Life outside the psychedelic bubble

How to spread the gospel without being annoying (or misunderstood)

Happy Friday,

Quick update: We’ll move to bi-weekly articles for the next few months to make space for a new project I’m working on. Thanks for understanding and being here ♡

Today:

• How to navigate conversations about psychedelics with newbies

• Best practices for sharing the magic without being annoying about it (assuming I manage)

• Brief resource roundup

The bubble is growing — but it’s still a (tiny?) bubble

I spend a lot of time talking about psychedelics. Living in LA doesn’t help. The local yoga studio around the corner markets psilocybin journeys. People in line at the grocery store talk about microdosing. Co-working spaces host talks on psychedelics. In my mind, they are everywhere. I’m the fish in the lake that forgets it’s surrounded by water.

The bubble is no longer a small pond. The MAPS conference in Denver last year clogged 12,000 attendants. That’s more than the annual APA conference (the American Psychological Association). We officially have more psychonauts than psychologists.

When I tell people what I do for a living, I get one of two reactions: intrigue or confusion. Never disinterest. Drugs are an emotional topic. Everybody has an opinion about drugs.

A few weeks ago, I was at a friend’s engagement party. “What do you do for work?”, her coworker asks. I answer. Silence. Intrigue or confusion? This time it’s confusion.

“What does that mean?”, she asks. I clarify. “I support clinical research for medical psychedelics, education initiatives, policy change, and community-based models.” Her face still hasn’t softened. “Before I educated myself on psychedelics, I thought LSD was the hardest drug. Right up there with heroin”, I tell her.

“I still believe that”, she responds. Ouf.

Tempering the psychedelic conversation

There are many problems with the public dialogue around psychedelics: The notion of the “miracle cure”. The attempt to fit transdiagnostic medicines into a medical model that neglects to address the roots of most mental illnesses. The elusive “bad trip”.

“I don’t like mushrooms, they just make me anxious”, “I tripped so hard this weekend I saw some crazy shit”, and “Ayahuasca saved my life” are all equally unhelpful. All the nuance gets lost.

Mushrooms don’t make you anxious, they amplify pre-existing anxiety. Medicines are sacred, writing off trips as bizarre, surreal fantasies doesn’t do them justice. Ayahuasca doesn’t save your life, but it can show you how you can save your own.

Most of the dialogue is positive. But a lot of it is too positive. We are all excited! These tools will take us to new places. But, as Bob Jesse and Michael Pollan insist, we need to temper psychedelics.

How we talk about them matters. We need humility and patience. But most importantly, we need to make space for the medicines to speak for themselves.

Best practices for productive psychedelic dialogue

I’ve been in people’s ears about psychedelics for six years now. I’m sure I’ve had my fair share of being annoying about it (and maybe still am). Talking to many who either know nothing or something but remain skeptical has taught me a fair share of what works and what doesn’t work well.

Converting someone doesn’t involve convincing them of your opinion. It’s a matter of education. It’s helpful to assess the baseline level of education early on so you can tailor your communication.

Here are five lessons learned.

Lead with facts

Psychedelic literacy is grounded in science. The best way to get someone to listen without judgment is to tell them that the studies for the first-ever psychedelic therapy have shown a reversal of PTSD in 70% of the patients within just a few months (MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD). The FDA has designated Breakthrough therapy status not only to MDMA but also to Psilocybin and LSD.

But what about the risks?

Studies have shown that while adverse effects occur, they are rare. LSD will not fry your brain. The abuse potential is low. Psychedelics have anti-addictive properties. They are non-lethal, you cannot overdose.

Level set with history

If that’s true — why do we not know about it?

Because Nixon led a campaign to criminalize drugs that had little to do with the drugs and everything to do with the people who were taking them. People of color and anti-war hippies were a thorn in the eyes of the administration, criminalizing them was an effective strategy to disrupt those communities.

As a Nixon advisor admitted in an interview in the 90s, “Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course, we did.” It was not a decision grounded in science. When Nixon established the Controlled Substances Act and placed psychedelics in Schedule 1 (no medical benefit and high risk for abuse), many well-known psychiatrists protested. The science at the time contradicted the president’s decision.

Don’t sugarcoat or oversell

Psychedelics are not for everyone. It is not your job to convert but educate. Telling someone who suffers that one mushroom may change their life, while well-intended, can be unhelpful.

After consuming much of the available resources on Ayahuasca online, I was convinced it was the last resort that would save me. But it didn’t. My symptoms got worse than ever right after. My soul was crushed, largely because of my expectations.

Psychedelics are one tool that, when integrated with others, can catalyze healing. It’s a tool that works better than most tools we currently have, but it’s still just a tool. Psychedelics can show you the way, but you still have to walk the path.

Resist dualistic language

During my TikTok era, I made several videos announcing that there was ‘no such thing as a bad trip’. I’d always get some outrage. But what about the terribly bad trip I just had! It was not a bad trip but a hard trip, I’d respond. With the right support, there’s limited risk for lasting damage. The hardest trips often become the most therapeutic.

While I still believe in this logic, telling someone who is convinced they had a bad trip that they didn’t does nothing but negate their experience. It won’t make feel validated. And it probably won’t make them listen. When in doubt, always communicate nuance. Don’t make my mistake and fall into the trap of black-and-white thinking and speech.

Share your journey

Keeping in mind all of the above, the most effective way to educate is by sharing your journey. In a world of lost hope and mass disconnection, sharing a message of hope vulnerably can have an immense impact.

Share how these medicines have helped you. But don’t only share the good stuff. Don’t give just the highlight reel. Be transparent. And share from your heart.

〰️ Michael Pollan and Bob Jesse’s urge to “temper psychedelics” during a keynote at PS23 (access requires donation-based registration)

〰️ If you need tempering —

Jules Evans

shares five valid reservations about psychedelic therapy

〰️ Bryan Hubbard shares how reading The Journey motivated him to advocate for $42 million in funding for Ibogaine research, why the initiative was halted, and how his new efforts in Ohio are evolving

〰️ How mushrooms influenced Frank Herbert to create the brilliant Dune series

“We do not make skiing illegal because some people injure themselves or others. There are many who really love to ski, do it skillfully and responsibly, and find it life-enhancing. Still skiing is not for everyone, and there are those who for medical or psychological reasons, or for pure lack of interest and motivation, may be well advised to explore other life activities instead.” - Bill Richards