💧 Intersex activist meets psychedelics

Welcome back to The Drop In! DoubleBlind’s weekly newsletter bringing you a high dose of psychedelics news, culture, and industry tea. This week is special for a few reasons. One is because it’s the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The Earth has leaned back on its axis, drenching the Global North in sunlight and officially marking the advent of summer. It doesn’t get dark ‘till 9 pm now on the West Coast. Alaska, and the most Northern parts of Canada, Finland, Sweden, and Russia, are experiencing the phenomenon of midnight sun. Meanwhile, long nights and snowy days are rolling through the Southern Hemisphere 

As the spring transitions to summer—or from fall to winter, if you’re south of the equator—we’re confronted with thresholds and the themes of liminality that precede transformations. Not to get all woo on everyone, but humans are in a constant state of liminality—personally, seasonally, or psychedelically. And this week, we aptly highlight a feature addressing another way in which liminality shows up in life: through being Intersex. This week's lead story is written by author and activist Alicia Weigel, who opens up about what it means to exist in the in between—as an identity, but also as someone actively pursuing healing—and, thus, self knowing—through ayahuasca.

“Deep in the jungle, with no running water nor electricity, I felt more connected to my own true essence than ever before—as well as to our sacred purpose as intersex people,” Alicia writes. “Turning to liminal people—like intersex folks—and liminal experiences, like psychedelic trips, are vital ingredients in the antidote to an increasingly polarized world.”

The story, linked below, is a powerful reminder of the liminal and a celebration of Pride, both of which are as psychedelic as it gets.

We recommend drinking a big glass of lemon water and soaking up the Solstice sunshine as you enjoy the rest of our newsletter.

Hasta luego 🌀 🌞 🌀

Mary Carreón
Senior Editor

Together With…

Explore the role of ancestral wisdom in the Psychedelic Renaissance at the Plant Spirit Summit (June 23-29, 2024). 

Join 80+ experts, wisdom keepers, and community leaders in bold conversations about the vital role of ancestral medicines. Topics include:

• Ancient Medicine for Modern Times: the Vital Role Ancestral Medicines Play in the Psychedelic Renaissance

• Ceremony as a Service: Exploring the Landscape of Facilitated Psychedelic Experiences

• The Union of Psychedelic Therapy and Ancestral Wisdom

• Overcoming Racial Barriers to Participation in the Psychedelic Renaissance

Enjoy 7 immersive days of expert interviews, live panels, and films on indigenous culture and plant medicines—all for free.

Register for the free summit here and prepare to be inspired!

Our Latest

MindBio Therapeutics is rolling out trials to test MB22001, a special form of LSD, for treating PMS and PMDD. One trial will look at how it affects menstrual cycles, and the other will focus on easing PMS and PMDD symptoms. These studies aim to find better alternatives to current treatments like SSRIs, which often come with pesky side effects and don't always work.

A new Johns Hopkins study shows that while psilocybin mushrooms might not turn atheists into believers, they could make you think your Roomba has feelings! Published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, the research found that while religious beliefs stayed the same, many participants started seeing consciousness in animals, plants, and even inanimate objects.

A new case study suggests psychedelics might help long Covid sufferers find relief. A 41-year-old woman saw her severe symptoms, including anxiety and brain fog, improve after using psilocybin mushrooms and MDMA with a therapist's guidance

& More Must-Reads

• Matsés land, spanning 3,800 square miles of the Amazon and home to over 1,000 medicinal plants, now has its knowledge documented in an encyclopedia.

• Take a moment to laugh with us at the funniest shroom memes from around the (mycelial) web.

• When John Coltrane died in 1967, his wife Alice plunged into a crisis of the soul. Instead of crumbling, she looked inward and emerged with an album of timeless resonance and mystery.

Trip Tales

Have you had a profound experience with psychedelics before? Share your story with us for a chance to be featured in The Drop In. Submit your entry here.

Learn with Us

🍄 What if you could grow your own magic in the comfort of your home? Well, there’s a grow bag for that. Here are some of our favorites on the market.

👁️ Heroic dosers claim to travel to different dimensions and explore new depths of their subconscious mind. We asked the experts for a roadmap through hyperspace.

👂 Forget the visuals. DiPT makes you trip on sound. But, the results might not always be music to your ears.

🌈 From ayahuasca retreats to integration circles, there’s a growing number of LGBTQIA+ psychedelic offerings—but cost and access remain barriers

DoubleBlind Digs

Here are today’s recommendations to help you live more psychedelically… 

1. Turn your mushrooms into tasty treats at home. Many mushroom products, like gummies and chocolates, can be unreliable in potency and strain, often with a premium price. Our course tackles these issues, teaching you to cook delicious, reliable mushroom treats.

2. We’ve curated several psychedelic playlists over the years, so you don’t have to. Turn on, tune in, and drop out with this sonic accompaniment by Justin Boreta for DoubleBlind.

3. Feeling burnt out from work? Reset with Laura Dawn on June 27. Learn to create smarter, embody a balanced business approach, and design a life amplifying your impact while retaining your sanity at this 3-day virtual retreat.*

4. Looking for the best movies to watch while shrooming? We've got you. Movies can captivate, dazzle, and inspire during a trip, influencing the mood. Our advice? Choose films matching the set and setting you’ll enjoy most. Here are our recommendations.

*We may earn a commission from this link, but we are very intentional about the people we partner with.

Together With…

Sarah here, DoubleBlind’s COO 👋 I want to share my experience with Psyched Wellness’ Calm tincture.

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It’s not just about sleep—I feel less stressed and clearer throughout the day, too.

Knowing it's a natural, rigorously tested Amanita muscaria tincture gave me the confidence to try it.

Click here to get Calm and use code DOUBLEBLIND for 10% off your order.

From the Magazine

Perhaps you’ve heard of Biosphere 2 or read The Way of the Psychonaut by Dr. Stanislav Grof. Did you know these projects were created by an intentional community outside Santa Fe? In Issue 7, we explore their history, including a water remediation project in Iraq and “The Theater of All Possibilities.”

Get the magazine.