Is Leadership in Psychedelics Reflecting Who It Serves?

Good morning and welcome back to the Drop In! We're kicking things off with a story about a psychedelic leadership retreat.

The root conversation around psychedelic therapy has largely focused on access. But a new gathering in the Oakland Hills is asking a deeper question: Who is actually being prepared to lead? We don’t do spoilers here. So if you’re interested, scroll to read that story!

Scroll further, and you’ll find pieces on chatbots, the God molecule, and chocohongos.

Happy trails🖖,
Mary Carreón
Editor-in-Chief

Together With Vine of the Soul

Trauma-Informed Ayahuasca Retreats for Western Seekers

Structured, carefully facilitated retreats in Colombia and other areas.

At Vine of the Soul Retreats, we create deeply supportive containers for serious inner work with Ayahuasca and other plant medicines.

Our programs are designed specifically for Western participants. We combine trauma-informed psychology, medical and psychological screening, structured preparation, skilled facilitation, and long-term integration support in person and via AI-Powered app.

Each retreat is intentionally small. Each participant is carefully screened. Each container is built for depth, safety, and clarity. 

A carefully held space for profound and lasting transformation.

Book your 45-Minute Exploration Call to get 15% Off  for DoubleBlind Readers, this week only.

The Next Frontier in Psychedelics Isn’t Access. It’s Leadership.

As psychedelics surge toward the mainstream, a new Oakland Hills retreat is asking a critical question: Who is prepared to lead?

By Reggie Harris

As psychedelics continue rushing towards the mainstream, the conversation has largely centered on access: who can participate, who can prescribe, and who can legally facilitate. But an overlooked structural gap persists beneath the surface. Leadership development — particularly leadership grounded in Black lived experience — has not kept pace with the field’s rapid expansion.

That imbalance is exactly what a new gathering in Northern California hopes to address.
The Psychedelic Leadership Retreat, scheduled for March 14–15, 2026, in the Oakland Hills, will bring together a small cohort of practitioners, facilitators, organizers, and healers working directly with Black communities across psychedelic contexts. Unlike the industry’s sprawling conferences and expo-style convenings, this two-day retreat is intentionally intimate, prioritizing depth of dialogue, practical skill-building, and culturally informed leadership frameworks.

Organizers say the timing is deliberate. As clinical trials expand and psychedelic services inch closer to broader legalization, the people shaping protocols, ethics, and community integration will play an outsized role in determining how — and for whom — these medicines ultimately function.

The retreat’s faculty reflects that focus. Dr. Akua Brown, a physician specializing in psychedelic medicine and the Medical Director of Alchemy Community Therapy Center, will bring expertise in culturally responsive physical and mental health care. Her work has focused on expanding access to psychedelic-assisted therapy for underserved populations while challenging clinical models that often flatten cultural context.

Joining her is Roz McMillian, MFT, whose work in recovery and harm reduction reframes substance use through the lens of grief, chronic stress, and systemic harm — an approach that resonates in communities disproportionately impacted by criminalization and medical neglect.

Leticia Brown, MFT, contributes a focus on sexuality, embodiment, and altered states. Trained in multiple psychedelic-assisted therapy modalities, including MAPS’ first MDMA-assisted psychotherapy training for communities of color, her work positions the body itself as a central site of healing and political meaning.

Rounding out the faculty is Ayize Jama-Everett, whose scholarship and teaching on Black spirituality and psychedelics contextualize altered states within broader cultural and ancestral frameworks.

Taken together, the retreat signals a growing recognition within the psychedelic ecosystem: expanding access alone is not enough. Without leadership that is culturally literate and community-accountable, the field risks reproducing the very inequities it claims to address.

Applications for the Psychedelic Leadership Retreat are now open, with limited space available for the March gathering. Learn more here.

Is Existential Dread From Climate Change a Qualifying Condition for Psychedelic Therapy?

As climate disruption accelerates worldwide, a growing number of people, especially young adults, are reporting persistent fear, grief, and existential dread about the planet’s future. While eco-anxiety is spreading, culturally and clinically grounded responses remain limited.

In our Friday feature, writer Leonie Staas explores how psychedelic experiences may help people metabolize ecological grief, drawing on emerging research, expert insight, and lived experience. The piece examines why traditional therapeutic frameworks often fall short in the face of planetary distress — and how psychedelics, when paired with integration and action-oriented frameworks, may help transform paralysis into meaning, connection, and engagement.

Upgrade your subscription here to get the full interview in your inbox by Friday.

DoubleBlind Digs

RESEARCH: King’s College London is probing the evolving intersection of spirituality and artificial intelligence, and the anonymous SAIPIENT survey invites the public to weigh in on how AI is reshaping identity, belief, and mystical experience. Learn more here.

ATTEND: Michael Pollan has announced a tour to promote his latest book, “A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness.” Check out his tour dates here.

EDU: General registration has quietly opened for the 2026 People’s Medicine School, an offering rooted in community herbalism, collective care, and the belief that plant medicine can sustain resistance, healing, and life-giving futures amid grief. Learn more here.

Together With Vine of the Soul

Trauma-Informed Ayahuasca Retreats for Western Seekers

Structured, carefully facilitated retreats in Colombia and other areas.

At Vine of the Soul Retreats, we create deeply supportive containers for serious inner work with Ayahuasca and other plant medicines.

Designed specifically for Western participants, our retreats combine trauma-informed psychology, structured preparation, AI-app support, ethical facilitation, and integration support — in carefully selected locations.

A carefully held space for profound and lasting transformation.

Book your 45-Minute Exploration Call to get 15% Off  for DoubleBlind Readers, this week only.