This week’s newsletter covers new research on CBD as a potential therapeutic for social stress, the political takeover of a major MDMA company, the race to commercialize psychedelics, safety concerns at an ayahuasca retreat, plant medicine and eating disorders, and the cannabis industry’s plastic waste problem.
Noteworthy Read
How Elon Musk’s billionaire DOGE lieutenant took over the US’s biggest MDMA company (The Guardian)
Antonio Gracias, a longtime Musk ally and early DOGE evangelist, is now a key figure behind Lykos Therapeutics — the MDMA-for-PTSD company formerly known as MAPS PBC.
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Who will own the ‘God Molecule’? (New York Magazine)
Pharmaceutical companies are racing to patent and commercialize 5-MeO-DMT — a powerful psychedelic once confined to underground spiritual circles — as a new psychiatric drug.
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More Noteworthy Reading
Serious harms and a death at the Ayahuasca Foundation (Ecstatic Integration)
An in-depth investigative report on abuse, medical negligence, and the death of a participant during a retreat run by the Ayahuasca Foundation in Peru.
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Cannabis and psychedelics ease eating disorders (Brighter Side)
A global survey of over 500 people suggests that cannabis and psychedelics have helped some individuals reduce harmful behaviors and improve their relationship with food.
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Research Round-Up
Pot has a waste problem: Here are some budding solutions (Newsweek)
With millions of plastic tubes and containers discarded by the cannabis industry, innovators are now seeking sustainable packaging options and circular solutions.
A heartfelt thank you to all of the CBD brands whose generous support allows Project CBD to keep shining a light on the plant medicine research and journalism that matters most. We couldn’t do this work without you.
