This year’s edition of Benzinga’s Psychedelics Capital Conference hosted some of the most knowledgeable panelists and hot-button discussions currently in the space.
One of them was a conversation between all-time psychedelics advocate and businessman Psycheceutical’s (OTCMKTS: BWVI) Zappy Zapolin, cannabis-specialized lawyer Nadav Aschner (Rodman Law Group LLC) and reciprocity defendor Joseph Mays (Chacruna Institute), with moderator Farrell Miller (Benzinga), on the takeaways from legal markets of federally controlled substances.
Fighting For The Right To Pursue Happiness
Zappy Zapolin says all psychedelic advocates and enthusiasts believe it is one's inalienable right to go inside our own minds for answers and healing.
"So for me, I've taken the approach that since doctors don't really even know about nutrition, which is 80% of the problem, why would I listen to them about psychedelics that they don't know about?,” he said, adding the need to step forward and say ‘Okay, I trust Johns Hopkins, I trust Rick Doblin from MAPS more than I trust my local internal medicine doctor.’
He sees cannabis as having laid the foundational work in toning down the War on Drugs mindset. He pointed to interesting moves around psychedelics such as the development of alternative drug delivery technologies to mold the encounter with the substance in a way that best fits the specific needs of different populations.
In terms access to psilocybin, Zapolin noted a group about to release a magical butter machine tailored for growing magic mushrooms out of spores (which are legal to give out). He calls it “the pharmacy of the future.”
To ensure equitable access to psilocybin, Zapolin sees Native Americans and indigenous communities as natural space holders for psychedelic experiences given their longtime work with the substances, and also guarding against setting regulations that end up making the therapy extremely costly.
He calls on people to be vigilant and appreciate the fact that neither doctors nor politicians really know about these medicines, and that upcoming …