Today we are talking about cannabis. Yes that right, it’s not a substance we usually address here at the New Health Club. But here’s the thing: cannabis can also be a part of a mental health support system and I’m really pleased to have a cannabis expert here with us today.

Meet Finn Age Hänsel, co-founder of the Sanity Group (which also owns the CDB Brand VAAY)

I’m personally a big fan of their night CBD spray “Mind, Cosy, Back, Doze” and make it part of my ritual before I go to bed. 

But back to Finn’s very impressive tech career. He founded 5 companies, including THE ICONIC, Berliner Berg craft beer, and Sportsecondhand. He’s been an entrepreneur and CEO for 7 years and has a strong passion and knowledge of product, brand, technology and consumer goods. And he started to advocate for cannabis decriminalization at the age of 17 (to the conservative CDU party) which is even more impressive.

But now Finn is fully engaged in the idea of cannabis as a tool, to make life better and healthier. His company Sanity Group is developing innovative cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals and wellbeing products, with aims to make them widely accessible.

I talked to Finn and asked him why and how cannabis can be a mental health support system and why the winner of the US election are also new mental health drugs. We also talked about his early days as a cannabis supporter in a political system and why life as an entrepreneur is so much better and more fun, if you have a real mission. Like Finn.

Btw, our industries share some similarities, take a look here! 

Some news from The New Health Club

Watch my talk with Christian Angermayer and Graham Boyd!

And a big thanks to Psytech for the interview. Read it here:I once was an entertainment journalist, but then..

A Research Round-up. by Ewan Waddell.

In decriminalization news: A California lawmaker - Sen. Scott Wiener - has announced his plans to introduce a decriminalization bill in the legislature next year. This bill would decriminalize the possession of magic mushrooms, LSD and more, using Oregon’s Measure 109 as a model.

But what about the rest of the world? Admittedly, much of the exciting decriminalization news right now is coming out of the US, but it is important to remember that the US is still a cultural leader. It’s only through the successful demonstration of relaxed drug laws in major, developed societies that the rest of the world has examples to follow - and hopefully soon we will.

In ketamine news: Our friends over at The Third Wave recently published an elegantly concise guide to the research of ketamine for depression. You can read the full thing here. It’s a great jumping off point to start learning about ketamine if you’re interested in the therapy but don’t know where to start.

In psilocybin therapy news: Psychedelic wellness companies Field Trip Health and Silo Wellness have both announced plans to launch psilocybin retreats in Oregon, in alignment with the new, psilocybin friendly drug laws of Measure 109.

What does this mean? This means that we’ll start seeing positive results of psilocybin-therapy outside of clinical trials, which will hopefully sway public support even further in the favour of psychedelic acceptance.

In cannabis news: A recent poll found that a record percentage of Americans are in favour of marijuana legalisation. Around seven-in-ten support legalised possession and use by adults - the highest percentage ever reported. In 1969, the same poll found only one-in-ten American supported legalisation, so we’ve come a long way.

But isn’t it already legal in the US? Yes and no. Whilst many states have decided to legalise cannabis over recent years, on a federal level it’s still illegal. However, as support has never been higher, there’s a chance this might change soon, which will likely pave the way for psychedelics soon after.

All for now - we’ll talk next week!

Our Ketamine special is finally here! We’re not talking about the party drug. Or its use as an anesthetic in the Vietnam War. And we won't be going down any kinds of K-Holes.

We’re here to talk about Ketamine as an antidepressant. About how it facilitates chemical mindfulness. And its use as a tool in talk therapy, which is possible in a clinical context.

I have just started my own journey with Ketamine talk therapy. Throughout this year, I had many new questions popping up, questions I knew I wanted to answer with the support of a safe and legal psychedelic. These questions were certainly triggered by the current lockdown situation, but also because I felt I still needed new ways of “talking to myself”.

I found an amazing practice here in Berlin and I embarked on a Ketamine talk therapy with a weekly IV Treatment while talking to my therapist. And yes, it is challenging, it’s not just a “nice trip”. I encounter situations under the influence I had previously never considered. Many things in my life that I thought I could not handle are presented by me in a new way. Suddenly they all seem different… more approachable.

I’m also experiencing how love feels, something that is difficult for me, since my biggest fear in life was always being dependent on people and then being abandoned. Which is the opposite of love. 

I’ll be writing much more about my experiences with Ketamine talk therapy here soon.

Meet our Ketamine experts.

Today I have Elias Dakwar MD on the New Health Club podcast. He is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He has conducted laboratory and clinical investigations of the use of Ketamine infusions and mindfulness training to treat addictions. Ketamine is a medication mainly used for starting and maintaining anesthesia where it induces a trance-like state while providing pain relief, sedation, and memory loss. As we speak, Ketamine is being researched and used as an antidepressant and as a tool to support the outcome of psychotherapy. Scientists from Yale call it a “game changer” for psychiatry and mental health, the company Field Trip from Canada has successfully opened legal Ketamine clinics.

I talk to Elias how Ketamine works, why it triggers reactions in your cortex that enable brain connections to regrow. We also talk about the possibility of a chemical mindfulness and how Ketamine can be a future tool for mental health treatments.

Watch Elias Dakwar at the Horizons Conference in 2019

But wait, there is more!

Reid Robison, the co-founder and medical director of Cedar Psychiatry, is on our YouTube show this Friday!

Reid is a founding board member at the Utah-based non-profit Psychedelic Institute. He serves as Coordinating Investigator of the MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy study of Eating Disorders, supervising the training and clinical research of all of the MDMA therapy sites. He is also the Chief Medical Officer at Novamind.

In 2011, he conducted his first research study with Ketamine, then went on to create a Ketamine program for treatment-resistant depression at Intermountain’s IV Therapy Center at IMC.

You can watch our episode with Reid this Friday on our YouTube channel.

A Research Round-Up by Ewan Waddell.

In historic policy news: US states Oregon and Washington DC have voted to decriminalize psychedelics (and in Oregon this extends to all drugs). Now, if you’re subscribed to this newsletter, then perhaps you’ve already heard this news, but if not, here’s why you should care:

The war on drugs still rages on, and many of those struggling with addiction are treated as criminals rather than patients. This demonization of ‘the addict’ makes it more difficult to access effective addiction support and traps these individuals in feedback loops of criminality. Decriminalization reverses this, and what’s more, the less we demonise ‘drugs’ as a whole, the better we can identify compounds within this categorisation which might have positive effects for our mental health.

In Ketamine study news: A year long study from Massachusetts General Hospital recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders reported that intravenous Ketamine therapy found improvements in treatment-resistant depression among patients. This isn’t exactly groundbreaking or ‘new’ information, but the more studies that pile up like this, the better, for creating a more mentally well future.

Regarding research you might be able to take part in: the University of California, San Francisco, are inviting participants with all forms of bipolar disorder to take part in an online survey that examines the relationship between psilocybin (magic mushroom) use and bipolar disorder.

Why you should take part (if you qualify): It only takes 15 minutes, it’s great for the movement, and you can be part of history!

In trauma therapy news: Our friends over at Field Trip Health have partnered with Heroic Hearts Project to increase access to psychedelic therapies (such as Ketamine) for veterans suffering from PTSD.

How will this work? Well, Field Trip has already developed a unique, trauma-focused treatment pathway tailored to veterans and frontline workers, and they will also assist these patients with their insurance and reimbursement options to make the logistical side of things as simple and low cost as possible. Amazing. You can listen to our podcast with Field Trip founder Ronan Levy here!

That’s all for now - see you next week!

Hi everyone!

This is what happened last night and at least it gives us something to be thrilled about!

Voters in Washington approved psychedelics decriminalization

Also in another historic moment, Oregon has taken huge steps towards ending the war on drugs.

My guest on the show today is JR Rahn, the Founder & Co-CEO of MindMed, a global company that discovers, develops and deploys psychedelic-inspired medicines and experiential therapies through FDA clinical trials.

JR and I talk about the current status of mental health in the US, and the world, which seems to have never been near as bad as it is currently. “11% of Americans seriously considered suicide this June,” Rahn observed—a figure that’s doubled since June last year. “We’re not OK,” says JR.

This is why JR became a passionate founder to help research LSD and MDMA in a new way and turn them into modern mind medicine. We also address JR’s personal history with trauma, the Ritalin and the Xanax generation and why they are often the ones ending up taking antidepressants later in life. 

I always enjoy talking to JR, I love how passionate he is in bringing the psychedelic industry and renaissance forward, and I love how he thinks I sound like a German spy from Homeland ;)

MindMed pledged $5 million to NYU Langone Health for developing a psychedelic research center, the first of its kind in New York. MindMed also has a partnership with University Hospital Basel's Liechti Lab which just announced the completion and publication of a Phase 1 study on the acute dose dependent effects of LSD. The completed Phase 1 study will help MindMed in dose-finding and the planning of future Phase 2 clinical trials of LSD in patients with anxiety disorders and other medical conditions. The company is currently listed on Canada’s NEO exchange and has a market cap of $190 million, and has now applied for an up-listing to the Nasdaq.

And here are the European scientists MindMed is working with right now:

Kim Kuypers Ph.D

Kim PC Kuypers is affiliated as an Associate Professor with Maastricht University, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience

Dr. Mathias Liechti

Matthias Liechti is a professor for clinical pharmacology and internal medicine at the University Hospital Basel.  

TECH OPEN AIR (TOA) IS TODAY! 

Come and meet Christian Angermayer and myself at Europe’s leading technology festival Tech Open Air!  You’ll find us online from 5.50 - 6.15pm CET

KETAMINE! 

Just a little teaser before next week, where we shift our focus this month at the New Health Club to discuss all things ketamine. On a personal note, I recently started Ketamine Therapy as a new version of psychotherapy and it is a very interesting experience, as an addition alongside talk therapy.

Next week, I’ll also be talking and discussing Ketamine Therapy with Elias Dakwar, associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University in NYC.

And finally we’ll be having Reid Robison the co-founder and medical director of Cedar Psychiatry joining us on our show. He is also a founding board member at the Utah-based non-profit Psychedelic Institute.

A Research Round-Up by Ewan Waddell.

In ketamine news: A study from Switzerland’s University of Bern discovered that a notably specific outcome of ketamine therapy can be reducing levels of ‘self-dislike’ within a patient. The research is broken down excellently by the Psychedelic Science Review.

Why is this so significant? Self-dislike is a powerful component in the negative feedback loop of depression. It can perpetuate and intensify other symptoms and so by discovering means to reduce it at a fundamental level, we will have a stronger tool for fighting depression.

In German-research news: the first Psilocybin study in Germany since the 1970s is set to commence with the support of Canadian biotech company HAVN Life and German psychedelic non-profit MIND Foundation. The study will take place through partnerships with institutions in Mannheim and Berlin.

What’s the aim? To investigate the efficacy of psilocybin in a controlled, randomised, double-blind design, in order to add to the growing body of research proving the therapeutic value of psychedelic medicine.

In more ketamine news: A new wearable ketamine delivery device developed by Bexson Biomedical and Stevanato Group might become a meaningful weapon against the opioid crisis in the US.

What does ketamine have to do with the opioid crisis? Postoperative pain management through opioids is the leading cause of the opioid epidemic. And since research is emerging suggesting low dose ketamine may be a viable alternative for pain management, this kind of delivery device may help to reverse the opioid crisis.

In treatment methodology news: A paper published in Frontiers in Psychiatry speculates that Mindfulness Meditation may offer a synergistic complement to Psilocybin therapy in treating depression.

How can they be certain? Well sadly, they can’t. There are currently no studies combining the therapeutic effects of Mindfulness Meditation and Psilocybin-assisted therapy. However, they pooled data from 93 studies relevant to each of these areas of research to form their speculations, so at the very least, we can be hopeful that when these studies finally are undertaken, that these speculated complementary benefits are proven.

All for now. See you next week!

Wow, I am thrilled. My guest on the show today is Dr. Monnica T. Williams, certified licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa. She received her undergraduate degree from M.I.T. in 1992 and she holds a Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Virginia. Monnica is researching how PTSD symptoms can result from racism and what racial trauma and race-based trauma look like. Monnica also researches, partly in the context of MAPS, how to treat racial trauma with psychedelic-assisted therapy, such as with MDMA or Ketamine.

Racial trauma or race-based traumatic stress (RBTS), refers to the mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias and ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes . And I really have to say my talk with Monnica showed me I was more privileged and “whiter” than I thought. Monnica spent this episode educating me about her racial trauma research and boy, I had to admit, I never heard of it in that way. I also never heard anyone talking about the power of microaggressions in the context of racism, and I learned so much about that.

Now more than ever, it’s the time to start talking about this.

My favourite part of our conversation was when I asked Monnica what the most white and privileged cliche about race and colour was and Monnica said it was when white people would say  “they just don’t see colour, [that] everyone would just look the same and be the same to them”.

I also talk to Monnica about diversity in the psychedelic science field, about the effects MDMA-assisted therapy can have on racial trauma, and what happens if your therapist might not be aware of their own racism. I think the questions we need to ask if it comes to the topic of race and mental health are quite endless. And we are only just starting. 

So enjoy and really listen to our conversation. You simply can’t afford to not know what Monnica is talking about!

* Here is one of the first studies on racial trauma

* Watch Monnica Williams talk on Race-Based Trauma at the Horizons Conference in NYC

Here are the two books we discussed:

* Ijeoma Oluo - So you want to talk about race.

* Reni Eddo Lodge - Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race

The Research Round-Up.

* In educational news: A new organisation has emerged in the fray for psychedelic acceptance, namely the Psychedelic Medicine Association (PMA). Leaving politics aside, the PMA aims to focus purely on the education of front line medical professionals and institutions, with the goal of shifting perspectives and influencing change from the inside.

In psychedelic therapy news: Biotech company MindMed just announced plans to launch a training program for psychedelic-assisted therapies at NYU Langone Health.

Why it’s important: As much as we can look forward to a future where these compounds are medicalised on a broad scale and those who are suffering can access them, a foundational infrastructure of skilled psychedelic therapists is necessary to ensure these treatments are both safe and effective. Training programs like these are exactly the way to go and so this news from MindMed is encouraging… And you can listen to our podcast with MindMed founder JR Rahn here!.

In exciting research news: A first of its kind study demonstrated the potential positive effects of psychedelics in the treatment of eating disorders.

Why it’s important: Outside of the self-explanatory positives of finding a new treatment for a mental disorder, this provides further evidence for the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics more generally. The fact that such a small handful of compounds can treat such a broad range of disorders without the need to take them every day further pokes holes in the sinking ship of traditional mental health medicine that largely depends on a catalogue of expensive pharmaceuticals riddled with side-effects which treat only the symptoms of the issue and not the root cause. More studies like this poke more holes in this broken system and further help pave the way to a society focused on effective and long-lasting mental health treatment.

In philosophical news: Researchers at Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic research have published findings that may help us deepen our understandings of consciousness.

But how? They found that the claustrum - the region of the brain that organises brain activity - and of which growing evidence suggests orchestrates consciousness - is actually shut down by up to 30% when under the influence of psilocybin. And when we consider that the psychological effects of psilocybin can also act as a mental health treatment, interesting questions arise about the relationship between mental health and consciousness.

Like what? Well if consciousness is defined as your understanding of yourself as an individual, and psilocybin creates feelings that you’re part of ‘everything’ - the opposite of an individual - then is psilocybin a consciousness inhibitor? And furthermore is this why the compound has been so effective in treating mental health disorders? Are we overly conscious in our current society? Let us know what you think.

Until next time!

AP

We have a patient story on our hands today. And an athlete story. It is the story of Daniel Carcillo, who still goes under the Twitter -Name “CarBombBoom13”

Daniel was known as “Car Bomb” during his NHL (National Hockey League) career because he played — and lived — with reckless abandon. According to his doctor, he also had seven diagnosed concussions. They contended that the NHL knowingly withheld information about the dangers of hockey-related brain injuries, actively promoted fighting and failed to assist players in the transition from the ice to everyday living.” writes the NYT.

After suffering from depression, concussion and traumatic brain injury, Daniel tried everything, but nothing helped, his state of mind and body got worse.

How does it feel, when your tried everything “under the sun”, as Daniel says. Finally, Daniel found someone, who gave him access to a so called hero dose, a very high dose, of psilocybin, which helped Daniel to come back to a life, his life.

Now, Daniel wants to support the “traumatised community” he once came from, he is a plant medicine and fungi advocate. He is an experienced speaker on these topics through lived and personal experience. He is a farmer and entrepreneur with a fully integrated cannabis and medicinal mushroom business. Now, Daniel is the face of the decriminalise Chicago movement, talking about his journey with psychedelics, using them as a tool to heal.  

During our podcast, Daniel was sitting in his car since his kids took over the house in the afternoon. So we really had the chance to talk a while about the hero dose of psilocybin Daniel was trying, when his depression took over.  We talked about his changing idea of being an athlete, and how he “transformed” after his personal mental health crisis and depression after leaving a successful, but destructive career as an athlete.

More athletes seem to come out, talking openly about,  how psychedelics are supporting their healing. Like Basketball Star Lamar Odom, who worked with ketamine and ibogaine to heal from his heavy addiction.

Watch out for the upcoming documentary on Lamar called “Reborn”

Or listen to his talk with Dr. Oz.

——————————-

Tadaaa! We also have a premiere today and would like to introduce the first of our weekly news bulletins in psychedelic science:

The Research Round-Up.

Encouraging news: Toronto psychedelics company Field Trip have successfully completed GLP synthesis of its first molecule in development, FT-104.

But what does this actually mean? Essentially, Field Trip have developed a new psychoactive molecule that could be a viable alternative to those currently used in therapies such as Psilocybin, DMT, MDMA LSD. Each of these existing psychedelics offer their own therapeutic strengths that we’re aware of, but what if a new psychedelic could help a new kind of disorder we haven’t yet found a treatment for?

Why it’s important: In parallel to the push for medicalisation of currently known compounds, we must also hold the door open for the next generation of psychedelic medicines. Field Trip are still in the preclinical stages with FT-104, and it’ll be a long while before we know if it has therapeutic applications, but we think it’s a super exciting step forward nonetheless. (And you can listen to our podcast with the founder of Field Trip here!).

More good news: The Michigan city of Ann Arbor recently decriminalised all psychedelic plants and fungi such as ayahuasca, iboga, psychoactive mushrooms and mescaline.

But what is decriminalisation? Well, they’re still technically illegal, but it means that law enforcement make it their lowest priority to investigate or arrest anyone for being involved with these substances.

Why it’s important: We’ve all heard the stories of people struggling to find effective treatments in the mental healthcare system and who’ve consequently turned to plant medicines to alleviate their suffering. These individuals were forced to risk their own freedom in the fight to feel mentally well. Now, at least there’s one more city in the US where this isn’t the case. And we think that’s pretty special.

Not so encouraging news: A ketamine nasal spray for hard-to-treat depression has been rejected for a second time by the British National Health Service due to uncertainties over cost. Admittedly, there were other concerns cited in the rejection, notably a lack of clinical evidence—however this comes as a frustratingly ironic criticism considering the British government has a history of creating barriers to psychedelic trials.

To conclude on a lighter note: Johns Hopkins University has opened up a unique kind of psilocybin study. And much like everything these days, it’s adapted for the COVID world—so you can take part remotely! It aims to explore the use of psilocybin in “naturalistic settings (meaning outside a research laboratory), and any potential factors that could affect those outcomes”. Undoubtedly, this unique kind of study will offer some profound insights into the compound and it’s uses. We’re looking forward to seeing the results!

Melissa Lavasani’s story in a nutshell: After suffering from a depression that nothing seemed to help, she finally learned about the potential of plant medicine (via a Podcast!) - but what would the other Moms at her children’s school say? Would she have to break the law to save herself? Well she made the choice to prioritise her mental health, and eventually started to thrive, which inspired her to become the force behind Decriminalise Washington - a political initiative helping decriminalise magic mushrooms and plant medicine so they can be used to treat depression.

Boom, there is your Netflix Show, if you wanted. But this is no fiction: America is on the way to engaging with plant medicines, and through legal channels. On September 21, “Ann Arbor became the third city in the United States to decriminalise all-naturally occurring psychedelic plants and fungi. The city follows in the footsteps of Oakland, which became the first city in the United States to pass a resolution like it, in June of last year—and Santa Cruz, which followed in January of this year.” writes Double Blind Magazine.

But back to Melissa Lavasani and her work in Washington: she is now the chairwoman of the initiative and sees herself as “the most normal person ever” despite becoming the face of a psychedelic movement. She was a Mum of two, married, had a great life with friends and family, but still, she was a mother suffering from depression due to pregnancy to the point that her family nearly fell apart. Lavasini tried the usual medication and therapy to fight her depression, but nothing helped, until she heard Paul Stamets talking about the healing power of magic mushrooms on a Joe Rogan podcast. So she experimented with microdosing mushrooms, and in her words, “felt like a human being again”. Her own healing story made her the perfect face of the Decriminalise Washington movement, with the support of Dr, Bronners.  

In the podcast, we talk about the so-called Baby Blues, which is the nice and easy word for postpartum depression and we talk about why becoming a mother is a full on identity crisis and can trigger things one never thought about. We talk about how a normal mum can be the best spokesperson for psychedelics and why it's good to convince as many republicans as possible, especially in the upcoming election, that psilocybin will help to save lives.

“The psychedelic space is handicapped by the fact that Americans were fed a lot of really negative propaganda against psychedelics,” Lavasani said. “And that has been passed down generation to generation, and we’re trying to break it to an audience that doesn’t already have it embedded in their culture.”

Here is some DECRIM INFO

D.C. residents will vote this year on Initiative 81, which would not decriminalize psychedelics completely but would make law enforcement “among the lowest law enforcement priorities.”

Advocates of the initiative said D.C. could be at the “forefront” of helping people who are disproportionately struggling with mental health issues by lessening the legal blow of the drug.

See you next week, when we come back with BIG news from Synthesis!

Talk soon, Anne

Brazil alert! My guest today is Bia Labate, anthropologist, ayahuasca expert, sociologist, author and cofounder of the Chacruna Institute.

Have you taken Ayahuasca? I have not, but I think it is fascinating, a new way of looking at our mental health education and toolset. So I talked to Dr. Bia Labate, one of the real experts in the field of plant medicine. And there is a lot to talk about, much more than just vomiting in a bucket, after drinking the psychedelic tea. Let’s ask Bia...

Bia is a queer Brazilian anthropologist who immigrated to the U.S. in 2017. She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. When it comes to plant medicines, drug policy, shamanism, ritual, and religion, Bia is a pro. She’s also the Executive Director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines in San Francisco.

The Chacruna Institute is an organization that provides public education about psychedelic plant medicines and promotes a bridge between the ceremonial use of sacred plants and psychedelic science. Bia has written over 20 books and you can say she is the Brazilian to talk to when it comes to Ayahuasca.

With the Chacruna Institute, Bia’s plan is to “bring some Latin love to the US'', which really needs some love these days. 

Bia and I discuss Ayahuasca as a spiritual mentor, a teacher, a friend, as something that gives you homework to do with yourself and as something that is deeply rooted in South American culture. Bia has 23 years experience with Ayahuasca, a plant that gave her the feeling of “being at home for the first time”.

I love the idea of how Bia looks at Ayahuasca like a tool, and that “using Ayahuasca for human beings is the same as if a car needs an oil change once in a while”. We talk about mindfulness towards the indigenous people who are the ones providing the knowledge and the substances, diversity, and cultural appropriation. 

And we talk about Ayahuasca as the last straw for bored Westerners and as a tool for the new mental wellness consumer.  

News on Ayahuasca

I loved this piece in the NYT about veterans doing Ayahuasca to treat their post traumatic stress disorder and depression. A great read about how psychedelics save lives.

Also big biotech is also working on mental health drugs based on Ayahuasca.

I have two more recommendations for you on Netflix about Ayahuasca.

First, in the episode “Chelsea does drugs” my beloved Chelsea Handler goes to Peru with her friends to try Ayahuasca. Search for Chelsea does…

…and also there is the episode on Ayahuasca on (Un)Well, a new show on Netflix.

Talk soon!

Anne

Sounds like a way of life, right?

Hi and welcome back after a podcast summer break! And of course we will keep you posted about the next YouTube episode.

But now on to our next great podcast guest. 

Please meet Graham Boyd. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative (PSFC) and the Political Director at Dr. Bronners. And a huge driving force behind the MDMA-as-medicine movement. 

We are proud of Graham, since he helped complete the MAPS Capstone challenge, a Psychedelic Research Fundraising Campaign that just has attracted $30 Million in donations in just 6 months which will prepare MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for FDA Approval. If successful, this would be the first-ever psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to earn approval from the FDA. Tim Ferris also supported the campaign and you can find more information here. 

This is really exciting and we are currently looking into options to support MAPS in Germany, since we are supportive of assisted psychedelic therapy. 

But quickly back to Graham: he has spent his career fighting on behalf of social justice causes. Through his work advocating for those who have been marginalized, Graham was introduced to psychedelic science. Recognizing that those who will benefit from physician-prescribed MDMA and psilocybin are often suffering in silence, he brings his expertise from past efforts to help raise funds and resources to further the FDA process and bring much-needed relief to veterans, abuse survivors and others who are struggling with PTSD, depression and anxiety.

Graham is also an attorney specialising in political efforts to reform drug laws and end mass incarceration and he helped guide national efforts to convince President Obama to grant clemency to drug war prisoners, an effort to implement police strategies to replace arrest with social assistance for drug offenders, and a strategy to gain FDA approval for prescribing currently illegal drugs for psychiatric disorders. 

Come to Hamburg, IRL or virtually! 

Please join me in Hamburg on September 16th at the Reeperbahn Festival, the European version of SXSW. I talk about the renaissance of psychedelics with Christian Angermayer (in a covid-safe environment). If you can’t make it, and in case you missed it, you can see us in the First Episode of The New Health Club Show:

I hope to see you either there or online!

Coming up at The New Health Club

Next week, we’re taking a two week podcast break. Your newsletter will be sent as normal (along with a little surprise - stay tuned!)

Put August 20th in your diaries, as we will launch our YouTube series! So excited for this! Our first guest will be Christian Angermayer, a total driving force and one of the biggest evangelists in modern psychedelics.

On August 27th we come back to you with our full content package: starting with a killer podcast featuring Graham Boyd, the political director of Dr. Bronners. Graham is also the co-founder and Executive Director of Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative (PSFC). And he’s deeply involved with making MDMA therapy available as soon as possible.

Now, back to Ibogaine. Wait, what is this?

After weeks of magic mushrooms and LSD, we want to tell you about a new substance called Ibogaine. Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in the Apocynaceae plant family which includes Tabernanthe iboga, Voacanga africana, and Tabernaemontana undulata. These days Ibogaine is being used to treat severe drug addiction (including heroin, alcohol, and opioids). But there is still not enough research around this and that’s why Deborah Mash and her company DemeRx are setting up a joint venture with ATAI Life Sciences to research the “neurochemical reset” for people suffering from addictions. Addictions they are struggling to beat and may not beat with the current existing tools.

Podcast

My guest Deborah Mash is one cool research lady from Miami. She’s tough, educated, and all-too familiar with the drug wars in Miami, a series of conflicts that took place between government and cartels during the ‘70s and ‘80s. She knew a Miami that was flooded with cocaine and champagne, resulting in mass addiction problems across society, and who are looking for new tools to beat addiction to this day.

Mash is an American professor of neurology and pharmacology at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, director of the Brain Endowment Bank at the University of Miami, and is the CEO of her company DemeRx.

In the ‘90s, Mash and her team found a third substance that addicts produce if they use alcohol and cocaine at the same time, a molecule that makes addiction impossible to beat. Deborah called it the “Miami Vice Metabolite” and spent a lot of time researching how both the molecule and the resulting addiction could be handled.

I was a little shocked when I heard about the molecule during our conversations, since I feel I knew a lot of people, especially in Berlin who were educated, wealthy and established, but 100% addicted to this molecule and they would not even know about it.

From very early on, Mash was an expert on heavy substance abuse, addiction that was destroying the many people’s lives. Now she’s researching Ibogaine, a natural indole alkaloid derived from the West African iboga plant. In African traditional medicine and rituals, chewing the yellow-coloured root or bark is used to produce hallucinations. Now, Mash and ATAI Life Sciences explore the ibogaine substance as a new mental health drug to beat alcohol, heroin and other opioid addiction.

I know this subject is heavy, but as we speak, the number of people battling addiction is rising.

Of course, the episode is sponsored by Dr. Bronners as part of our special “Heal Soul” series, which is sponsored by Dr. Bronner’s, the activist soap company from California. 

Dr. Bronner’s is a family-owned company founded in 1948, that is dedicated to honoring the vision of its founder, Emanuel Bronner, by making personal care products of the highest quality and by dedicating profits to promote a better world for all. The Bronner family started making soap in 1858 here in Germany, and carries on the family soap making tradition today, by using the company as an engine for progressive social change.

I got to know Dr. Bronner’s when I lived in Los Angeles and when I went shopping at Trader Joes, I made sure to pick up some of the delicious peppermint soap that all of us were using. It was just such a California thing, which I loved, but there is more to it.

Dr. Bronner’s dedicates profits to organizations working in support of regenerative organic agriculture, animal rights, community betterment, criminal justice reform, fair pay & and fair trade, and drug policy reform – which includes the responsible and equitable integration of psychedelic medicine into American and Global culture.

* For more information on Dr. Bronner’s in Germany, please visit: drbronner.de

* For more information on Dr. Bronner’s globally and in the United States, please visit: drbronner.com

And please check out this episode of The New Health Club to hear my interview with CEO David Bronner, and world-renowned psychedelic therapy activist, as we discuss how psychedelics might help to heal Holocaust trauma.

On another note…

This is a really good podcast in german about psychedelic experiences called Set & Setting! I was honoured to be a guest. Please enjoy the the podcast I did with Jascha Renner.

Articles

* Global Psychedelic Drugs Market is Likely to Experience a Tremendous Growth in Near Future - Owned.

* Drugs like MDMA and LSD are Transforming Therapy - Futurity.

* Election 2020: Oregon Psilocybin and Drug Decriminalization Initiatives Guide - Leafly.

* MindMed Seeks to Harvest the Power of Psychedelics to Treat Mental Health Disorders - Proactive.

Hi, it’s Thursday and it's time for another Amanda!

This time, I talk to Amanda Feilding, who you could say was somewhat of a psychedelic and scientific socialite in the sixties, and who has been a strong advocate behind the resurgence of psychedelic science and reform. Also known as Lady Neidpath and the Countess of Wemyss and March, she lives in Beckley Park, an estate just outside Oxford.

Amanda’s contribution to global drug policy reform and early psychedelic research has been pivotal and widely acknowledged. She was first introduced to LSD in the mid-sixties, at the height of the first wave of scientific research into psychedelics. Impressed by its capacity to initiate mystical states of consciousness and heighten creativity, she quickly recognised its transformative and therapeutic powers.

Today she is the owner of the Beckley Foundation, a UK-based think-tank and UN-accredited NGO, dedicated to activating global drug policy reform and initiating scientific research into psychoactive substances.

I won’t say that Amanda and I are old pals, but I have met her a few times. It’s one of these stories where you could think maybe the universe personally arranged that meeting (if you believe in such things). The story went like this: I clicked on a picture of a guy on a dating app. His name was Hugh and happened to also look like Hugh Grant, who I adore. I did not pay very much attention clicking on Hugh at first, but we ended up meeting in London, and Hugh told me about his guided LSD experience. He then asked me if I would fancy having lunch with the infamous “Countess of LSD'' in Oxford and I immediately said yes, because seriously, who would have said no to this?! At this point, my psychedelics knowledge was limited to Michael Pollan's book, which I had read three times by this point. I knew meeting Amanda would be something…

So we arrived just outside Oxford at Beckley Park which was built in 1520. Home not only of the Beckley Foundation, it is also here that Amanda Feilding lives, directs, researches and holds court. “The Tudors needed a party location, a hunting lodge,” explained Amanda at her home, and after a very short lunch of French wine and Thai food we went for a walk with Amanda's Corgis (yes, just like the Queen!) and of course, Hugh.

I think it was the day the penny started to drop at just how powerful psychedelics could be and for the record, no we did not do any LSD! I just listened to Amanda talking about her experiences from her grand living room. Later on, I discovered that many big investors in psychedelics had met with Amanda and were convinced by these psychedelics as a rediscovered tool. Hugh and I became good friends, and Amanda became an inspiration: one of these people in psychedelics that you need to shake things up and push things forward in times of stagnation.

THE NEW HEALTH CLUB YOUTUBE SHOW IS COMING!

We are super excited to announce our upcoming YouTube series “The New Health Club” and I am thrilled to have found an amazing production company called Cinegramm who are doing such a brilliant job, especially with remote recordings! Do check them out!

Recommended reading:

* Psychedelic drugs can greatly reduce psychiatric symptoms among special forces veterans, study finds - PsyPost

* Government urged to speed research into psychedelic drug to treat depression - Independent

* Ease restrictions on medical psychedelics to aid research, experts say - The Guardian

* Magic mushrooms should be made legal in the same way as cannabis so they can be used to treat depression, leading doctors say - Daily Mail