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Solidarity Fridays - Week 19

Psychedelics Today

Release Date: 08/07/2020

PT 612 - Mattha Busby: Power, Pleasure, and the Psychedelic Movement’s Reckoning show art PT 612 - Mattha Busby: Power, Pleasure, and the Psychedelic Movement’s Reckoning

Psychedelics Today

In this wide-ranging conversation, journalist Mattha Busby joins Joe Moore to reflect on the shifting tone of the psychedelic movement in the wake of Psychedelic Science 2025. Based in Vancouver, Mattha has written for The Guardian, VICE, Esquire, TIME, and Wired, bringing a uniquely embedded yet critical lens to the space. They discuss the post-conference mood and the sense that the industry is sobering up—less hype, more introspection. Mattha reflects on the growing division between underground practitioners, activists, and biotech startups, and the importance of vision, ethics, and...

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PT 611 - Dylan Beynon - Mindbloom show art PT 611 - Dylan Beynon - Mindbloom

Psychedelics Today

Dylan Beynon: At-Home Ketamine Therapy, Big Pharma Pushback, and the Future of Psychedelic Accessibility In this episode, Joe Moore welcomes Dylan Beynon, CEO and Founder of , one of the largest providers of legal, at-home ketamine therapy in the U.S. Dylan shares the deeply personal story that led him to psychedelic medicine—including the tragic loss of his mother and sister to addiction and mental illness—and how these experiences continue to fuel his mission to make psychedelic therapy affordable and accessible for all. Mindbloom has now facilitated over 654,000 sessions across 38...

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PT 610 - Victoria Litman - The Future of Psychedelic Regulation Is Local show art PT 610 - Victoria Litman - The Future of Psychedelic Regulation Is Local

Psychedelics Today

In this episode, we sit down with ., to discuss why the future of psychedelic access in the United States is being shaped not by federal agencies, but by the bold actions of individual states. As a legal scholar and writer focusing on drug policy, Victoria breaks down the significance of the FDA’s 2024 rejection of psychedelic-assisted therapy, and why that decision might be less of a setback than it seems. We explore how state-level initiatives like Oregon’s Psilocybin Services Act and Colorado’s Natural Medicine Health Act are setting the stage for a new model of access—one rooted...

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PT 609 - PS 25 Morning Show - Day Three show art PT 609 - PS 25 Morning Show - Day Three

Psychedelics Today

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PT 608 - PS 25 Morning Show - Day Two show art PT 608 - PS 25 Morning Show - Day Two

Psychedelics Today

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PS 25 - Morning Show Number 1 show art PS 25 - Morning Show Number 1

Psychedelics Today

Joe Moore and Anne Philippi are hosts of the PS25 Morning Show! This one features Dee Dee Goldpaugh, LCSW and Tommaso Barba, PhDC! We talk about all things Sex and Psychedelics!

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PT 606 - Ibogaine and the Future of Healing: Trevor Millar & Jonathan Dickinson of Ambio Life Sciences show art PT 606 - Ibogaine and the Future of Healing: Trevor Millar & Jonathan Dickinson of Ambio Life Sciences

Psychedelics Today

n this episode of Psychedelics Today, kicking of Psychedelic Science 2025 week in Denver, we sit down with Jonathan Dicksinson, Chief Executive Officer, and Trevor Millar, Chief Operations Officer of Ambio Life Sciences – one of the world’s leading ibogaine clinics – to explore the potential of ibogaine for addiction, neuroregeneration, and how ethics, honoring experience, and sustainability will be key to delivering ibogaine at scale.  Trevor shares his early work supporting marginalized populations in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, which led to the founding of Liberty Root, one...

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PT 605 - Jeff Breau - Exploring Psychedelic Churches at Harvard Divinity School show art PT 605 - Jeff Breau - Exploring Psychedelic Churches at Harvard Divinity School

Psychedelics Today

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, hosts sit down with Jeff Breau from Harvard Divinity School's Center for the Study of World Religions. Key themes include the intersection of psychedelics and religion, harm reduction practices, and the burgeoning psychedelic church movement. Jeff brings insights from his ethnographic research on psychedelic churches and discusses the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration for advancing understanding in this field. He also delves into the role of music in psychedelic therapy, critiques of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), and the...

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PT 604 - Paul Gillis-Smith - Psychedelics, Religion & Lisa Bieberman show art PT 604 - Paul Gillis-Smith - Psychedelics, Religion & Lisa Bieberman

Psychedelics Today

In this episode, Joe Moore sits down with  from to discuss a range of fascinating topics. They begin by discussing the Harvard Divinity School and the CSWR’s mission and history. The conversation delves into the work and legacy of , a pivotal figure in the 1960s psychedelic harm reduction movement. It explores her contributions to the field through her Psychedelic Information Center. They also touch on the Quaker traditions and their intersection with LSD use, showing how spirituality and psychedelics can coalesce. Paul also talks about upcoming psychedelic and chaplaincy workshops,...

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PT 603 - Dr Simon Ruffell - Other Ways of Knowing show art PT 603 - Dr Simon Ruffell - Other Ways of Knowing

Psychedelics Today

In this episode of Psychedelics Today, Joe Moore speaks with Dr. Simon Ruffell, a London-based psychiatrist, researcher, and curandero-in-training in the López Mahua lineage of the Shipibo tradition. Dr. Ruffell shares how his early fascination with psychiatry eventually led to a deep disillusionment with the limitations of conventional treatments—and a surprising pivot toward the Amazon. Now working at the intersection of Indigenous healing and clinical research, Ruffell describes his journey from medical school to shamanic apprenticeship. He offers insight into the Shipibo understanding...

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More Episodes

In today's Solidarity Fridays episode, Joe and Kyle sit down and talk about recent items in the news, and dive deep into analyzing 2 articles that are very critical of MAPS' involvement with the police, military, and government. 

They first discuss Canada-based nonprofit TheraPsil's recent win of four people with incurable cancer being granted the ability to use psilocybin for end-of-life therapy, and how this framework could be copied and used in the US through the Right-to-try act, signed into law in 2018.  

They then discuss Dimitri Mugianis's recent article in Salon, which highlighted the long history of psychedelics being used in negative ways, from Vikings presumably using some sort of mushroom to get to a pillaging, "Berserker warrior" mindstate, to the 11th century Nizari Isma'ili State, which reportedly used hashish as a tool for motivation and control, to MKUltra and experiments on Whitey Bulger, to the most recent death of Elijah McLain from a large forced injection of ketamine. And they discuss David Nickles's article in Psymposia, which poses that since MAPS is working to provide treatment to police and soldiers with PTSD, they are essentially in bed with the enemy, and only promoting organizations that create more violence, division, trauma, and PTSD, while treating the perpetrators instead of the victims. 

Both articles are critical of MAPS but neglect to see the importance of diplomacy and working to see eye to eye with people in disagreement for the greater good- that yes, these tools can be used against people, but can also be used by people, with immense benefits. Joe reads a comment sent in by listener Danny McCraken, pointing out that "as the saying goes, ‘only Siths deal in absolutes.’" This leads to more discussion: when and how should ketamine be used for submission? Why do healthy, trained cops need to even get to that point? How much of this is just governments trying to make the costs of war cheaper? Why don't more people see things from all sides?

Lastly, they remind us that on September 17th, 2 new rounds of (now CE-approved) Navigating Psychedelics will be starting up, and there is a new class for sale developed with Johanna Hilla-Maria Sopanen called "Imagination as Revelation," which focuses on Jungian psychology and how it can be applied to understanding psychedelic experience.

 

Notable quotes

“I remember when we chatted with Dr. Katherine MacLean way, way back when we first got it rolling. Something that she said- ‘it’s almost like a birthright for us to try to prepare for death. And do we have to wait to have some sort of end-of-life illness, or can we start trying to prepare a little bit earlier?’ Just really awesome to see that these 4 patients will be able to have an experience and maybe discover things about themselves during their last time here. So congrats TheraPsil for making that work for these folks.” -Kyle

“From the anarchist perspective, this just helps governments, which are typically organizations that have monopolies on power (what anarchists are against, primarily). So any kind of government that’s using tools against people is bad, and these are tools that are being used against people. They’re also being used for people. It’s this weird dichotomy of: these things have such huge healing benefit for so many different types of people, and they can also be used to support things that are against people, like any tool. Like a knife or a gun- it can be used to save a life or take a life.” -Joe 

“Is this what we want? Last episode, we talked a lot about decriminalization vs. legalization, and we didn’t really talk about how that contrasts with medicalization. Do we really want these powerful people in groups telling you when you can and cannot take these things? I think the answer is no. We don’t want that. We want autonomy. We want cognitive liberty. We want to not go to jail for this stuff. We want safe access.” -Joe

“Essentially, the critique is that MAPS is supporting cops (PTSD) and soldiers (PTSD), and as a result, MAPS is supporting violent organizations that are causing more PTSD, and treating the perpetrators vs. treating the victims. I understand why they would write this article, but I think it’s not done in good taste. I think it’s not necessarily aware of the broader implications of these things coming to market and being prescribable and healing a lot of people. But it is helpful in that it says, ‘Look, cops are doing bad stuff. Military has done bad stuff. Should we be supporting it?’ ...How do we balance those two things? ...I think MAPS is almost at the finish line, so I’m going to cheerlead for MAPS to finish [and] cross the line with MDMA, even though they’re kind of pandering to the militarized people who have a monopoly on violence, both inside and outside of the country.” -Joe

Links

4 Palliative Canadians approved for end of life psilocybin therapy

BP will slash oil production by 40% and pour billions into green energy

Salon: How psychedelic drugs are used as a tool of state violence

Psymposia: We Need to Talk About MAPS Supporting The Police, The Military, and Violent White Supremacism

Psychedelics Today- Imagination as Revelation: The Psychedelic Experience in the Light of Jungian Psychology

 

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