Here’s what’s in store for you in today’s issue:
🍄 Vancouver’s exploding mushroom dispensaries
🍄 Become a professional trip sitter
🍄 More microdosing research!
🍄 Shrooms for dogs?
🍄 And more.
You’ll want to stay till the end to learn how a married couple discovered their relationship in a past life!
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There’s tremendous anecdotal evidence that microdosing has therapeutic benefits, yet there’s limited research on its effects. Luckily, that’s starting to change thanks to Diamond Therapeutics.
The Toronto-based company received Health Canada approval to conduct a Phase 1 human clinical trial to evaluate low doses of psilocybin in up to 80 healthy volunteers. The preclinical research suggests that low, non-hallucinogenic doses have potential therapeutic benefits.
Diamond Therapeutics is also planning to conduct a Phase 2 trial in the US and Canada to evaluate low psilocybin doses in treating anxiety and will support an investigator-led study on moderate depression as well.
Before a therapist can guide patients through psychedelic therapy, it’s pretty important that they know what the drugs feel like firsthand.
There’s a growing demand for experiential training for mental health professionals, and organizations in both Canada and the US are starting to fill this gap.
ATMA Journey Centers, a clinic in Calgary, submitted an application to Health Canada for an experiential-based clinical trial to train mental health providers looking to offer psychedelic-assisted therapy – and there are currently 400 professionals on the waitlist.
The study will assess the psychological effects of psilocybin in healthy patients, as well as physiological effects like heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. Since most psilocybin studies are conducted on patients with mental health disorders, this trial will produce much-needed ‘healthy control’ data to use as a baseline.
In the US, two psychotherapists just founded the Psychedelic Coalition for Health (PCH) to offer experiential psychedelic integration training for professionals.
If you developed a drinking problem during the pandemic, you’re not alone. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects 283 million people and growing, which is why Psilera Inc. is studying psilocybin’s anti-addictive properties.
The Florida biotech company launched a new preclinical study that will assess up to seven psychedelic-inspired new chemical entities (NCE) on reducing alcohol consumption. The company aims to limit the psychedelic effects of the drugs to potentially allow administration outside of a clinical setting.
It may sound far-fetched, but psilocybin medicine could have therapeutic benefits for dogs!
As cannabis products are becoming more popular for pets, some progressive veterinarians are starting to explore the potential of magic mushrooms. Anecdotal evidence suggests that psilocybin may be able to help dogs with extreme anxiety, PTSD, or behavioural issues.* In parts of South America, psilocybin is used to enhance the hunting ability of dogs, and scientists hypothesize that substance can enhance a dog’s sense of smell and reduce extraneous signals.
*The Daily Mushroom does not encourage or condone giving psilocybin to dogs, as there is no published data on its effects.
Bexson Biomedical Inc. is developing a small wearable device that could allow users to control their psychedelic experiences from home.
The device attaches to the stomach and releases psychedelic compounds into a layer of fat via a tiny needle. In theory, users will be prescribed the pre-calibrated device and be able to use it in the comfort of their home. Users can preprogram the intensity and duration of the trip and potentially adjust the dose and rate of infusion throughout the trip.
This administration method would produce more consistent results across patients than oral administration, which can produce varying results due to differences in liver enzymes.
The device is currently being developed to administer ketamine for chronic pain, but could also be used for psilocybin, LSD, and DMT.
Johns Hopkins University has been at the forefront of psychedelic research since the early 2000’s. Now, its researchers are partnering with Mydecine Innovations (MYCO) to end one of the most difficult addictions to treat.
The Denver-based company just signed into a 5-year research agreement with Johns Hopkins to study psychedelic therapies. Initial research will focus on smoking cession, expanding on previous findings that 80% of smokers were able to quit after one dose of psilocybin.
Mydecine also announced that it has added 4 news lead drug candidates to its portfolio.
A private company based in England called Beckley Psytech raised $80M in a Series B financing round, exceeding the $50M target due to overwhelming interest from investors.
The funds will be used to study low doses of psilocybin in patients with a rare headache condition called short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks (SUNHA), which affects just 45,000 people in the US and Europe. The Phase 1b study is already underway at King’s College London.
The proceeds will also be used to develop new proprietary compounds, and to study the company’s novel formulation of 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic compound found in toad venom, in treating depression.
After 17 months of waiting, Eversio Wellness finally received a “Controlled Substances Dealer’s Licence” from Health Canada, which allows the company to produce psilocybin, DMT, and mescaline.
The Surrey-based company will focus on standardizing the production of natural psilocybin and will likely supply physicians and pharmacies with psychedelics for research purposes.
Mushroom dispensaries are rapidly popping up across Vancouver…even though they’re still illegal.
The Coca Leaf Cafe & Mushroom Dispensary is one of a handful of dispensaries that opened in the city this year. Customers can purchase high and low doses of psilocybin mushrooms, growing kits, peyote (a psychedelic cactus), kratom (a tropical tree with an opioid-like effect), and coca leaf products (the plant used to make cocaine).
Earlier this year, Vancouver applied to decriminalize the possession of 15 different drugs including psilocybin. Even though the legislation has yet to be passed, the dispensary owner says he’s not overly worried about law enforcement.
Even Paul Lewin, a Toronto lawyer who’s working with TheraPsil to improve Health Canada’s exemption process, thinks the dispensary owner would have a strong case if he did get busted.
“We have enough research. If we fought this in court, we would win,” Lewin said. “We could clearly establish that it’s safe and that it is effective.”
California’s bill that would decriminalize psychedelics, SB519, has been gaining some traction in recent weeks, and Karens are getting triggered.
The Citizens Commission On Human Rights, a non-profit established by the Church of Scientology, has started a petition to defeat the bill, claiming that it’s “very dangerous”.
Don’t worry, only 338 people have signed the petition.
Jayne Gumpel is a licensed social worker and experienced couples therapist who helps couples prepare for psychedelic journeys and integrate their trips.
She says every experience has been successful so far, but one couple’s psilocybin trip stands out to her in particular.
“I wouldn’t say they were on the brink of divorce, because they had kids, but they felt like they were living like siblings. There was no sex, and they felt really disengaged and unhappy.
They went in (to the trip) with the intention of doing it as a couple connected, not separate journeys. They wanted to sit and hold hands and look in each other’s eyes. And they both experienced being pre-birth together. They experienced themselves in their past lives, and they were brothers.
Whoa. I know.
When you talk about it on this level in this reality, it sounds really far-out. But they were brothers and they got separated. There was some catastrophe, a fire or an earthquake. They didn’t come back together again in that lifetime. They lost each other, so they felt the pain of that situation. They were both crying because they were lost and they were looking for each other. Then they found each other and were so happy.”
