Welcome back to The Drop In, DoubleBlind’s newsletter serving up psychedelics news, culture, events, and knowledge straight to your inbox.
Today’s featured story is about the “Me Too” movement catching up with the Santo Daime ayahuasca church. If you’re unfamiliar, Santo Daime is a syncretic spiritual tradition that originated in the Amazon region of Brazil in the early 20th century. It blends elements of Christianity with Indigenous shamanism and has received an exemption from the Controlled Substances Act to conduct ayahuasca ceremonies legally in the US. You can read the story by Jules Evans below!
Today’s newsletter is packed with timely stories, including one about the layoffs and restructuring happening at Compass Pathways.
You also still have time to sign up for our free workshop on working with Amanita muscaria for the Winter Solstice. It’s hosted by the inimitable Ash Ritter — you don’t want to miss it. Learn more here!
Trip long and prosper 🖖 ,
Mary Carreón
Senior Editor
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Featured
Santo Daime's MeToo Moment
A lawsuit in Brazil, decades of earlier incidents, and wider questions about safety in psychedelic churches.
Santo Daime is an ayahuasca religion from Brazil. It was founded in the 1930s after a rubber tapper had a vision of the Virgin Mary. It’s a syncretic fusion of Christianity, African spiritism, and indigenous ayahuasca shamanism. It has rapidly grown around the world in the last decade, but now, a senior leader in Brazil is facing multiple sexual assault accusations.
It’s sparking essential conversations about safety, accountability, and healing beyond just Santo Daime and within the global Aya movement.
According to Jonathan Goldman, founder of a Santo Daime church in Oregon:
"Basically, the MeToo movement is belatedly catching up with the Daime world. Paulo Roberto is not the only male leader or member of a Daime church being outed as a predator. We are collectively in a moment of reckoning that has been a long time in coming. "
On the one hand, it’s another blow to the psychedelic movement, already reeling from the FDA’s denial of MDMA therapy. On the other, it’s a critical reminder of the work needed to ensure sacred spaces remain safe and aligned with the values of respect, integrity, and mutual care that plant medicine teaches. Read the full feature story here.
Our Latest
Has the psychedelic hype bubble burst? Compass Pathways announced major layoffs, delays in psilocybin trials, and a sharp stock plunge amid losses. When the FDA denied MDMA-assisted therapy earlier this year, the shockwaves throughout the psych-delic industry were immediate and apparent. What does this mean for the future of psychedelic therapy? Get the inside scoop here.
& More Must-Reads
Psychedelics can carry a uniquely harsh stigma for parents. But the experience of parenthood also brings powerful opportunities for personal healing and transformation with plant medicines. It turns out more parents use psychedelics than you think. Read the full story here.
The Huni Kuin are an indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon with a rich history of plant-based healing. Now, they are welcoming Westerners to share their culture and messages of the rainforest. Experience this writer’s powerful journey into healing and transformation with the Huni Kuin.
“Animism” is a worldview that sees spirit in everything. It was nearly universal in the ancient world and may be the necessary shift to avert a global climate catastrophe. A journalist considers a compelling question: could psychedelics rekindle a reawakening of animism in modern society?
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Issue No. 12 of DoubleBlind’s print magazine is now shipping! And it’s just in time for the cozy winter days of drinking tea and reading.
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🌑 The darkest night of the year is just around the corner—a perfect opportunity for taking a fiercely compassionate look at the darker sides of ourselves. According to the great psychologist Carl Jung, one’s Shadow is the key to the greatest gifts and the unfolding of our highest potentials. Here’s how to get started.
🌼 Known as “the flower of paradise”, khat contains a natural stimulant often branded as “bath salts” to get around regulations. Get the full scoop on this East African plant’s unlikely entanglement in the War on Drugs, terrorist organizations, and more.
🍕 Magic mushrooms can be a bit of an “acquired taste”. From smoothies to pizza, here are some of our favorite ways to keep your tummy and tastebuds happy.
DoubleBlind Digs
Here are today’s recommendations to help you live more psychedelically…
Small, consistent effort often makes the biggest shifts in life. Join this 30-day kanna microdosing journey with our friends at KA! According to them, 86% of people who take KA! consistently for –30 days experience noticeable shifts in their mood, sense of calm, empathy, sleep, focus, and energy levels. It runs from Jan 19 - Feb 16th. Join the Journey here.
Do you serve people as a psychedelic facilitator, guide, or coach? Check out this free client-attraction masterclass for psychedelic facilitators on Dec 13th.
Want to cultivate a deeper relationship with fungi? Or maybe just a gift for a mushroom nerd in your life? This mycologist-written Mushroom Cultivation Journal transforms the complex process of growing mushrooms into an accessible, intentional, and reflective process.
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Latest Youtube Video
The term “heroic dose” was originally coined by legendary ethnobotanist and mouthpiece-of-the-mushroom Terrance McKenna. But what exactly is it? And why would you do it? Taking a heroic dose is a big decision and should not be done lightly. In this video, we cover everything you need to know about taking a gigantic dose of psychedelic mushrooms.
Around the Web
Decompress from holiday stress with these surprisingly psychedelic time-lapse videos of flowers exposed to fire, ice, and ink.
MAPS just launched the ultimate psychedelic playlist project called “Music is The Bridge,” with curated playlists from some of the most iconic psychedelic musicians and producers (including one from MAPS president Rick Doblin). Check it out here.
Aliens are a recurring theme in psychedelia. Now, in a series of wild congressional hearings, Pentagon insiders have essentially claimed aliens are real, and they are here. The last paragraph of this declassified document ends with “be not afraid” —the exact words used by angels appearing to humans in The Bible 😳
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