started to go downhill.

"Panama [one of the women] starts modeling her outfits from her earlier years in Vegas. Suddenly, Panama, mid-stride, her eyes roll up in her head, and she keels over stone dead on the f-----g floor," Bourdain said.

At that moment, Bourdain and his friend started to form a plan for how to escape the crime scene. Then, Panama woke up, and they continued to drink and do other drugs like cocaine.

"I remember at one point excusing myself to go to the bathroom and looking in the mirror and seeing an Indian chief in full war-paint in the mirror looking up," he said.

Getty Images

"I think I maybe heard of acid from John Belushi, " Fisher, whose interview was recorded before she died in 2016, said.

She said whenever she took acid, she would plan the experience around her world travels and do psychedelics in various destinations.

"I would do these things and forget I looked like someone named Princess Leia, or whatever I was for people then, and so it's not a brilliant idea to then take acid and go running around," she said.

Once, while in the Seychelles, Fisher took acid on the beach with a friend. She said she was topless on the beach and when she turned around, "there are a busload of Japanese folk that have just arrived, and it turns out where we are, it's where they bring the tourists to have lunch from all the hotels."

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Kroll, a comedian and actor, said he brought a bunch of "magic" mushrooms to his friend's bachelor party in Malibu, where they'd rented a house for the weekend.

While hanging out on a private beach, Kroll and his friends took the 'shrooms, and Kroll said he took a bit more than everyone else, "just to be like, 'Yeah, it's cool, these are good.'"

After hanging out in the ocean while tripping, Kroll said he went back to the sand and started to hit his peak high.

"I see my buddies, and they are starting to gather a bunch of sea kelp. I see this and I'm like, 'I understand what's going to happen now,'" Kroll said. "They're emerging with 40 to 50 pounds [of sea kelp] and I just see them lift it, and just put all of this sea kelp on my body," which he continued to leave there for 45 minutes.

The sea kelp felt like it was moving while on his body, and Kroll said he loved it and dubbed himself the Kelp Monster.

"I couldn't even fathom wanting to remove this f-----g detritus from the sea. The next day I woke up covered in red welts," he said.

Getty Images

During a tour in Amsterdam, Scheer, a comedian and actor in "The League,"took mushrooms in the Van Gogh museum with friends.

He said he didn't feel any effects after an hour, so he ate more.

"I look up at one of the paintings, which is crows over the cornfield and it really, like, grabs me for some reason...All of a sudden I feel like these birds are coming out at me and I'm in the middle of this cornfield," he said, adding that he was standing about four inches from the painting while other visitors watched him.

Scheer started to feel overheated, so he left the museum and went back to his hotel with friends and they proceeded to order McDonald's "because we were in a foreign country and needed to ground ourselves with something American."

He said after eating the burgers, he and his friends came down from their high.

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6 celebrities wildest psychedelic trips, as told by themselves - Insider - INSIDER

Deepak Chopra, Sting, ASAP Rocky and more are among the world-renowned musicians, scientists, actors and artists featured in Netflixs Have a Good Trip, a colorfully entertaining documentary that explores the world of psychedelic substances and seeks to discredit their previously institutionalized social stigmas.

Have a Good Trip aims to debunk the idea that psychedelics are a torturous one-way journey towards psychosis by interviewing beloved celebrities and animating their spiritual, orgasmic and rejuvenating experiences in the psychedelic realm. Director Donick Cary astutely centers the documentary on celebrities in order to attract their respective fan-bases and strengthen the pro-psychedelic theme, as fanatics have the tendency to idolize their opinions. The formatting was an absolute success, and Have a Good Trip climbed to Netflixs top 10 most popular shows in America just a week after its release.

The documentary enlivens the public figures anecdotes, ranging from mystic and insightful to strictly hilarious, in a vibrant and psychedelic animation style. These stories depict psychedelics in a spiritual and fun manner, contradicting the government sponsored 1960s LSD propaganda that serves as the shows introduction. The narrative elaborates on this contradiction by mocking the propagandas premises in a handful of satirical skits, hilariously enacted by cinema personalities like Adam Scott.

To reinforce this perspective of psychedelics through credibility, the documentary includes the professional input of Dr. Charles Grob, a UCLA psychiatry professor currently researching hallucinogenic therapy. Doing so, Have a Good Trip challenges the intimidating social preconceptions of psychedelics and instead paints them as fun substances with the therapeutic potential to spark a moral and spiritual renaissance in contemporary society.

Sting, Carrie Fisher, Sarah Silverman, Anthony Bourdain, ASAP Rocky, Nick Kroll and others featured in the documentary provide anecdotes explaining the intensifying and revealing nature of psychedelics, both in good and troubled mind states. The show explains that a psychedelic substance builds from the subjects character, and so an unstable mindset is vulnerable to what is commonly labeled as a bad trip.

However, the show rejects what the government has depicted as an induced psychological disorder, a state of insanity and a point of no return. Instead, it insists that these trips are spiritual experiences in which the psychedelic prompts the subject to confront their innermost conflicts and sources of anxiety.

Whenever Ive had a bad trip, and Ive had many, Ive always realized that it was what I needed, Sting said.

Reinforcing this theory, Carrie Fisher explains how using psychedelics allowed her to understand and recognize herself beyond the public eye. She said that Princess Leia, or fame itself, had dichotomized her sense of self (she lived as Leia instead of Carrie) and a psychedelic experience helped her deconstruct her disconnection.

When I was first told I was bipolar, I went to see the doctor and I said, Well I felt normal on acid, she said.

Needless to say, psychedelics are not only presented as a means of therapy or existential discovery, and the animated anecdotes featured in Have a Good Trip mostly depict the hilarity and orgasmic emotional intensity of the psychedelic realm.

ASAP Rocky saw a rainbow shoot out of his genitalia, and Nick Kroll shares his experience being the kelp monster. Sting heard the grass talk as ecstasy overcame him, and Carrie Fisher talked to an acorn for hours while she tried hanging on to Earth in the middle of Central Park. Paul Scheer absorbed a Van Gogh painting for hours on end. A vibrant and playful style of animation reminiscent of psychedelic culture brings these stories to life. Nevertheless, the structure of the documentary and style choices have not been exempt of disapproval.

Have a Good Trip has received wide criticism for its clear lack of logistic and scientific foundation. Nonetheless, by relying on the likability of public icons that many find as cool as they are credible, Have a Good Trip makes a good effort to debunk and reconstruct preconceived notions of psychedelics, consequently creating a basis for their normalization. The documentary shys away from detailed scientific information and instead relies on a playful structure composed of entertaining, animated anecdotesengaging to otherwise disinterested young audiencesthat pile onto each other to construct a new notion of the psychedelic experience. Formatted for newer generations who prefer entertainment over tedious information, Have a Good Trip gives way to a new widespread conception of psychedelics. Amid a legislative reform that shows promise for psychedelic therapy, Have a Good Trip convincingly renovates psychedelics reputation into an image representative of their spiritual, existential and therapeutic value.

Rate: 8/10

Contact Benjamin Delger at[emailprotected]. Follow him on Twitter@BenjaDelger.

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Rate and Review: Have a Good Trip - The Independent Florida Alligator

The psychedelic experience can be rough on a person's ego. Those who experiment with magic mushrooms and LSD often describe a dissolution of the self, otherwise known as ego-death, ego-loss, or ego-disintegration.

For some, the experience is life-changing; for others, it's downright terrifying. Yet despite anecdote after anecdote of good trips and bad trips, no one really knows what these drugs actually do to our perception of self.

The human brain's cortex is where the roots of self awareness are thought to lie, and growing evidence has shown the neurotransmitter, glutamate, is elevated in this region when someone is tripping.

But up until now we've only had observational evidence. Now, for the first time, researchers have looked directly into how taking psilocybin affects glutamate activity in the brain. And the evidence suggests thatour tripping experience, whether good or bad, might be linked to glutamate.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, neuroscientists carefully analysed what happens to glutamate levels and a person's ego when taking psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor the brains of 60 healthy volunteers, the team found significant changes in activity in both the cortex and the hippocampus in those taking psilocybin.

Glutamate is the most common neurotransmitter in the brain, and it's known to be critical for fast signalling and information, especially in the cortex and hippocampus, the latter of which is thought to play a role in self esteem.

It also looks like psychedelics have a way of tapping into this system.

Interestingly enough, in the new clinical study, these two regions of the brain had quite different glutamate responses to psilocybin. While the authors found higher levels of glutamate in the prefrontal cortex during a trip, they actually found lower levels of glutamate in the hippocampus.

What's more, this may have something to do with whether a person has a good experience with their ego or a bad one.

"Analyses indicated that region-dependent alterations in glutamate were also correlated with different dimensions of ego dissolution," the authors write.

"Whereas changes in [cortical] glutamate were found to be the strongest predictor of negatively experienced ego dissolution, changes in hippocampal glutamate were found to be the strongest predictor of positively experienced ego dissolution."

Practically, we still don't really understand how this activity in the brain is linked to our ego, or even if it is. Still, it's been suggested that psychedelics decouple regions of the brain, so factual or autobiographical information is momentarily separated from a sense of personal identity.

"Our data add to this hypothesis, suggesting that modulations of hippocampal glutamate in particular may be a key mediator in the decoupling underlying feelings of (positive) ego dissolution," the authors suggest.

After decades of limited research, drugs like psilocybin, LSD and DMT are now finally being considered for their therapeutic benefits.

Understanding how these drugs work on a neurochemical basis could allow scientists to develop better treatments for those with mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.

Although if we're going to be using these substances to treat mental health issues like anxiety, depression and addiction, we're going to need to also understand the way the drugs mess with our ego - hopefully without the bad trip to go along with it.

The study was published in Neuropsychopharmacology.

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First-of-Its-Kind Study Hints at How Psilocybin Works in The Brain to Dissolve Ego - ScienceAlert

Red Light Holland, based in the Netherlands, grows and sells premium magic truffles in the legal Dutch recreational market

Codebase Ventures Inc () (), a venture capital company investing in early-stage technology and cannabis companies, has announced that its psychedelic-selling investee Red Light Holland began trading on the CSE Friday under the ticker symbol TRIP.

Red Light Holland, based in the Netherlands, grows and sells premium magic truffles in the legal Dutch recreational market through retail stores known as Smart Shops and online.

Codebase invested in the company back in January through its subsidiary Titan Shrooms & Psychedelics Inc.

Titan is working to reduce the stigma around psychedelics and highlight their medicinal potential for mental health conditions, pain management and addiction. In addition to its investment in Red Light Holland, the company owns a 70% stake in a joint venture with mushroom biotech company Mycology Ventures.

Codebase Ventures, which consists of a small, hands-on team of financial and technology experts, invests in emerging technologies. It makes strategic investments in ambitious founders who aim to upend large markets.

Contact Andrew Kessel at [emailprotected]

Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel

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Codebase says psychedelic investee Red Light Holland debuts on CSE with ticker TRIP - Proactive Investors USA & Canada

Psychedelics are a multibillion-dollar market.and that is what this industry is banking on. We are product based, we are a premium brand the Red Light Truffle will be available in smart shops and we potentially could even have products within the smart shops and on an advanced e-commerce platform by the end of Q3. We plan on setting up a facility that we hope one day will qualify for EU-GMP certification. That means that we can grow a perfect clean room medical grade truffle that could potentially be testedtruffles are sold legally in Netherlandswe think we can capitalize with a premium brand feel and with a micro dose responsible use product. States Todd Shapiro, Co-Founder, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP), in an interview with InvestorIntelsTracy Weslosky.

Todd went on to say that Red Light Holland will have two divisions Red Light Recreational and Red Light Health. The company is starting with recreational and will have a medical play in the future. Todd also said that Bruce Linton is the Chairman of Red Light Hollands Advisory Board. Bruce is the founder and former CEO of Canopy Growth Corporation. Under his leadership, Canopy Growth was the first cannabis producing company in North America to be listed on a major stock exchange (TSX) and included on a major stock index (S&P/TSX Composite Index). Canopy Growth was also the first cannabis-producing company to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

To access the complete interview,click here

Disclaimer: Red Light Holland Corp.is an advertorial member of InvestorIntel Corp.

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Todd Shapiro of Red Light Holland on 'magic truffles' and the multi-billion dollar psychedelics market - InvestorIntel

My most vivid childhood memories of Enchanted Forest are of Storybrook Lane, the parks original attraction. It takes you down a leafy path full of storybook oddities: fairytale figurines that appear poised to come alive; a jumbo Humpty Dumpty grinning atop a wall; a dark, dank Alice In Wonderland tunnel carved out of a faux tree stump; and an anthropomorphic caterpillar perched on a larger-than-life neon pink mushroom.

While my perspective hasnt changed much in the 22 years since, I now have the precise words to describe the place: trippy as shit.

In theme and physical size, this peculiar amusement park in Turner, Oregon -- which turns 50 this year -- caters to small children. But over the years, it's also become a low-key psychedelic playground for grownups thanks to a combination of social media, nostalgia, legal cannabis, and hallucinogens. In a state that fully embraces weirdness, Enchanted Forest is a jewel perfectly at home among the trees just off the highway.

For Sara Rudolph, Enchanted Forest is a reversion to childhood, one thats typically facilitated by psychedelic mushrooms.Rudolph has been going to the park since she was three. She remembers being thrilled and a little alarmed by the folksy handmade attractions -- among them a giant slide you enter through a witch's gnarled maw and a rickety haunted house.

Her last visit to the park was last year, at the age of 43. She says she hasnt gone to Enchanted Forest entirely sober since she was about 16, and as an adult, 'shrooms help her recreate moments of adolescent wonder.

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"There are all these little alcoves with puppets that definitely look like they come alive at night."

Its an immersive experience, something that we are very there for as children, but less so as adults," she says. "If you're high, you have more levels of that [childhood] experience. It's not just visual: You're actually more involved and more affected by the tactile nature of it.

Enchanted Forest can be trippy in a fun way -- or terrifying, depending on how high you are.

Its sort of homemade, which makes it extra creepy, Rudolph says. It's definitely not Disneyland. You're not sitting safe in a little cart. You're walking through it and it's kind of unpredictable and there are '70s-style, weird, lurid colors.

Enchanted Forest dates back to 1964, when Roger Tofte began building it on a 20-acre forested hill outside of Salem, according to the website. The park officially opened in 1971, with a piece of butcher paper that read OPEN alerting people to its existence.

Tofte, an artist and tinkerer who is now 90 years old, wanted to give kids in the sleepy city of Salem (the state capital, about an hour south of Portland) something to do. He built the park by hand with his wife, Mavis, and four kids.

Susan Vaslev, Toftes oldest daughter who now helps run Enchanted Forest, says there have been a couple of dips in attendance throughout the years that threatened the parks survival. The first was in the 1970s, when oil crises led to nationwide gas shortages, and the second was after 9/11. Currently, attendance is at a standstill as nonessential businesses are shuttered. Its 50th anniversary celebration is a big question mark.

Our biggest business is repeat visitors, Vaslev says. We're very thankful to them because that's what keeps us going.

The parks official Instagram -- which features photos of a smiling, wizened Tofte still repairing and shoring up the park by hand -- has over 10,000 followers. On it, youll find collections of fan art, vintage photos, and promos from the time the park was the subject of Travel Channels Ghost Adventures (the crew believed it was haunted). Threads on Twitter and Reddit, though, highlight the more underground aspects of the park.

Venture deep enough down the internet rabbit hole and youll find fan reviews of the Music From Enchanted Forest album, a collection of storybook-synth tunes composed by Vaslev that play on loop throughout the park. Search Reddit and youll find an Ask Me Anything thread with somebody claiming to be an employee in 2018.

What's the strangest thing you've caught visitors doing who didn't know you were watching? a user called IronicallyZen asked.

Definitely pot smoking! the employee responded. Young people think they could come in and sneak a smoke in the dwarf caves or bathrooms, but employees roam around constantly and they are for sure not getting away with it.

I couldnt imagine not going high.

Douglas Elkins, co-owner of Salems OG Collective Dispensary, says cannabis isn't necessarily the drug of choice for Enchanted Forest Visitors, but hes certainly heard of people doing acid and 'shrooms and going to Enchanted Forest.

Vaslev, however, vehemently denies the parks reputation as a destination for psychedelic enthusiasts.Rumors are rumors and not what we see in the park. We're very family-oriented, Vaslev says. If people come intoxicated, on alcohol or drugs or cannabis, we will ask them to leave or call the police.

I couldnt imagine not going high, says Crystal Contreras. It would seem kind of sad.

Contreras, 37, learned about Enchanted Forest after moving to Oregon as an adult.I heard that [taking psychedelics before going to the park] was a thing people do from a friend who grew up here, Contreras says.

Her inaugural visit was with a group of friends, who all took mushrooms. Because it was a sweltering summer day, Contreras opted to be the relatively sober friend and go very, very high on cannabis instead. She learned it was beneficial to have a high tolerance for spookiness.

Theres definitely a contrast between it being cute and fun and really creepy, Contreras says. It has a weird acid-trip aesthetic. There are all these little alcoves with puppets depicting scenes from fairy tales that definitely look like they come alive at night.

At one point, going through one of the little houses, Contreras says she, got a feeling that if I let my friends out of my sight they would disappear forever and Id never find them.

Contreras and Rudolph have advice for adults who decide to microdose before their trip to Enchanted Forest. The best ride, they both agree, is the new Challenge of Mondor, a target-shooting game that winds slowly through a dark tavern.

You get to chill out and shoot targets with a laser gun, who wouldnt like that? Contreras says.

Rudolph also recommends the Fantasy Fountains Water-Light Show -- a beautiful, dazzling water and light show that has 359 water jets, according to the parks website.

But she warns against the Ice Mountain Bobsled Roller Coaster, a Matterhorn knock-off that was the parks first ride.They put you in a little plastic capsule and it is incredibly claustrophobic, Rudolph says. If you're over five foot four, especially on drugs, maybe skip out.

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This Trippy Oregon Theme Park Is A Low-Key Psychedelic Playground - Thrillist

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 15, 2020 / EGF THERAMED HEALTH CORP. (CSE:TMED, OTCQB:EVAHF) (the "Company") today announces the appointment of George Anstey, a cannabis industry specialist, to the Company's Board of Directors. Jeff Lipton has stepped down from the board to allow space for this appointment.

Mr. Anstey has well-rounded and lengthy experience in the cannabis industry, which continues to grow rapidly throughout North America, operating in extraction, production, and supply. Among his roles were working with commercial license holders such as Broken Coast Cannabis, which was acquired by Aphria in 2018 for C$230 million. He now consults on compliance matters for early-stage cannabis companies, helping these businesses to navigate license application requirements set by Health Canada. These skills have been easily transferred to the psychedelics market, where he serves as CEO of Pharmadelic Labs, a psilocybin biosynthesis research company in which the Company holds a 30% stake. George's appointment gives the Company an experienced voice as it expands operations.

The opportunities afforded by the role excited Mr. Anstey, who commented: "I spent an inordinate time in this field and, based on the existing lab assets that TMED has in Las Vegas, I feel that I can assist the Company to optimize the utility of this asset to build further value for our shareholders."

The Company is pleased to welcome Mr Anstey's experience. David Bentil, CEO of TMED, stated: "George brings great experience leading companies in both the cannabis and psychedelic markets. His skills are very desirable and with his input we are confident the Company will grow from strength to strength. We would like to thank Jeff Lipton for his services to the Company."

ABOUT PHARMADELIC LABS CORP.

Pharmadelic Labs Corp. is a Nevada biotech company using state-of-the-art technology to create biosynthesis pathways for psilocybin. By editing the genome sequences of industrial brewing yeasts, the company is creating commercially viable compounds derived from psilocybin. The main advantages of this method are threefold: it is significantly quicker than growing and then extracting from mushrooms (days rather than weeks); very safe, through the use of GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) products ready for use in industry; it ensures a controlled and uniform level of psilocybin throughout the finished product; and is much cheaper to produce on a mass scale than greenhouse growing.

Pharmadelic Labs aims to develop a portfolio of intellectual property around biosynthesis pathways using yeast and psilocybin. The company will be working with a wide range of partners across multiple industries, starting with pharmaceutical companies creating products for the nascent psychedelics market.

ABOUT EGF THERAMED HEALTH CORP.

(CSE:TMED, OTC:EVAHF)

EGF Theramed is a consumer technology company engaged in the provision of biomedical online services for monitoring and treating common health problems. The Company, through its subsidiaries, has assets and technologies used in the extraction and purification of botanical extracts and the creation of extract formulations, as well as medical monitoring device technology. The Company is working to collaborate with other companies for medical technology, equipment protocols and laboratory SOPs.

Through the Company's recent acquisition of a 30% equity interest in Pharmadelic Labs Corp. it has begun to research psilocybin and psychedelic extraction and processing for its Las Vegas extraction lab.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

EGF THERAMED HEALTH CORP.

Doug McFaul

Email: dmcfaul@emprisecapital.com

Telephone: (778) 331 8505

Website http://www.theramedhealthcorp.com

CSE Micro-site: http://thecse.com/en/listings/technology/Theramed-Health-Corporation

US OTC Markets (OTCQB): http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/EVAHF/news

Frankfurt Borse: https://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/equity/egf-theramed-health-corp

PHARMADELIC LABS CORP.

George Anstey, CEO

Email: info@pharmadeliclabs.com

Website: https://pharmadeliclabs.com/

CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including with respect to the expansion of its IP claims in Canada, the United States and other jurisdictions, information surrounding the psilocybin market, as well as the business plans of Pharmadelic Labs Corp. and the Company. The Company provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited those identified and reported in the Company's public filings under the Company's SEDAR profile at http://www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.

SOURCE: EGF Theramed Health Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/589986/EGF-Theramed-Appoints-George-Anstey-to-Board-of-Directors

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EGF Theramed Appoints George Anstey to Board of Directors - Benzinga

Empower Clinics to power online education platform for patients, retail locations, national tele-medicine platform and their expanding network of franchisees with EuroLife's Cannvas.me

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 15th, 2020 / EMPOWER CLINICS INC. (CSE: CBDT) (OTC: EPWCF) (Frankfurt 8EC) ("Empower" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated life sciences company, is pleased to announce that further to the letter of intent announced on February 25, 2020 it has signed a definitive agreement with EuroLife Brands ("EuroLife"), a vertically integrated enterprise focused on the pan-European hemp, cannabinoid, and health and wellness sector. The agreement grants Empower an exclusive license to EuroLife's "Cannvas.me" cloud based online educational platform in certain international jurisdictions. Empower will use the web-based education technology platform to deliver brand, product, and industry knowledge to employees and over 165,000 patients across Empower's six corporate clinics in Arizona, Oregon, its first franchise in Oklahoma and nationwide tele-health platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Empower has been granted an exclusive license of the Cannvas.me platform in the United States and Mexico with an option to expand to other jurisdictions. The agreement includes a three-year term with a three-year renewable option. A licensing fee will be paid over the life of the agreement, consisting of a mixture of cash and stock totalling $460,000 CAD and includes comprehensive service level agreements from EuroLife and ongoing support from EuroLife team roles including VP of Technology, Senior Developer, Quality Assurance, Creative Designer, Program Management, Account Management and regular support from EuroLife's CEO.

"We needed a robust platform to reach our growing network of owned and franchised locations across the United States and EuroLife's Cannvas.me education platform exceeds all of our requirements," said Steven McAuley, chairman and chief executive officer of Empower. "We now have the ability to reach our employees and the patients they serve through a safe, secure and informative online education portal. I believe the ability to deliver consistent product education quickly and efficiently is a competitive advantage that we will leverage as we continue to grow our patient count and number of locations."

"I am very pleased to announce the agreement with Empower to license our Cannvas.me education portal to reach both employees and medical and retail consumers on an incredibly efficient basis," said Shawn Moniz, Chief Executive Officer, EuroLife Brands Inc. "I look forward to working with Steven and his incredible team at Empower as they expand their footprint across the United States."

Cannvas.me is a consumer education portal launched in 2018 for medical and recreational cannabis consumers. Through many discussions with industry stakeholders the management team discovered there was significant demand for a cloud-based education portal for licensed producers, retail dispensaries and other large to mid-sized companies in the cannabis sector.

ABOUT EMPOWER

Empower is a vertically integrated health & wellness brand with a network of corporate and franchised health & wellness clinics in the U.S. The Company is building its first hemp-derived CBD extraction facility and produces its proprietary line of cannabidiol (CBD) based products. The Company is a leading multi-state operator of a network of physician-staffed wellness clinics, focused on helping patients improve and protect their health, through innovative physician recommended treatment options. The Company has commenced activity on how to connect its significant data, to the potential of the efficacy of alternative treatment options related to hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapies, psilocybin and other psychedelic plant-based treatment options. The Company now offers COVID-19 testing options in the United States and physician-based consultations, to address COVID-19 concerns.

About EuroLife Brands Inc.

EuroLife Brands is a leading global markets cannabis brand empowering the medical, recreational and CPG cannabis industry worldwide through a data-driven CBD marketplace supported by exclusive and unbiased physician-backed cannabis education and detailed consumer analytics.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Steven McAuleyChief Executive Officer

CONTACTS:

Investors: Steven McAuley

CEO

[emailprotected]

604-789-2146

Investors: Dustin Klein

SVP, Business Development

[emailprotected]

720-352-1398

For French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc., E: [emailprotected], T: (888) 585-MARI

DISCLAIMER FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws.All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release.Forward-looking statements can frequently be identified by words such as "plans", "continues", "expects", "projects", "intends", "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding: the Company's expected timing of filing of its Annual Filings, the Company's intention to create psilocybin and psychedelics divisions, that market research on advancements in psilocybin and psychedelics in North America and globally will create greater shareholder value, the Company's intention to open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility, the expected benefits to the Company and its shareholders as a result of the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; the effectiveness of the extraction technology; the expected benefits for Empower's patient base and customers; the benefits of CBD based products; the effect of the approval of the Farm Bill; the growth of the Company's patient list and that the Company will be positioned to be a market-leading service provider for complex patient requirements in 2019 and beyond; the ability of the Company to complete or execute phases One, Two, Three or Four of COVID-19 test programs, and Psychedelic substances remain illegal in most countries, so please reference your local laws in relation to medical or recreational use. Such statements are only projections, are based on assumptions known to management at this time, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including; that the Company may not open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility; that legislative changes may have an adverse effect on the Company's business and product development; that the Company may not be able to obtain adequate financing to pursue its business plan; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; failure to obtain any necessary approvals in connection with the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; and other factors beyond the Company's control. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable laws.

SOURCE: Empower Clinics Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/589992/Empower-Clinics-and-EuroLife-Brands-Close-Definitive-Agreement-and-Sign-Multi-Year-Multi-National-Licence-Agreement

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Empower Clinics and EuroLife Brands Close Definitive Agreement and Sign Multi-Year Multi-National Licence Agreement - GuruFocus.com

Irony, of course, is the main line to Have A Good Trips target audience: nostalgic Gen Xers and elder millennials whose interest in high-power hallucinogens has likely been piqued by the so-called psychedelic renaissance. There is, I suspect, a certain level of knowing irony in other quarters of the psychedelic revival, be it in the popularity of neo-psychedelic rock bands like Tame Impala or King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (whose names alone suggest forked tongues firmly in cheek) or the elevation of pilled Grateful Dead tie-dye tour shirts to pricy, haute couture attire. Modern psychedelic explorers engage with the culture but avoid the effusions of earnestness that made the fizzled cultural revolutions of the boomer generation feel so embarrassing. The third eye is awakened and already rolling.

But can you really remove sincerity from the psychedelic experience, which has long been vaunted for its ability to facilitate beautiful insights about the power of capital-l Love; insights that may scan like mush when the drugs effects have faded but feel, in that exalted moment, absolutely real? And more to the point, should you want to? After all, one of the characteristics of the psychedelic trip is its capacity to obliterate what Pollan calls the pitiless glare of irony. Its that feeling of openness or a universal oneness that reoccurs in psychedelic literature, cinema, and even the woolly anecdotes of friends. Irony has become a de facto cultural defense mechanism and is rendered vulnerable by drugs renowned for opening (or totally shattering) our psychic defenses.

Irony is perhaps useful in tempering a bit of the cultural bitterness associated with the movements of psychedelias last major saturation period: the 1960s. Psychedelic drugs fueled the artistic and political upheavals of America in the Age of Aquarius, which collapsed under the bummer-trip heaviness of Altamont, the Manson murders, and the national trauma of the Vietnam War. As author Tom ONeill puts it in Chaos, his recent history that rethinks the era, The decades subversive spirit had come on with too much fervor. Some reckoning was bound to come, or so it seemed in retrospect; the latent violence couldnt contain itself forever. This cultural comedown is often framed, in distinctly druggy terms, as a form of punishment for the ecstasies that preceded itlike a long, blue Monday of the American spirit.

The psychedelic revivals ironic edge cuts some of this, allowing the curious-minded to savor the hallucinatory fruits of the era without getting swept up in its politics, which, as we all know, were tainted and stupid and hopelessly nave. (New reporting about the period, including ONeills book, strongly suggests that this sense of hopelessness and navet was a deliberate strategy by the powers-that-be to neutralize the energized leftist movements of the 1960s, but thats another discussion altogether.) A veil of wizened, weary cynicism permits engagement in psychedelia without having to feel all that engaged with its history or its deeper, metaphysical implications.

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Have a Good Trip Demystifies Psychedelics - The New Republic