Adam JacksonSeptember 27, 2022
The company is also spending big bucks for its media outreach.
Psychedelic Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Green Market Report
Adam JacksonSeptember 27, 2022
Debra BorchardtAugust 16, 2022
Field Trip Health has changed its name to Reunion Neuroscience Inc. (TSX: FTRP)(Nasdaq: FTRP) and reported its fiscal first quarter 2023 results for the period ending June 30, 2022. Reunion reported expenses of $5 million and a net loss of $13 million. The increase in net loss from the prior year primarily reflected the company’s focus on investing in RE104 which recently began its Phase 1 clinical trial, as well as increased public company costs.
There are no revenues at this time. As of June 30, 2022, the company had approximately $52.3 million in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments.
New Tickers
On August 11, 2022, The company completed its split of its Field Trip Discovery and Field Trip Health divisions into two independent companies. Field Trip Health, which is the clinic side of the company, was renamed Field Trip Health & Wellness Ltd. and has received listing approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange Venture under the new ticker symbol “FTHW”.
Field Trip Discovery, which is the drug research side of the company, was renamed Reunion Neuroscience Inc. and will remain listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market and Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “REUN”. Immediately upon closing of the Arrangement, the Company consolidated its shares on a 5:1 basis, which is expected to cure the NASDAQ minimum bid price deficiency previously announced. The company said it also received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange for Field Trip H&W to list on the TSX-V under the ticker symbol “FTHW”. The first day of trading for both companies under their respective new tickers is August 17, 2022.
Reunion Research
Reunion’s lead drug is RE-104 (previously known as FT-104) and it is a proprietary, novel psychedelic drug being developed for post-partum and treatment-resistant depression as a potential fast-acting antidepressant with durable efficacy. Reunion is also developing the FT-200 series, which includes compounds with the potential for more selective serotonin receptor activity with reduced psychoactivity for potential use in more chronic treatment paradigms and indications.
On July 21, 2022, announced successful first dosings in the company’s Phase 1 Clinical Study of its first novel psychedelic molecule, RE104 (formerly FT-104), being conducted in Australia. Reunion said it expects to report results from the study in the calendar fourth quarter of 2022 and is planning to seek FDA guidance on Phase 2 studies planned for 2023. During the quarter, the company was granted a patent for claims related to RE104 entitled, “Tryptamine Prodrugs”. The patent provides exclusive rights to Reunion until 2040 for the composition of matter, formulations, methods of use and methods of manufacture for a family of hemi-ester compounds of hydroxytryptamines, including Isoprocin.
Joseph del Moral, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Reunion, said, “We are pleased to have successfully completed the split of Field Trip into two distinct companies – Reunion and Field Trip Health & Wellness. As independent companies, each will be laser-focused on executing their own strategic vision and investment priorities, and creating long-term value for their respective shareholders. The future is bright for both businesses and each is excited to continue developing and delivering innovative psychedelic-assisted treatment options.”
Adam JacksonAugust 2, 2022
Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (OTC Pink: TRUFF) posted its yearly audit results that show the company to be in healthy standing as it looks to expand its reach in the nascent market. The company filed its audited annual financial statements and management discussion & analysis for the financial year ending March 31, 2022.
The psychedelics maker audit results posted over $2.3 million in revenue and gross profit of over $600,000 — resulting in a gross margin percentage of 26.6% during a fiscal year in which they also oversaw four acquisitions. Not included was the recent acquisition of two retail stores in the Netherlands. The company also has working capital of around $26.1 million in cash. Property and equipment were valued at $2.9 million with total asset values at $32.9 million.
The company bore net losses of $14.7 million and $0.04 per share, which it said was significantly influenced by “non-cash charges relating to the impairment of intangible assets and goodwill in the amount of $5.9 million and stock-based compensation of $3.2 million.”
“As you know, I love marketing and brand building; we will push even harder in the near future with impactful marketing strategies with the continued goal of Red Light Holland being the leader in the Rec and Tech psychedelic sector,” CEO Todd Shapiro said. “We continue to identify and analyze near-term acquisition transactions while remaining cautious with our spending habits.”
“Our financial position and liquidity remain strong, and the company currently has sufficient capital to fund its ongoing business development and future growth and expansion plans for the foreseeable future,” CFO David Ascott said. “The working capital as of March 31, 2022, is $25 million which includes $26.1 million of cash and cash equivalents. During the year, we recorded a non-cash impairment loss against the intangible assets and goodwill in the amount of $5.9 million. Through our acquisitions, we added tangible capital assets including a mushroom production facility in New Brunswick valued at $2.5 million.”
StaffJuly 14, 2022
Psychedelic venture capital firm Iter Investments has closed its successful round of funding on Fund I having raised over $20 million. The fund was launched in April 2021 with the goal of raising $20 million and is closing with over $20 million committed.
“Our mission has been and continues to be aiding entrepreneurs as they build great companies that use medical and scientific research to reimagine the health care industry’s approach to the underserved mental and behavioral health sectors,” said Robinson. “It has been a very successful year launching our initial fund and we have built incredible partnerships along the way. We are closely watching the emerging trends and research surrounding the psychedelics industries and are excited for all that the industry has to offer.”
Iter Investments said it has established an active portfolio of 16 companies with special access to several new investments on the horizon. Iter Investments’ portfolio consists of companies across the entire value chain, including suppliers of psychedelic active pharmaceutical ingredients, such as Psygen; drug discovery and drug development companies, including Psilera, Beckley Psytech, Clairvoyant, Reset Pharma, Apex Labs, Wesana, Awakn Life Sciences (OTC: AWKNF), and Freedom Bio; clinics including Awakn Life Sciences and Wesana; and technology and other supporting infrastructures, such as Tripp, aNUma, and Fluence.
The Fund I portfolio is also diversified across a wide range of compounds, including psilocybin, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, MDMA, LSD, ketamine, psychedelic analogues, and new chemical entities, as well as a wide range of indications, such as alcohol use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cancer-related distress, depression, anxiety, gambling addiction, and behavioral health conditions.
Iter was founded by Dustin Robinson, the founding partner of one of the law firms in the psychedelic industry, in partnership with seasoned private equity investor Robert Velarde. Iter Investments has led several funding rounds and has a board seat on several of its portfolio companies. By taking board seats on several companies and deploying a diversified approach to its portfolio companies, the venture capital firm has been able to identify various synergies among its portfolio companies, proving Iter Investments to be a value-added investor for its portfolio companies.
Iter Investments also launched its own company Nucleus, which is a holding company for various media, data, and technology assets, including Psychedelic Invest, Neuly, Matter Academy, Psyrise, and Particles.
“We have seen an incredible amount of investor interest over the past year, and combined with the continued progress in R&D and clinical trials, confirms our view of the great potential for the psychedelics industry,” said Velarde. “We’re looking forward to continuing to serve the funding gap between psychedelic drug research and mass commercialization while aiming to offer portfolio companies what we consider to be expert guidance to support their growth and success.”
Dave HodesJune 21, 2022
The stock market has been tough over the last month, as has most of the U.S. economy.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.75 percent on Wednesday, June 15, and that reduces the amount of money in the economy.
Besides mortgages, rising interest rates impact the stock and bond markets, credit cards, personal loans, student loans, auto loans, and business loans according to Forbes. It’s the third hike this year and the largest since 1994. The move is aimed at countering the fastest pace of inflation in over 40 years. Another rate hike could come in July, according to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
The stock market reacted instantly. For example, GE’s stock price was down on Friday, June 17, from $69.64 Wednesday to $64.96 a share. Amazon was down from $108.36 a share on Wednesday to $102.42 a share on Friday. Apple was down from $136.61 Wednesday to $129.54 on Friday.
Many of the psychedelic stocks dipped briefly as well, but appear to be recovering as of this writing, basically going against the latest economic trend… even as most of them still are not showing any significant revenue yet.
What’s driving the ability of some psychedelics companies to survive—even thrive—amidst this economic turmoil: Cash on hand? Results of clinical trials? Insider buying? Yes, yes, and yes.
Let’s take a look at three examples:
- Good cash runway. Atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ATAI). Its stock was up 4.5% percent on June 17. Analysts are not worried about this company that finally showed a bit of revenue as of March 2022, in part because of a strong cash runway. A company’s cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. Atai reported $335 million in cash that it held as of March 2022. “Importantly, its cash burn was $73 million over the trailing twelve months,” analysts reported. “So it had a cash runway of about 4.6 years from March 2022. A runway of this length affords the company the time and space it needs to develop the business.”
The company is also showing strong execution of its clinical pipeline, anticipating several clinical milestones in 2022 and beyond, including data from the Phase 2 proof-of-concept study of a potential at-home-use therapy in treatment-resistant depression. The company is also expecting other Phase 1 and Phase 2 results on other compounds this year. “It’s a testament to our phenomenal team that we anticipate having 10 compounds in the clinic,” Srinivas Rao, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Atai, said in a May 16th press release.
- Clinical trial moves. Cybin, Inc. (NEO:CYBN) (NYSE:CYBN) stock was up 5 percent on June 17. According to Tip Ranks, based on three Wall Street analysts offering 12-month price targets for Cybin in the last 3 months, the average price target is $9.00 with a high forecast of $10.00 and a low forecast of $7.00. The average price target represents a 1453.06% change from the last price of $0.58. Analysts rate it as a strong buy.
But what is really driving this analyst frenzy is Cybin’s announcement of the first human clinical trial of their psilocybin compound—and it’s a big deal.
On May 31, Cybin announced an investigational new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Phase 1/2a first-in-human clinical trial evaluating CYB003 sometime in mid-2022, a proprietary deuterated psilocybin analog being developed for the treatment of the major depressive disorder.
The Phase 1/2a trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating people with moderate to severe major depressive disorder. Human subjects will receive two administrations (placebo/active and active/active) and a response/remission will be assessed at Week 3 (after a single dose) and at Week 6 (after receiving a second dose).
- Insider buying. Seelos Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SEEL). It’s stock was up 5.69 percent as of June 17. The stock is rated a buy or strong buy by analysts.
Analysts also report that multiple insiders are buying stock, sending out a positive message to the company’s shareholders. For example, in the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Founder Raj Mehra bought $57,000 worth of shares at a price of $0.85 per share. So it’s clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being $0.64). “While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company’s future,” according to analysts at Simply Wall Street. “In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.”
Dave HodesJune 8, 2022
You’ve read the predictions, you’ve heard the buzz—psychedelics are about to change the world of mental health treatment.
They promise no more mental health pharmaceuticals that numb out the brain, or that help mask the side effects. No more taking chemicals for the rest of your life that are not body-friendly, with the caveat that psychedelics can also cause brief, uncomfortable events during treatment on their way to profound, life-changing results.
Want to jump into these turbulent waters of starting up and building a psychedelics business developing drugs for treating mental health conditions? Here are five ways to go about it.
- First, get a million dollars. Or even $2 million dollars. Or better yet, $5 million. Yes, this business is expensive. Getting startup money from a venture capital investor is no simple matter because the payoff for them is still relatively uncertain and, at best, years away. They have to be informed gamblers, and you have to have a convincing business plan or model for your business where you can show all the expected results of what their money is buying—which for now, is simply the research and development structure for your company, including clinical trials which can take years and cost millions of dollars to complete. Clinical trials follow a typical series from early, small-scale, Phase 1 studies to late-stage, large scale, Phase 3 studies. The FDA can put a hold on a clinical trial if they don’t like how it’s proceeding. That being said, the top 11 VC firms invested about $139.8 million in 2020-2021, according to Business Insider. So apparently, even among the clinical trial uncertainty and the sometimes slow-moving FDA approval process, they clearly see a path to profitability.
- Find and sign up the best medical minds you can afford. It’s all about the molecule, man. Identifying and developing small molecules and macromolecules that might help cure illnesses and diseases is the core activity of pharmaceutical companies. There are good scientists out there who see the possibilities of psychedelics for treating mental health. What you want is a scientist with a serious pedigree who you can afford. Someone who has done a lot of work already in psychedelics through some academic facility. Someone who still has a good working relationship with that institution. You need a name to hang your expectations on, and a molecule your medical team can find and patent. And yes, the medical team people are not cheap either. You may be able to work out a sort of shared development deal with the medical director or their team where they continue on with their work at a university but still provide you the name and assistance you want as you build your company. One example is Matthew Johnson, the professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, who is one of the world’s most published scientists on the human effects of psychedelics; was 2019 president of the Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse Division of the American Psychological Association; and is currently president of the International Society for Research on Psychedelics, an organization he founded with colleagues. He is a clinical advisor for MindMed (NASDAQ: MNMD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel products to treat brain health disorders that is one of the top five psychedelics companies to watch this year.
- Understand your risks as a startup in an emerging industry. There are more and more startups getting into psychedelics now. Some will succeed. Most will fail. The failure rate is high for any small business, let alone one in a challenging emerging market. As of 2021, 20 percent of small businesses failed in the first year, 50 percent within five years, and 65 percent within 10 years. Some fail after multiple clinical trials that didn’t quite work out. But their research has been done and maybe another startup can buy that company’s research as a sort of jump start for their new business. Do your research about strategies for success in this industry. And remember: Many mainstream pharmaceutical companies are still sitting on the sidelines waiting out more regulatory approvals when it comes to psychedelics. If these guys are hesitant, that may be your clue to wait out developments as well before jumping in.
- Carefully decide if and when you want to go public. Once a company decides to move forward with an IPO, it must work with an underwriter (typically a bank or multiple banks) to create a prospectus, according to The Motley Fool. A prospectus is a detailed financial report designed to help potential investors make informed decisions. One of the disadvantages of going public is that it takes six to nine months to go through the process, and it costs money to go through with an IPO from financial service and underwriting fees to filing fees. Then once it goes public, the company has to publish their unvarnished financial information, and answer to shareholders, which can create different management headaches.
- Don’t give up. It’s a bumpy road. You are going to experience failures. You are going to experience poor management decisions. This is just the way it goes with a novel therapeutic based on an illegal substance in an emerging market. There are many different state and federal laws to work with, and a developing regulatory environment that could take an unexpected turn and put your business at risk. You will need to prepare for these and other growing pains that are common in emerging industries. Seek legal help to build in a safety net. And always, always protect your patent and any related intellectual property which is easier said than done. Some psychedelics were criminalized for decades, the U.S. Patent Office does not have the personnel with expertise in the field, increasing the likelihood of granting meritless psychedelic patents, according to an essay in the Harvard Law Review. And because Indigenous communities pioneered many aspects of modern psychedelic therapies, their patenting by Western corporations may promote biopiracy, or the exploitation of Indigenous knowledge without compensation. Plus, the control of psychedelics by a small number of companies may stifle innovation and reduce access to these therapies.
Dave HodesJune 1, 2022
There are 20,000 drugs in active development globally. More novel drugs made their market debut in 2020 than in any other year, with 82 released onto the market in total, which is way ahead of the previous record of 68 in 2018.
The world pharmaceutical market was worth an estimated $1.2 trillion in 2020 and is one of the most profitable industries in the world.
And as well as Big Pharma is doing today, even with its share of failures, it is ready and waiting for the next big thing: a psychedelic drug that does what no other pharmaceutical can do for treating a growing range of mental health conditions, potentially representing billions in profits.
Big Pharma
Big Pharma company leaders know that people suffering from depression or PTSD, for example, are tired of the whole pharmaceutical runaround—taking a certain prescribed drug for depression, then taking another drug to counter the side effects of that depression drug—in an endless cycle of drug-taking for the rest of their lives.
These patients are getting relief, yes, but only because the usually recommended pharmaceuticals are numbing their brains or masking the signs of their afflictions, essentially addicting them to a chemical regimen that could cause more mental or physical damage in the long run.
But today, better tuned-in science appears to be supporting psychedelics for the treatment of these afflictions. Participants in one clinical trial with psilocybin reported only mild-to-moderate headaches, with researchers concluding that this intervention may be more acceptable to patients than widely prescribed antidepressant medications that “confer substantially more problematic effects (such as suicidal ideation, decrease in sexual drive, and weight gain). The effectiveness of psilocybin therapy after a single or only a few administrations represents another substantial advantage over commonly used antidepressants that require daily administration.”
Big Pharma is closely monitoring, and in some cases, carefully partnering with psychedelics companies to do more research and development into psychedelics to find better ways of administering them—such as creating psychedelics that have a non-hallucinogenic experience, or using other stronger psychedelics such as N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in controlled settings that allow shorter durations of therapy and help save the patient time and money.
Big Pharma doesn’t like some of what it sees—they would like more rigor in clinical trials, and they know that there are significant constraints in developing a drug for the central nervous system that must cross the blood-brain barrier all humans have for limiting the entry of toxins, pathogens, and blood cells to the brain.
And psychedelics researchers urge caution in going too fast too soon. Fred Barrett, a cognitive neuroscientist with training in behavioral pharmacology who has been conducting psychedelic research at Johns Hopkins University since 2013, told Chemical and Engineering News that psychedelics aren’t miracle drugs. “I think there has to be a little bit of tempering of enthusiasm here. We really need to be careful not to begin to treat these things as a panacea,” he said.
Big Pharma is seeing the psychedelics industry slowly conform more to their model of pharmaceutical development: broadening the number of participants, making psychedelics research more understandable to them, and taking the mystery out of toying with powerful, naturally occurring substances that are being shown as better ways of overcoming difficult and sometimes complicated unmet medical needs.
As a result, Big Pharma collaborations and connections and partnerships with psychedelics companies have begun in earnest.
Psychedelic Partnerships
One example: Beckley Psytech Limited, a private company dedicated to addressing neurological and psychiatric disorders through the application of psychedelic medicines, and Lophora ApS, a drug discovery company working in the central nervous system arena, just announced they have entered into a research and development collaboration. Under the terms of the agreement, Beckley Psytech will jointly fund continuing development of the Lophora pipeline and collaborate broadly on research and development.
Another: In January, Mindset Pharma’s CEO James Lanthier told Forbes that their deal with Otsuka Pharmaceutical, a huge multinational drug development company headquartered in Tokyo working to find novel drugs for treating conditions of the central nervous system, where a division of the company gave MindSet $5 million to help with psychedelics research and development, is the first partnership between a category-leading pharmaceutical company and a psychedelic biotech company focused on new psychedelic drugs. “Our partnership with them is significant as the combination of funding and Otsuka’s operational expertise significantly increases the likelihood of success for our new drug programs,” Lanthier said.
And U.S. pharma monster company Merck, with $48.7 billion in sales in 2021, is working with Novamind (OTC: NVMDF), a mental health company using psychedelic medicine through a network of clinics and clinical research sites, on a clinical trial focused on treatment-resistant depression. The main purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of daily and intermittent dosing of Merck’s MK-1942 drug formulation compared to placebo among participants with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) on a stable course of antidepressant therapy. The trial will be done at Novamind’s subsidiary, Cedar Clinical Research, the same clinic where Janssen Pharmaceutical Company developed Spravato in March 2019, a nasal spray for treating depression that is widely considered the first psychedelic medicine to be approved by the FDA.
“The stigma has certainly worn off,” Yaron Conforti, the CEO, and director of Novamind said in a YouTube video on their website. “I think that there is a vision broadly for the sector and for our company that we like to see a future where people interact as a patient with mental health in psychiatry much as they do with their chiropractor or cardiologists for that matter. That is a fairly simplified statement I just made but when you factor in what is required to get to that point, there is a lot of heavy lifting,” Conforti said. “The new therapies coming online are also focused on very particular indications of patient groups, as MDMA focused on PTSD for example. I think that mobilizing an entire patient group and providing them with access to an alternative therapy that has proved to be very safe and efficacious is going to have an enlightening effect.”
For now, as Big Pharma eyes psychedelics and builds a rationale for inclusion with psychedelics, there is still much that needs to be worked out even on a very basic level.
For example, Big Pharma’s intrigue with psychedelics could be tempered by ongoing studies comparing the usual mainstream pharmaceuticals with psychedelics, such as the case with one study demonstrating that a common anti-depressant pharmaceutical currently on the market (escitalopram) fared no better than psilocybin in treating depression, except perhaps in the side effects category (which includes headache, nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, increased sweating, feeling nervous, restless, fatigued, or having trouble sleeping). “But the analyses of these outcomes lacked correction for multiple comparisons,” researchers concluded. “Larger and longer trials are required to compare psilocybin with established antidepressants.”
Mark Wingertzahn, chief science officer at Wesana Health, told Pharmaceutical Executive magazine that companies like GSK and Pfizer once had very large development programs in [mental health]. “But these research efforts have largely been shelved due to the lack of novel drug candidates with a better safety and efficacy profile compared to today’s antidepressants,” he said. Wesana is developing a drug to deliver a novel depression treatment protocol that includes a single high dose of psilocybin followed by a maintenance regimen of a non-hallucinogenic dose of psilocybin combined with cannabidiol (CBD). “Once everyone believes psychedelics may be the future of mental health treatment, then it becomes like any other drug that is currently being evaluated under drug development principles in that area,” Wingertzahn said. “This will enable us to generate hard data to allow regulators and clinicians to ascertain patient populations that may experience the most benefit from this ‘new’ old class of agents.”
StaffMay 13, 2022
A new psilocybin-focused holistic wellbeing company called Beckley Retreats is officially launching from the founder of the Beckley Foundation, the drug policy reform and scientific research institution. Amanda Fielding is Co-Founder of Beckley Retreats and Founder of the Beckley Foundation (who was also an early thought partner and friend of Albert Hofmann, and widely known as the “Queen of the Psychedelic Renaissance”) has created Beckley Retreats to offer transformative self-development programs through the power of psychedelics in concert with supportive healing modalities.
Taking place in Jamaica in October 2022 – one of the few countries where the cultivation, gifting, and consumption of psilocybin mushrooms is legal – the comprehensive program includes curated pre-retreat preparation, as well as post-retreat integration to encourage the formation of new habits, practices, and thought patterns. With a team of clinical experts and spiritual guides to create and lead their programs, the retreat combines ancient teachings and mindful practices with individual guidance to create an unparalleled experience.
What is Beckley Retreats?
- Beckley Retreats is a leading holistic wellbeing company that offers transformative self-development programs by leveraging the science-backed power of psychedelics in concert with supportive therapeutic modalities.
- Building on the decades of insights from the renowned Beckley Foundation, we merge world-class contemplative practices with the science-backed benefits of psilocybin to offer a comprehensive approach for people looking to make meaningful change in their lives.
- The program includes psilocybin ceremonies, breathwork, meditation, mindful movement, as well as 6 weeks of supported integration techniques informed by psychotherapy and neuroscience.
- Leveraging over 20 years of psychedelic research from the Beckley Foundation under the leadership of its founder Amanda Feilding, Beckley Retreats represents the logical next stage of this work.
- The brainchild of Feilding and her founding partners Neil Markey, Rock Feilding-Mellen, and Daniel Love, Beckley Retreats exists to bring the proven benefits of psychedelic therapy to the wider community in safe and legal settings. Each co-founder brings a unique background to the brand, with a shared passion for wellness, healing and self-development.
- With guidance from Amanda as a co-founder and advisor, Beckley Retreats is led by CEO Neil Markey. Neil discovered the potential of plant medicines and well-being practices after suffering from severe depression and PTSD following his deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Captain in the US Army Rangers. Through Beckley Retreats, Neil hopes others can experience the life-changing benefits that are possible through the careful and responsibly managed use of psychedelics.
Where will the retreats be held?
- The first retreat location for Beckley Retreats is in the Cockpit Country region of Jamaica at the Good Hope Villas, amidst the island’s native flora and fauna. The property is only a 40-minute drive from the Montego Bay Airport in a gated and secluded location with 24-hour security surrounded by nature. The Good Hope property is used exclusively for wellbeing and healing programs and has private river and beach access.
- The property has two special villas, each centuries-old with cut-stone homes. The entire property was recently renovated with care to modernize its amenities while retaining the historic charm. The villas have a total of 13 rooms, all with their own bathroom, premium bedding and linens, and thoughtful decor. Amenities include two swimming pools, a yoga room, high-speed internet, air conditioning, and access to paddleboards, kayaks, and surfboards. The beautiful landscape is perfect to enjoy the sunrise and sunset across the open mountainous vistas.
- Jamaica is one of the few countries where the cultivation, gifting, and consumption of psilocybin mushrooms is legal. This, together with its lush nature and breathtaking scenery, makes it the perfect setting for Beckley Retreats. Additional locations are to be announced later this year!
What is the duration of the retreat?
While the main activities take place in person over five days at the retreat in Jamaica, Beckley Retreats’ transformative process is an 11-week program that includes pre-retreat preparation and post-retreat integration to encourage the formation of new habits, practices, and thought patterns.
StaffMay 2, 2022
Studies in Psychedelic Justice, a new program offered by Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, begins May 3 with the first of three courses (and a one-time workshop) designed to fill what Chacruna identifies as a void in the psychedelic space. Chacruna has been a leader in the fields of psychedelic education and reciprocity and has worked to protect psychedelic and sacred plants, as well as the cultural and spiritual traditions with which they intertwine. Registration is open now, and participants who bundle the three courses and the workshop save 20% on the total price ($1,760).
The series is open to professionals in any field. It also presents a unique opportunity for people interested in the burgeoning world of psychedelic investment to understand the history, context, and possible future of psychedelic science and culture.
Explosive growth is on the horizon for the psychedelic future. As psychedelic-assisted therapies become more widespread, and as medicines including MDMA and psilocybin near full FDA approval, the psychedelic drug market in North America is anticipated to grow to $3.184 billion by 2026. More academic programs across the country, from UC Berkeley to Harvard University, are springing up to train therapists, scientists, journalists, and clergy to step into careers where psychedelics are making significant impacts. Chacruna’s program is designed for professionals grounded in these disciplines, as well as for anyone interested in an informed approach to the psychedelic renaissance.
Bia Labate, PhD, Chacruna Institute’s Executive Director, shares that “Chacruna Institute’s Studies in Psychedelic Justice is a unique offering,” she says. “We combine academic excellence with a compassionate approach towards social justice issues. Amidst the explosion of training in the emergent field of psychedelics, the shamanic and spiritual roots of the psychedelic movement as well as marginalized contributions in both healing and research by women, queer people, Indigenous peoples, people of color, and the Global South, are frequently excluded from the mainstream narrative.”
She added, “We need healers and therapists that have a deep humanistic worldview, grounded in historical and cultural traditions and not just biomedical peer-reviewed articles.”
The exciting diversity within the psychedelic field, as well as the need for equitable and inclusive access to these medicines, is a topic Dr. Darron Smith (University of Memphis Department of Sociology) will consider in his class, “Understanding Racial and Ethnic Minorities and the Role of Entheogens in Healing the Racial Divide” (part of the Diversity, Culture, and Social Justice Course).
“My class lays the foundation for discussions that will happen in the rest of the program,” Smith says. “The course is designed to provide participants with some basic information they need to know to get the most out of the program. We’re talking about terms they may not be familiar with, hot button subject matter that generally inflames passions, mostly a result of not knowing the subject matter.”
The class, which will focus on how psychedelics might heal racial trauma and division, will also address our contemporary moment. “As you look around the country, you’re seeing an attempt to regulate thought due to ingrained fear that white Americans have about these kinds of topics,” says Smith. “The psychedelic world has a lot of well-intentioned white people in the movement, but they still bring their prejudices and ideas about the way they think the world should be with them. We have a lot of work to do to unpack that and try to live up to Dr. King’s ideas of the Beloved Community.”
Chacruna Institute has long been a trailblazer in psychedelic studies, and the new program will “continue to promote and nourish the creation of a new generation of psychedelic therapists and practitioners who are more needed than ever as we move forward with this psychedelic renaissance,” according to Labate. The work done at the institute has inspired many of the universities and other institutions – like Stanford University, Naropa University, CIIS, Vital, Psychiatry Institute, Psychedelic Support, and others – that are now offering psychedelics training and studies, many of which assign books and articles created at Chacruna. Chacruna has also been an incubator space for students and team members, who have gone on to work as advisors and consultants both outside of and within the organization.
Studies in Psychedelic Justice feature distinguished professors and experts working on the leading edge of psychedelic studies in fields including law, the sciences, anthropology, psychology, conservation, and more.
“There has never been a course with so many accomplished diversity experts in one training to advance the work of psychedelic healing,” says Dr. Monnica T. Williams (Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities). Williams is teaching multiple classes in the program, including “Psychedelics and Racial Justice: Equity and Access.” Other faculty members include Dr. NiCole T. Buchanan (Michigan State University and Alliance Psychological Associates), Dr. Gul Dölen (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine), Joseph Mays, MSc (Program Director of Chacruna’s Indigenous Reciprocity Initiative of the Americas), and Dr. Natalie Gukasyan (Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University and a psychiatrist).
Studies in Psychedelic Justice opens with Diversity, Culture and Social Justice in Psychedelics (May 3-June 28), followed by The Science of Psychedelic Healing (July 9-August 9) and Buchanan’s one-day implicit bias workshop on July 27. The final series, the 16-week Roots of Psychedelic Therapy: Shamanism, Ritual and Traditional Uses of Sacred Plants, runs August 16-November 29. Students who bundle will also receive a one-year membership to Chacruna.
Chacruna’s past programming has included conferences, courses, workshops, panels, and trainings on diverse topics within the psychedelic renaissance. The organization just wrapped the Religion and Psychedelics Forum, a three-day exploration of this theme from leading members of the psychedelic community. Studies in Psychedelic Justice are a notable new entry in their offerings.
Dave HodesApril 25, 2022Part of the work of psychedelics therapies is about finding new ways of delivering the psychedelic substance precisely where it is needed inside the human brain. And that has proved to be tricky.
It’s about getting around the blood-brain barrier in place to protect the brain from any substance in the blood that can damage the brain. Blood-brain barrier and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier guard the central nervous system from harmful substances and pose the major challenges in delivering drugs, according to one study.
Many bioactive molecules from natural sources have a high molecular size, resulting in a poor ability to cross the lipid membrane (a form of a barrier around all cells) and poor absorption capacity, ultimately leading to reduced bioavailability and efficacy. Thus the need for super tiny molecules within some sort of delivery carrier that can increase the bioavailability of a pharmaceutical.
Enter nanomedicine. Nanomedicine refers to the applications of nanotechnology for the treatment, diagnosis, monitoring, and control of biological systems. Nanomedicines have been implicated to address the problems related to the treatment of the neurological disorder, and have a cutting edge over the conventional central nervous system therapy, according to a study.
It is the branch of medicine that utilizes the science of nanotechnology in the treatment of various diseases using nanoscale materials, such as biocompatible nanoparticles and nanorobots for various applications.
Nanotechnology, which refers to the manipulation of matter at an atomic or molecular level, has been discussed as a new platform for treating neurological disorders. Molecules can be nanoengineered to carry out multiple specific functions such as crossing the blood/brain barrier, targeting specific cell or signaling pathways, acting as a vehicle for gene delivery, and supporting nerve regeneration and cell survival.
Lipid-based nanocarriers have been shown to enhance the oral bioavailability of certain drugs in animals, including anticancer drugs, antiviral drugs, cardiovascular drugs, and central nervous system drugs. But there is still work to be done on their design—they must overcome issues inside the human stomach, such as gastric acid, to reach their target.
Nanotechnology offers multiple benefits in treating chronic human diseases by site-specific and target-oriented delivery of precise medicines for treating such mental health issues as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s—therapies that need a better way to overcome the blood/brain barrier to be effective.
There has been progress on this methodology of drug delivery. The FDA has approved 41 nanoformulated drugs for the treatment of a variety of diseases, including multiple sclerosis, prostate cancer, hemophilia, breast cancer, and hepatitis, among others.
And there is a wide range of pharmaceutical nanocarriers including liposomes, solid-liquid nanoparticles (SNP), micelles, dendrimers, and some others that have been developed.
But there is much more to know about nanoparticles and how they work inside the human brain. For example, there are concerns about the toxicity of the delivery method. Researchers are optimistic, concluding that the future use of nanotechnology in central nervous system drug delivery—the goal of psychedelics—“is very promising” and “opens new avenues in the treatment of neurological disorders as it has the potential to fundamentally revolutionize the way we approach central nervous system-targeted therapeutics due to their ability to nanoengineer the drug/carriers to cross the blood-brain barrier, diffuse within the brain tissue, target specific cell or signaling systems for delivering therapeutics.”
Nanotechnology is already being used in cancer drug therapies. In fact, the first nanotechnology-based cancer drugs have passed regulatory scrutiny and are already on the market including Doxil and Abraxane.
Some psychedelics companies are beginning to explore the promise of nanotechnology. For example, Toronto-based NanoPsy, Inc., is reportedly leveraging nanotechnology to effectively improve psychedelic drug efficacy. Their patented nanotechnology, in combination with their targeted delivery and controlled dosing technology methods, allows for an increase in solubility/absorption of these psychedelic molecules.
There will likely be more applications to come. Nanotechnology is “a multidisciplinary scientific field undergoing explosive development,” a study concluded.
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