Welcome back to The Trip Report Podcast! Today, we are talking with Dr. Rick Barnett.

Rick is the founder of the Center for Addiction Recognition, Treatment, Education, and Recovery in Stowe, Vermont, and the Co-Founder of the Psychedelic Society of Vermont.

He is also a clinical psychologist and licensed alcohol and drug counselor with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology.

This combination of training, clinical practice, and education made for a really interesting discussion of the emerging use of psychedelics in therapy and drug and alcohol recovery.

There is a massive difference between the emerging “psychedelic industry”— clinical trials, drug development, policy reform efforts, and legal retreats—and the reality of the situation outside of these contexts.

This dichotomy is one of the most fascinating features of this whole domain. While we wait for the Overton Window to shift—for FDA approval, for VA buy-in, for lawmakers and regulators to get comfortable—the use of psychedelics in unregulated, personal, grey and illegal settings is skyrocketing.

This is where the psychedelic industry differs from so many other industries or technologies: there is a major distinction between the so-called “above ground” business and investment landscape, which is dominated by commercial drug development and services designed to fit into the modern healthcare system, and the so-called “underground,” a decentralized, unregulated, bottom-up psychedelic market.

The need is for education, support, and community to midwife the mainstreaming of psychedelics, not suppression.

In this conversation, we discuss:

* The connective tissue of the psychedelic ecosystem.

* The integration of psychedelic, ecstatic, and expressive approaches to clinical practice in Western healthcare systems;

* Dr. Barnett’s experience responding to the cultural interest in psychedelics as a clinical psychologist;

* The importance of community among healthcare professionals to increase education and best practices; and

In Greek mythology, the God Hermes is said to have possessed the ability to move freely between different realms—he could travel between the mortal world, the divine realm of Olympus, and the Underworld.

This capacity made him unique in Greek Mythology.

As a trained psychologist, educator, and community organizer, Dr. Barnett is like a modern-day Hermes—interfacing with the clinical and research worlds as well as the local and digital peer-to-peer community networks of the psychedelic-curious.

And now, I bring you my conversation with Dr. Rick Barnett.

Listen to the episode on Substack, Spotify, Google or Apple.

Credits:

* Hosted by Zach Haigney 

* Produced by Zach Haigney, Erin Greenhouse, and Katelin Jabbari

* Find us at thetripreport.com

* Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube

* Theme music by MANCHO Sounds, Mixed and Mastered by Rollin Weary

Today I am speaking with Talia Eisenberg.

Talia is the co-founder of Beond Ibogaine, an addiction and chemical dependence treatment center in Cancún, Mexico.

I wanted to speak with Talia because the Beond model – a modern, medical-grade center – seems to me like the closest approximation to what the psychedelic medicine practice of the future will look like.

Ibogaine has developed a reputation as one of the most effective psychedelic substances for the treatment of opioid dependencies, including painkillers, heroin, and fentanyl. Recently, the state of Kentucky’s Opioid Commission announced that it would be evaluating a $42 million grant to study ibogaine for the treatment of opioid addiction and withdrawal.

However, by all accounts, the ibogaine experience is no walk in the park. A longer treatment duration and heightened risks compared to other psychedelics makes ibogaine unique among this class of substances.

To me, ibogaine best captures the duality of an incredibly promising new treatment model for one of society's most pressing problems coupled with the need for caution, screening, preparation, and safety monitoring due to the associated risks.

Talia brings a unique perspective to the discussion of this opportunity and its challenges, as she credits ibogaine with saving her own life and now operates one of the leading ibogaine treatment centers.

Talia received an undergrad degree from New School in New York City and earned an MBA from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. She is a serial entrepreneur, a mother, a wife, and in long-term recovery.

In this episode, we discuss:

* The history and impact of the opioid epidemic;

* Talia’s personal story of addiction, treatment, and renewal;

* The traditional rehab industry; and

* The importance of short and long-term integration with ibogaine.

As you’ll hear, I am not too familiar with ibogaine. I have never tried it and, since it has a smaller research footprint than psilocybin, MDMA and other compounds, I haven’t spent as much time learning about it. Thankfully, Talia was the perfect person to speak with to bring me up to speed. 

Listen to the episode on Substack, Spotify, Google or Apple.

Credits:

* Hosted by Zach Haigney 

* Produced by Zach Haigney, Erin Greenhouse, and Katelin Jabbari

* Find us at thetripreport.com

* Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube

* Theme music by MANCHO Sounds, Mixed and Mastered by Rollin Weary

Today I am speaking with Josh Hardman.

Josh is the founder and Editor of Psychedelic Alpha, the preeminent business and policy data resource for the psychedelic industry.

I first met Josh in 2020 when this whole domain of psychedelic business and investment was really taking off. Those were strange times—this was the peak of covid lockdowns, the lead up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. You might call it a pivotal mental state for society.

All the while, we were seeing a massive influx of capital into dozens of psychedelic startups—many of which no longer exist—several of the most prestigious universities were announcing psychedelic research programs, and many local and state policy reform efforts were launched.

All throughout, Josh and his team at Psychedelic Alpha were busy building publicly available databases, including company profiles and drug development, policy, and patent trackers to help make sense of this craziness.

Fast forward to 2023, Josh and I sat down in Denver during the Psychedelic Science 2023 conference for a conversation about the field, where it’s been, and where it’s heading.

In this conversation, Josh and I discuss:

* His background and the Psychedelic Alpha origin story;

* His initial shock at seeing psychedelics on the commercialization pathway;

* The “Wild West” of the 2020 psychedelic business environment;

* The challenges to payor reimbursement for psychedelics;

* The FDA approval process; and

* The shifting Overton window.

Listen to the episode on Substack, Spotify, Google, or Apple.

Credits:

* Hosted by Zach Haigney 

* Produced by Zach Haigney, Erin Greenhouse, and Katelin Jabbari

* Find us at thetripreport.com

* Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube

* Theme music by MANCHO Sounds, Mixed and Mastered by Rollin Weary

Today I am speaking with Dr. Manish Agrawal.

Manish is the founder and CEO of Sunstone Therapies and co-director of clinical research at Aquilino Cancer Center in Rockville, Maryland.

Manish studied engineering at Auburn University and graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine. He did his medical residency at Georgetown University, where he also earned a master’s in Philosophy. After Georgetown, he did a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.

He then went on to a more than 20-year career as an oncologist.

In 2017, Manish met Roland Griffiths from Johns Hopkins University, and his interest in psychedelic research was piqued, which led to the founding of Sunstone Therapies. 

Sunstone serves as an independent research site that carries out clinical trials for psychedelic drug developers like MAPS, Usona, and Compass Pathways, as well as their own investigator-initiated trials. They also train therapists. 

In this episode, we discuss:

* Manish’s career as an oncologist and researcher;

* His time at the National Institutes of Health (NIH);

* The role his philosophy training has played in his life as a physician;

* The origin story of Sunstone Therapies;

* The similarities between delivering cancer treatment and the delivering psychedelic medicine; and 

* Preparing for FDA approval.

Listen to the episode on Substack, Spotify, Google, or Apple.

Credits:

* Hosted by Zach Haigney 

* Produced by Zach Haigney, Erin Greenhouse, and Katelin Jabbari

* Find us at thetripreport.com

* Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube

* Theme music by MANCHO Sounds, Mixed and Mastered by Rollin Weary

Today I am speaking with Dr. Amy Kruse.

She is a neuroscientist, General Partner, and Chief Investment Officer at Satori Neuro, a venture capital fund focused on mental health, neurotechnology, and human flourishing.

Amy earned a Bachelor of Science in Cell and Structural Biology and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She went on to serve as a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where she oversaw the agency’s first performance-oriented neuroscience programs and orchestrated scientific breakthroughs in augmented cognition, accelerated learning, optimized imagery analysis, team neurodynamics, and neuromodulation.

After DARPA, she served as the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Cubic Global Defense and Chief Scientific Officer of Optios.

Prior to joining Satori Neuro, Dr. Kruse was a General Partner at Prime Movers Lab, where she led the fund’s life sciences investments in human augmentation and longevity.

In this episode, we talk about:

* The neuroscience of learning;

* How to improve human performance and mastery;

* The connection between meditation and psychedelic research; and

* The varieties of neurotechnology.

Listen to the episode on Substack, Spotify, Google, or Apple.

Credits:

* Hosted by Zach Haigney 

* Produced by Zach Haigney, Erin Greenhouse, and Katelin Jabbari

* Find us at thetripreport.com

* Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube

* Theme music by MANCHO Sounds, Mixed and Mastered by Rollin Weary

Introducing The Trip Report podcast by Beckley Waves, hosted by creator and author Zach Haigney. Beckley Waves, a venture studio spearheaded by psychedelic science and policy pioneer Amanda Feilding, seeks to build and support the infrastructure necessary for safe, legal and accessible psychedelic experiences. Expanding on our popular newsletter, the podcast is our latest endeavor to create a well-informed psychedelic ecosystem.

Our world is changing at an unprecedented pace across science, politics, the economy, technology, and culture. A major part of this change is the reintegration of psychedelics into scientific research and, consequently, mainstream culture. After decades of stigmatization, these powerful compounds are now recognized for their immense therapeutic potential, addressing some of our toughest mental health challenges like depression, PTSD, and addiction. But it's not just about healing; psychedelics are being increasingly used for spiritual practices, personal evolution, and exploration of the mind and non-ordinary states of consciousness.

However, as psychedelics gain popularity, we face a unique set of challenges. How do we navigate the diverse viewpoints, applications, environments, and motivations surrounding these mind-altering substances that have, until recently, been illegal? This question forms the basis of our podcast's mission: to explore the complex, exciting, and rapidly evolving world of psychedelic business, policy reform, cultural adoption, and scientific research.

The Trip Report podcast aims to be a hub for diverse voices from across the psychedelic spectrum – the builders, therapists, psychonauts, scientists, clinicians, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, regulators, and even the detractors and skeptics. We're not just talking; we're connecting – individuals with ideas, people with each other, and listeners with the broader developments of this new paradigm.

Together, let’s dive deep into the evolving psychedelic landscape, scrutinizing its intriguing dynamics, complexities, challenges, and opportunities, in an attempt to understand this unprecedented shift in human consciousness and society. We hope you'll join us on this journey.

Listen to the episode on Substack, Spotify, Google, or Apple.

Credits:

* Hosted by Zach Haigney 

* Produced by Zach Haigney, Erin Greenhouse, and Katelin Jabbari

* Find us at thetripreport.com

* Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube

* Theme music by MANCHO Sounds, Mixed and Mastered by Rollin Weary