💧 Do shrooms lose their magic?

Welcome back to The Drop In! There’s a lot going on this week, particularly in the realm of mushrooms. Most notably, the chemists at Hyphae Labs in Oakland have started looking into how quickly the potency of psilocybin mushrooms can degrade and what happens to the alkaloids when they begin to lose their psychedelic punch. We wrote a story on their findings, so you’ll have to read it to find out more (see below!). But the moral of the story is: Store them properly! Eat them within three months of acquiring them! Share with your friends! Give some to your neighbor! Consume them because within six months the potency could drop downwards of 50 percent. The Hyphae Labs team is about to conduct more research looking into mushroom potency. We’ll report back with updates!

You can also find stories about the (admittedly exceptionalist) fact that psychedelic medicine now has more backing in Congress than medical cannabis; a popular Psilocybe mushroom strain from Africa is on the rise; and a recounting of the Grateful Dead’s iconic drug moments—including the time a fan laced Jerry Garcia’s birthday cake with 800 hits of LSD. Good times…

We recommend pouring yourself a cup of tea, lighting a candle, and basking in a puddle of sunlight as you engage with this wildly heady edition of The Drop In. We’ll check-in later this week with some new stories, musings, and insights. 

Until then 👋🏾🌀

Mary Carreón
Senior Editor

Together With…

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Our Latest

At a recent psychedelics conference, VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal highlighted the "unstoppable narrative" and robust bipartisan support in Congress for advancing psychedelic medicine, surpassing that of cannabis. Elnahal emphasized the VA's efforts to prepare for the FDA's approval of psychedelics-assisted therapy, particularly for veterans, and noted the department's active support for trials investigating the therapeutic potential of substances like psilocybin and MDMA. He pointed out the surprising level of bipartisan backing, including efforts from conservative leaders, and underscored the ethical imperative of making these treatments available given their promise in addressing conditions such as PTSD.

Psilocybe cubensis is the best-known psilocybin mushroom, holding center stage in cultivator circles due to its wide distribution and the ease of its cultivation. The span of influence woven by its wide mycelial web has been deep and far-reaching, but its place at the top may not last forever: A South African mushroom, Psilocybe natalensis, is gaining ground in cultivation circles due to its ease of cultivation and perceptions that it facilitates a smoother, more positive experience.

& More Must-Reads

• A journalist explores the history and healing of soul retrieval, an age-old practice with tangled interpretations

• Study suggests that use of full-spectrum psychedelic mushroom extract has a more powerful effect than chemically synthesized psilocybin alone, which could have implications for psychedelic-assisted therapy

• From a birthday cake laced with 800 hits of LSD to writing “Touch of Grey” after a night of railing lines, the Grateful Dead’s legacy is defined by some iconic drug moments

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.

Upcoming

Join us on June 23 at 12 pm PT for a workshop with Suzannah Weiss, author of Subjectified: Becoming a Sexual Subject and our host Monica Cadena. We’ll discuss how you can incorporate your psychedelic work into your sex life without perpetuating harmful tropes.

This workshop is free with a DoubleBlind+ membership. Get your free trial here.

Learn with Us

🍄 Little was known about the cultivation of fungi only decades ago, but these how-to-grow treasures enable readers to become amateur mycologists and conjure a whole host of varieties

🚀 Wondering how to make sense of the DMT realm? You’re not alone. Many people who try DMT report encounters with otherworldly spirits—but what do they mean? A journalist explores.

🥀 Psychedelics give us an opportunity to integrate meaningful rituals into our symbolic—and literal—relationships with death.

🖤  Shadow work is the process by which we identify, befriend, and integrate our shadow parts into our conscious wholeness. Here are prompts and exercises for exploring your hidden side are

DoubleBlind Digs

1. Struggling to remember names, dates, or where you left your keys? We’re digging Mushroom Breakthrough* for memory and focus. BIOptimizers' blend of potent mushroom extracts boosts brain power and tastes like a rich chocolate elixir. 🤤 Mix with water, milk, or coffee, and feel sharper in no time. Try it risk-free with their 365-day guarantee.

2. If you want to broaden your musical horizons this summer, read this. Generally held in natural landscapes, open-air psytrance festivals offer, for hundreds of thousands of people, an escape from the mundane and a plunge into a sonic kaleidoscope. We put together a list of the best psytrance festivals across the world, where attendees find solace, connection, and transformation amid pulsating psychedelic basslines.

3. Playing games with friends while getting trippy land can be fun. What better opportunity to play a game than with a group of like-minded people (or at the very least, people who are all in similar moods). While Monopoly or poker may be your game of choice sober, when enjoying the effects of psychoactives, there are a few things to keep in mind when picking the perfect game. Here’s our game guide.

4. We’re deepening our connection with ancestral wisdom and plant medicine. The Plant Spirit Summit (June 23-29, 2024)** offers an open-access experience with 80+ experts discussing the vital role of ancestral medicines in the psychedelic renaissance. Over seven immersive days, engage with interviews, live panels, and documentaries exploring indigenous culture and plant medicines—all for free.

5. We’re big fans of blue lotus at DoubleBlind. This legal entheogen is incredible for stress and relaxation—and maybe a lucid dream or two. There are many ways to take it, such as a tea, tincture, extract, or dried flower. We love making and drinking blue lotus tea.

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**This is sponsored by the good folks at EntheoNation who engage in meaningful and impactful work in the psychedelic space.

From the Magazine

The proliferation of “psychedelic mushrooms” in liquor stores, bodegas, gas stations, and online is deceiving, with products labeled “mushroom blend,” “Amanita Muscaria,” or “trippy blend” often lacking psilocybin or proper dosage information. Curious and concerned, we had journalist Webb Wright investigate these products, testing chocolate bars, gummies, mints, and teas through Hyphae Labs. The results were alarming: many contained 4-AcO-DMT, a synthetic compound, instead of psilocybin. 

For the full investigative feature, grab the latest issue of DoubleBlind Mag here. And, as always, know your dealer and test your drugs!

Together With…

Are you a coach, guide, healer, content creator, or founder in the psychedelic space and feeling overstretched, overcommitted, and overwhelmed? 

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