MindShift

The Big Story

Trip or Trap. People who ended up in emergency or hospital care after using hallucinogens were six times more likely to develop mania and four times more likely to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder within three years, according to a study of 9 million health records published this week in PLOS Medicine. As with many such findings, this association does not prove causation and may simply reflect higher vulnerabilities among those who require acute care.

While media coverage and psychedelic advocates often downplay the risks, the scientific community continues to study and debate them. In 2024, a JAMA Psychiatry study found that serious adverse events, such as hospitalization or life-threatening reactions, occurred in about 4% of participants with psychiatric conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety, or substance use disorders), compared to none in healthy subjects. Another 1% of all participants experienced non-serious but notable adverse events, including psychotic symptoms, mania, cardiovascular issues, or hallucinogen-persisting perception disorder. Among the substances studied, DMT/ayahuasca stood out as the riskiest, with 3% of users experiencing cardiovascular issues.

Science & Innovation

Rabies shows how psilocybin rewires the brain. Researchers used the deadly virus’s natural ability to travel through neurons to map brain circuits in mice. Combined with imaging technologies, this approach showed that psilocybin strengthens pathways carrying sensory information into deeper brain regions, tightening the link between what we perceive and how we respond. At the same time, it weakens feedback loops in the brain’s outer layers that may fuel repetitive, negative thoughts.
→ Cell

The U.S. government invests in emerging mental health therapies. The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a $100 million initiative to support research on mental health with a special emphasis on “neuroplastogens” such as ketamine, ibogaine, psilocybin, and LSD. The program, called EVIDENT, aims to “catalyze a new era in behavioral health by generating and validating objective FDA-ready clinical endpoints for emerging therapies”, as well as to “support future research and regulatory acceptance of emerging rapid-acting therapies.”
→ ARPA-H

An AI coach for psychedelic facilitators. The demand for trained psychedelic facilitators far outpaces current training capacities. To help overcome this challenge, the American nonprofit organization Fireside Project has launched an AI-powered simulation platform. Called Lucy, it aims to train clinicians for psychedelic-assisted therapy. It is built on over 7,000 real conversations and allows trainees to practice different scenarios, such as talking about trauma or managing difficult trips. 
→ Fireside Project

Society & Policy

One American in twenty has used psychedelics in the past 12 months. This is the main takeaway from the National Survey Investigating Hallucinogenic Trends (NSIHT), based on 57,309 responders. Psilocybin, MDMA, and esketamine were the most used substances, and the most cited reasons for the experiences ranged from fun to treating medical symptoms, personal growth, and spiritual experiences. 46.7% of psilocybin users and 57.2% of ketamine users agreed or strongly agreed that the substances improved their mental health.
→ Dallas Express

More for science. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has released its 2026 research quotas for Schedule I substances, increasing allocations for psilocybin, psilocyn, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, and MDMC to “support manufacturing activities related to the increased level of research and clinical trials”. The largest jump is for MDMC, with its quota rising more than fivefold, from 5,200 grams in 2025 to 30,000 grams in 2026.
→ Federal Register

Ego death, live. Longevity influencer Bryan Johnson livestreamed his 5.5-hour high-dose psilocybin trip, turning an experience typically associated with ego dissolution into an ego spectacle, complete with celebrity guests and 1.1 million online viewers.
→ WIRED

The latest updates on the regulation front. The past two weeks have seen most policy shifts happening in:

• New Jersey – Legislators advanced Bill A3852 to the State Assembly’s appropriations committee, moving one step closer to legalizing therapeutic access. → New Jersey Monitor

• Louisiana – The legislature could soon be deciding whether to fund research on psychedelics and expand access to a range of drugs, including psilocybin and MDMA. → Nola.com 

• New Mexico – The State’s Psilocybin Advisory Board held its first public meeting. →NM Health

In brief

Sober with a twist. RFK Jr. allegedly admitted to smoking the psychedelic DMT, despite his public claims of sobriety. → New York Times

Beats of the Beat Generation. Radio X lists the best psychedelic rock albums of the 1960s. → Radio X

Sleep Awake (if you dare). A new psychedelic horror game explores the unsettling space between sleep and death. → Game Tyrant

A call to action. Researchers urge the field to look beyond the well-established 5-HT2A receptor to better understand how psychedelics work. → Nature Mental Health

From the fungus to the cross. Philosopher Justin Smith-Ruiu began to experiment with psilocybin in 2020 and, not long after, found himself attending Catholic mass every week. → Compact

Chasing the opportunity. Former Democratic senator Kyrsten Sinema sees a chance in the Trump administration to advance her push for psychedelics.  → Politico

A growing market. A report projects that the global market for psychedelic drugs will grow from its current $3.5 billion to $10.5 billion by 2034.  → InsightAce Analytic

If you have a little more time

The boring future of psychedelics. Psychedelic therapies face a unique set of challenges: they’re difficult to patent, tricky to test in clinical trials, and require intensive human support to guide patients. These hurdles have led a growing number of companies to explore neuroplastogens, a new class of drugs designed to replicate the brain-changing benefits of psychedelics without the hallucinations. These patentable, non-hallucinogenic molecules may prove more attractive to investors, easier to study in double-blind trials, and far simpler to administer in clinical settings, says economist Sandy Brian Hager.
→ The Conversation