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Celebrating progress with a trippy festival

Ann Arbor psychedelic shroom fest organizers announce entertainment lineup

September 19th marks the one-year anniversary of when Ann Arbor, Michigan deprioritized many psychedelics including psilocybin. To celebrate, the city is launching the first ever Entheofest –  a free event that promotes the benefits of natural psychedelics and encourages activism toward decriminalization.

The celebration will include live music and speeches from psychedelic activists such as William Leonard Pickard (aka the “Acid King”), a researcher who served 20 years in prison for manufacturing 400 million doses of acid.

Ann Arbor officially recognizes September as Entheogenic Plant and Fungi Awareness Month after a 10-0 City Council vote to promote the benefits of psychedelics and honour ancestral relationships with entheogens.

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0.0007% of Californians are against psychedelics

Take Action Now to Stop Psychedelics from Becoming Lawful in California

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 289 people have signed the petition.

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Vancouver’s latest tourist attraction

Magic Mushroom Stores Are Open in Canada — But They’re Still Illegal

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.”

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You (probably) won’t get arrested for tripping in these cities ;)

Psychedelics Decriminalization Advancing In Three More Cities, Spanning From Coast To Coast

Cities across the US are taking the first step toward legalizing psychedelics –  deprioritization.

Under state and federal laws, it is still illegal to use, possess, transport, or cultivate entheogenic drugs like psilocybin mushrooms, but many cities are passing resolutions to make investigating these cases the lowest priority of law enforcement.

So far, psilocybin is deprioritized in Denver, Oakland, Santa Cruz, Washington DC, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Somerville, Cambridge, and Northampton. Easthampton, Massachusetts; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Arcata, California will likely be the next to join the list as early as this fall.

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No more excuses for Health Canada

B.C. non-profit challenges Health Canada to end 50-year prohibition on magic mushrooms

Several non-profits are doing Health Canada’s dirty work to speed up the legalization of psilocybin.

TheraPsil sent 165 pages of proposed psilocybin regulations to Health Canada, which were based on the medicinal cannabis regulations created 20 years ago. The document addresses regulations around selling and growing magic mushrooms, such as how to qualify for a license, quality control processes, security measures, and packaging requirements.

Other non-profits including the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and the Canadian Psychedelic Association (CPA) are drafting their own legal frameworks.

“This will hopefully be a gift to them to have done their work for them,” said a CPA board member.
“All they have to do is agree, but of course, it’s never that simple. The bureaucrats will have to go over it with a fine tooth comb,” said a former federal treaty negotiator and psilocybin exemption applicant.
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AOC’s mission to promote psychedelic research

House Rejects AOC Amendment To Promote Research Into Psychedelics’ Medical Benefits

Since 1996, a US measure has prohibited the use of federal funds for “any activity that promotes the legalization of any drug or other substance in Schedule I”.

Last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposed an amendment to this measure for the second time, which would allow researchers to study the benefits of Schedule I drugs, including psilocybin. Although 49 more reps voted in favour of the amendment than in 2019 (including 7 republicans), it was unfortunately rejected by the House with 140-285 vote.

AOC Tweeted, “We’ll keep bringing it up until the times catch up. We’re undeterred!”

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A new approach to legalization in California

California Activists File Psilocybin Legalization Ballot Measure As Legislature Advances Broader Psychedelics Bill

An activist group called Decriminalize California is working to speed up the legalization of magic mushrooms.

The group submitted a new initiative called the California Psilocybin Initiative, which would legalize the possession, cultivation, retail sale, and social sharing of psilocybin mushrooms for adults 21 and over. If the Office of the Attorney General accepts the measure, the group would have 180 days to collect 623,212 signatures from registered voters for the initiative to be added to the 2022 ballot. While California’s SB519 bill would decriminalize several psychedelic drugs, this initiative takes a new approach by focusing solely on psilocybin.

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Driving innovation with a new IP tool

The Complicated Patenting of Our Psychedelic Future

This new project will bring psychedelic drugs to market much faster.

A new portal for patent reviewers called Porta Sophia aims to prevent psychedelic companies from filing overly broad and invalid patents. Bad patents can slow down the process of conducting clinical trials, which can hinder innovation and make the process more expensive. The portal makes it easy to find scientific literature and published patents in the psychedelic space so that companies can file quality patents and spend fewer resources fighting patent cases.

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A new amendment to California’s psychedelic bill?

California Psychedelics Decrim Bill Passes Another Committee, With Certain ‘Limiting’ Amendments

If you live in the golden state, you may want to limit your next order of shrooms to 4 ounces. California’s bill that would decriminalize psychedelics (SB519) was approved by the Assembly Public Health Committee with a 8-4 vote, making it the second of three committees to pass the bill. However, a new amendment was added that limits the allowable amount of each substance. If enacted, users 21 and older would be able to possess 2 grams of psilocybin or psilocin, or 4 ounces of a plant or fungi containing psilocybin or psilocin.

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Harvard explores psychedelics law with new initiative

Harvard Law School launches research initiative focused on psychedelics and the law

Harvard Law School hopes to bring safety, innovation, and equity to the psychedelics industry with a three-year initiative called the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR).

POPLAR will study regulations surrounding ethics, intellectual property, opportunities for federal support, and equitable access to psychedelic therapy. “By analyzing social, legal, and political barriers to access in this context, we hope to advance the understanding of [psychdelics] potential impact as therapeutics,” said one Harvard professor.

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