Shroom for debate: Thailand’s weed entrepreneurs on the future of magic mushrooms

Patriotic mushrooms fruit vividly in the dreams of Midjourney AI.

By Todd Ruiz

Apr 10, 2023 | Bangkok 

Thirty-seven months before weed was decriminalized in Thailand, advocacy group Highland opened its first cafe in Bangkok’s Lat Phrao area. It looked a lot like a dispensary, but no weed was sold. Not until the morning of June 9, 2022, when a long line gathered to shop from its well-stocked shelves.

Highland was among the handful of those who interpreted the smoke signals correctly to capitalize on the sudden full decriminalization of cannabis. Now, with Thailand setting psilocybin down the same path toward legitimacy, do those same early entrepreneurs see a fungus fortune to be made?

“The mushroom market is there. We know it,” said Highland’s Arun “Max” Avery, who was slinging buds behind its counter that first day. “For it to be out in the public for recreational use … it’s possible, but from what I see and have come to believe, that’s going to be pretty far-fetched.”

He and others noted that magic mushrooms and cannabis are very different substances with wildly divergent effects. But that’s not to say he wouldn’t love to see it come to pass.

While dutifully noting that it remains a tightly controlled substance with serious legal penalties, Arun said he has been imagining a future where people could enjoy low doses of psilocybin, aka microdosing, together in a social setting.

“If you think about it, mushrooms, especially when it comes to microdosing, are actually quite fun,” he said. “It’s very enjoyable. Even newcomers, when they first try it, they actually enjoy it very much.”

But while cannabis poses few health or behavioral risks, Arun worries that the psychedelic state brought on by shrooms could be more problematic. “We will get some party-goer taking too much and going crazy in a public place, and that will backfire,” he said.

Last June, distributor Bloom moved swiftly to the cannabis market using the partnerships and channels it had originally built to bring legally compliant CBD products to the market.

“We didn’t think it would actually happen. We didn’t plan for THC,” Bloom’s John Bailey said.

But magic mushrooms are likely to be the next market, he said, in as few as another three or four years.

“I’m going to look at psilocybin a bit more. Mushrooms in general,” Bailey said. “I think that might be the next wave. Australia may legalize it too.”

Local representatives from the Narcotics Control Board meet with Khon Kaen University officials on Sept. 1, 2022, to discuss plans to grow and research magic mushrooms there. Photo: Khon Kaen University

However Bailey and others interviewed for this story agreed that legal psilocybin would not resemble legal weed. The streets wouldn’t fill with fungus dispensaries displaying jars of caps and spores.

Instead, they imagine a stringently regulated system of supplements and wellness products, as well as therapeutic, clinical applications. Closer to what the public expected legal weed to become.

“I don’t see it as recreational,” Bailey added. “I think they might make it easier to buy and sell it, but they’re going to regulate it.”

Before weed became legal on June 9, and long before OG Retail responded by opening six large dispensaries such as Wonderland and Kush House, the Pantera Group subsidiary had also been investing in a CBD operation.

CEO Benjamin Baskins said in a recent interview that psilocybin “would be a consideration,” though not one that had seriously considered so far.

“It’s a completely different product, but you never know where things are going,” he said, noting that their partnerships to develop wellness facilities and hotels created a lot of potential opportunities.
Hopes spore

Though facing political uncertainty following the backdoor decriminalization of cannabis last year, Thailand remains at the fore, certainly in Asia, of recognizing and evaluating psilocybin’s benefits at a time psychedelics are on the verge of going mainstream.

And it’s happening fast.

The world’s largest pharmaceutical companies are embracing psychedelics such as shrooms, ketamine, ecstasy, LSD and more to develop treatments for maladies including PTSD, depression, and addiction in a number of advanced trials. Prestigious medical journals have published studies validating the use of such drugs for psychological treatment.

“Psychedelic compounds like LSD, Ecstasy and psilocybin mushrooms have shown significant promise in treating a range of mental health disorders, with participants in clinical studies often describing tremendous progress taming the demons of post-traumatic stress disorder, or finding unexpected calm and clarity as they face a terminal illness,” the New York Times declared one year ago in the wake of a major study published in the journal Nature Medicine.

In January, Oregon became the first U.S. state where magic mushrooms could be consumed legally by adults. In February, Australia became the first place to formally recognize medical uses for psychedelics. Thailand is well along the way to doing the same.

Local representatives from the Narcotics Control Board meet with Khon Kaen University officials on Sept. 1, 2022, to discuss plans to grow and research magic mushrooms there. Photo: Khon Kaen University

It was eight months ago that Thailand’s Narcotics Control Board announced that Khon Kaen University would cultivate magic mushrooms for study at a number of universities. The results of that research would be used to consider delisting psilocybin as a controlled substance, much as it did with cannabis in February 2022, setting the drug on the path to decriminalization.

Less than two years ago, both kratom and cannabis were Category 5 narcotics, along with psilocybin.

In announcing the news, Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin sounded similar themes to further liberalizing drug laws. He said psilocybin presented great economic opportunities for the agricultural industry.

That liberalization of Thai drug laws can be traced back to direct military rule in June 2016 with a bombshell speech by Somsak’s predecessor, junta Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya.

Gen. Paiboon, a former deputy supreme military commander, had just returned from a U.N. conference on narcotics in New York, where he got a contact high from advocates of common-sense drug policies.

In short order, he declared the war on drugs a failed mistake and said Thailand would decriminalize drugs, help rather than punish drug users, who would be released from its overcrowded prisons. His aggressive timeline – Paiboon said the rules for methamphetamines and cannabis would be relaxed within months – did not come to pass, however.

It wasn’t until the final days of 2018 that medical weed was legalized, and after that it was kratom’s turn in late 2021, 10 months before weed would be fully decriminalized in June 2022.

While Paiboon did not say much about psilocybin, fast forward to this past August when his successor, Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin, set shrooms on the same track as weed, announcing that the laws would be eased for the sake of research into its medical uses.

Once again, the highest authorities displayed a surprising openness to rethinking tradition in light of the broader reappraisal of psychedelics going on around the world.

For now, eyes are on May 15 – Election Day – to see which way the political winds blow. While opposition factions have assailed the military-backed government’s pro-weed policies, there are doubts that they make good on threats to pull the carpet out from under Thailand’s explosive new cash engine. Nonetheless, some are trying to turn the general election into a mandate on the ruling government’s cannabis policy.

And, for now, while it is not hard to find magic mushrooms for sale online or various islands, using them is still punishable by a year behind bars. Selling shrooms can mean 15 years in jail.

DC ballot initiative could decriminalize psychedelic plants, like magic mushrooms

This Election Day, voters in Washington, D.C., will consider a measure that, if approved, would effectively decriminalize the use of psychedelic plants, like ayahuasca and psilocybin mushrooms, more commonly known as magic mushrooms.

© Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images, FILE A D.C. resident who grows psilocybin mushrooms, including these Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, poses in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2020.

Initiative 81, or the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020, would make the investigation and arrest for adult cultivation and use of psychedelic plants one of the lowest law enforcement priorities for the district's police department. It also contains a non-binding clause asking the D.C. attorney general to not prosecute anyone charged with an offense related to the substances.

Melissa Lavasani, a mom and D.C. government employee who proposed the initiative, called the measure a "small step" toward ending the war on drugs.

"We believe that there is a growing body of research around these substances, and there's a lot of interest in the research community," she said. "And our laws should adapt to what the research has indicated."MORE: Activists seek to decriminalize 'magic' mushrooms in DC

The district would follow Denver, Oakland, California and Santa Clara, California, in decriminalizing some or all psychedelic plants. Voters in Oregon are also considering a similar measure, which would set up treatment facilities using psilocybin mushrooms, but would not decriminalize them.

Lavasani saw the success of the decriminalization campaign in Denver and began advocating for a similar measure in the district. She knew the therapeutic value of psychedelics personally after using psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca to treat severe postpartum depression.

© Denver Post via Getty Images, FILE A vendor poses with harvested psilocybin mushrooms, May 19, 2019 in Denver.

"I had zero experience with depression or any real mental health issues," Lavasani said. "I've had a pretty regular, good life. And I had never been in that situation before and I was struggling terribly."

At the time, she sought a more natural way of treating depression (through cognitive behavioral therapy and other methods), but nothing was working for her.

"At that point in time, I was contemplating suicide because I was so miserable, and my family was really suffering with me," she said. "I didn't really see a way out."

Then, Lavasani came across an interview with mycologist Paul Stamets on the Joe Rogan podcast, in which Stamets talked about the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms. After doing her own research, Lavasani decided to try them.MORE: How conservative South Dakota could be at the forefront of legalizing marijuana

"I would take it in the morning and within a matter of days I started to get my humanity back," she said. "I started to feel like I used to. I was engaging with my children and I was engaging with my husband again, and the whole world lit up for me."

But despite how much her mental health improved, the fear of being arrested for using the Schedule I drug persisted.

"It's a frightening thought to work your entire life for your career and to build your family and to know that it can all be wiped out with one person finding this information out and reporting it to the police," Lavasani said. "I really could have lost everything in my life, just as I was getting my life back."MORE: Denver is 1st to decriminalize 'magic mushrooms'

Matthew Johnson, the associate director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, told ABC News that while the FDA has not approved psychedelics for therapeutic use, there is "very strong evidence" they have anti-addiction effects and can treat depression and anxiety in some patients.

"The remarkable thing, which really is the paradigm shifting thing in psychiatry, is that you can have one session where we've seen behavioral effects over a year afterwards," he said.

Johnson said that the biggest risks associated with psychedelics are susceptibility to psychotic disorders and people panicking in response to "bad trips," which he refers to as challenging experiences.

These are generally short term risks, Johnson said, and they can be mitigated in a clinical setting. Because it only takes a few sessions for patients to see effects, clinicians can monitor a person's reaction more closely than they could with daily psychiatric medication.

The most vocal opponent of the initiative is Republican Maryland Rep. Andy Harris. At a House Appropriations Committee mark-up in July, he introduced, but later withdrew, an amendment that would restrict Initiative 81 to medical use only.

"This is a bald-faced attempt to just make these very serious, very potent, very dangerous -- both short-term and long-term -- hallucinogenic drugs broadly available," he told the New York Post in July.MORE: Oakland becomes 2nd US city to decriminalize magic mushrooms

"Public health has to be maintained," he added. "We know, of course, once you make it a very low enforcement level and encourage prosecutors not to prosecute it, what would prevent people from using hallucinogens, getting behind the wheel of a car and killing people?"

Lavasani responded to Harris' criticism by noting that nothing in the district's laws about driving under the influence would change.

"This isn't really like a party drug that we're talking about. I think in his mind he's thinking, 'Well, people are going to be out eating mushrooms and partying,' but what we're talking about is the therapeutic use of them," she said. "We're talking about people with really serious issues that they haven't been able to find solutions for that this can help."

Rhode Island Democrats seek to decriminalize 'magic mushrooms'

Psilocybin has been floated as potential treatment for mental health disorders

By Chris Pandolfo | Fox News.

Published March 2, 2023 

A pair of Rhode Island Democrats have introduced legislation that would decriminalize the use of so-called "magic mushrooms" in the state.

State Rep. Brandon Potter and state Sen. Meghan Kallman are sponsoring legislation that would legalize the personal use of psilocybin, or psychedelic mushrooms. Contingent on approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), their bill would also permit psilocybin to be used to treat chronic mental health disorders.

"Veterans and many others in our community are struggling with chronic PTSD, depression and other mental health disorders that can be totally debilitating," Potter said in a statement. "We should give them the freedom to try every tool available and not criminalize a natural, effective remedy."

US VETERANS WITH PTSD TURN TO PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS OVERSEAS AS VA FRUSTRATION GROWS

Rhode Island Democrat lawmakers have introduced legislation that would decriminalize the personal use of "magic mushrooms." (AP Photo / Peter Dejong / File)

The bill, H 5923, would permit Rhode Island residents to carry up to one ounce of psilocybin or grow mushrooms containing psilocybin at home for personal use. It would also require the Rhode Island Department of Health to craft regulations guiding the use of psilocybin as a medical treatment if the FDA approves such treatments.

Mushrooms containing psilocybin are naturally found in Mexico, Central America and the United States. They are available fresh or dried and are ingested orally or brewed as tea to produce hallucinations, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

ILLINOIS LAWMAKER SEEKS LEGALIZATION OF PSYCHEDELIC MUSHROOMS



Some studies have suggested that psychedelic mushrooms could be used as an effective treatment for certain mental health disorders. (AP Photo / Richard Vogel / File)

Psilocybin is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, along with harmful, addictive substances including fentanyl and cocaine. Rhode Island state law puts magic mushrooms in the same category as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

The drug was criminalized in the 1970s when President Richard Nixon launched the "war on drugs," preventing researchers from exploring its value as a potential medication.

US STATES CONSIDERING THE LEGALIZATION OF PSYCHEDELIC MUSHROOMS FOR THERAPEUTIC USE


Colorado became the second state, after Oregon, to legalize psychedelic mushrooms. Could Rhode Island be the third? (AP Photo / iStock)

However, the FDA designated psilocybin as a "breakthrough therapy" in 2017 after research suggested the hallucinogen is safe when administered in controlled settings and could be used to relieve symptoms of depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and other mental health disorders. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2022 found a single 25-milligram dose of the drug reduced treatment-resistant depression over a period of three weeks, though it did have side effects including headaches, nausea and dizziness.

Advocates say psilocybin should not be classified as a Schedule I drug along with fentanyl or heroin, which are deadly drugs.

"Psilocybin is not addictive. It’s naturally occurring and people have been using it recreationally and medicinally for thousands of years," Kallman said. "It is only illegal because, over 50 years ago, President Nixon associated it with his political opponents. It’s time to undo that mistake and give our neighbors struggling with chronic mental illness, and all Rhode Islanders, the freedom to use psilocybin responsibly."

Why Veterans are Lining Up for Legalized Magic Mushrooms

FIGHTING NEW BATTLES

In January, Oregon will be the first state to offer controlled use of magic mushrooms. Veterans forced overseas for psilocybin therapy say they will be among the first in line.

Deborah Bloom
Published Dec. 30, 2022

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty

In 1995, Amanda joined the U.S. Air Force when at the height of her confidence. Originally a shy kid from central Oregon, she’d spent most of her adolescence building up her self-esteem, performing in pageants, and high school theater, choir and debate. At 20 years old, she marched into her local recruitment office to enlist in the military, ready to travel the world and build self-discipline.

By the time her service was over in 2000, her confidence had “unraveled,” as she describes it. Amanda, whose last name is being withheld for privacy concerns, was sexually assaulted by a fellow military member a year into her enlistment. Her mental health suffered, and after years of tumultuous relationships with other service members, she was honorably discharged close to four-months pregnant, with severe symptoms of undiagnosed post traumatic stress disorder.

She would eventually return to Oregon angry, irritable, twice-divorced, and with a new infant. More than 20 years later, Amanda is working as a grief counselor in Medford and has most of her PTSD symptoms under control.

After taking a class on psychedelic therapy, she became interested in trying psilocybin, the hallucinogenic substance derived from magic mushrooms, to try rooting out some of the more deeply embedded trauma. “I really believe that psilocybin therapy can reconnect or even change those neural pathways, because I need a reset,” Amanda said in an interview with The Daily Beast. “I’ve done all the hard work, but I don’t know how to fix that part and I really need to.”

Amanda will soon get her chance. In January, Oregon will become the first state to offer controlled use of magic mushrooms, thanks to Measure 109, which voters passed in 2020 and allows for the legal manufacture, delivery and administration of psilocybin in licensed facilities. The state will begin processing licenses in January, and organizations that connect veterans to psychedelics will be watching the rollout closely, hopeful the Beaver State will be home to future psilocybin retreats, where new cohorts of facilitators can be trained, and where many of those trained facilitators are likely to be veterans themselves.

The Heroic Hearts Program currently offers ayahuasca retreats in Mexico and Peru to veterans with a history of military combat and/or sexual assault. Founder Jesse Gould said he hopes to set up an outpost in Oregon within the next year. An Army veteran who credits ayahuasca for helping him heal from PTSD, Gould envisions a pilot program where veterans are treated with magic mushrooms in a group therapy setting led by veterans who’ve done their own healing through psychedelics.

“We’re trying to create this self-supporting ecosystem to keep costs down, make it scalable and take the burden off of therapists,” Gould said. “The veterans can help support their brothers and sisters who they relate to. It’s training communities to heal themselves.”

Jesse Gould is the founder of the Heroic Heroes Project.
Jeremy Lock

The Synaptic Institute, an organization that trains new psychedelic facilitators, recently announced plans to earmark scholarship funds for veterans entering the training program, which can cost upwards of $8,000. Veterans of War, a program that offers fellowships to service members for psychedelic retreats in Peru and Costa Rica, intends to train veterans as facilitators at a future service site in Oregon. The Mission Within, which runs psychedelic retreats in Mexico for special operations veterans, also plans to establish a training program in Oregon for service members.

“A lot of people, when they go through a retreat and experience healing through psychedelics, they want to give back and they want to get involved,” said TMW founder Dr. Martin Polanco.

Though there are numerous studies proving the efficacy of psilocybin when treating symptoms of depression, addiction, and PTSD, the Food and Drug Administration still classifies psilocybin as a Schedule 1 Drug—of no known medical value. Oregon and Colorado have both legalized the controlled use of psilocybin, with Colorado’s program scheduled to roll out in 2024. Other cities, such as San Francisco and Washington DC have passed ballot measures to decriminalize the drug.

Veterans looking to try magic mushrooms without breaking U.S. law must travel to either Latin America or the Caribbean to find a retreat. Armand Lecomte, a marine corps veteran who claims psychedelic-assisted treatment saved his life, helps orchestrate psilocybin retreats in Jamaica several times a year for MycoMeditations. A Portland resident, Lecomte urged state and local leaders to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin. He said he plans to get trained as a licensed facilitator in Oregon.

“It’s ridiculous these veterans have to leave the country they served to get the healing they need,” he said. To date, 30 men in Lecomte’s battalion have died by suicide. “If some of my brethren had access to this, they’d still be here.”

Despite 56 percent of Oregonians voting in favor of Measure 109 in 2020, a majority of counties voted this November to opt-out of its implementation. Back in July, while commissioners in rural Deschutes County considered adding a ban on legal psilocybin to the ballot, retired Navy SEAL Chad Kuske urged local leaders to consider veterans.

After 12 combat deployments and years of suffering from PTSD, depression and anxiety, Kuske sought psilocybin therapy in Mexico. “It radically changed my life,” he said at the meeting. “If you’re a veteran struggling with a traumatic brain injury or PTSD, going to a foreign country can be a monumentally terrifying thing to do,” Kuske told county commissioners. “Especially when you're going to embark on a healing journey.”

Once voters passed Measure 109, Rose Moulin-Franco moved to Ashland, Ore. to pursue her dream of opening up a wellness center, where she hopes to offer psilocybin treatment in addition to floatation tank therapy, sound baths, group meditation, and other forms of treatment. A military veteran who served during the Vietnam Era, she began exploring the use of psychedelics following the death of her husband, who had suffered “horrendous PTSD” after three tours in Vietnam.

Moulin-Franco found hallucinogens helpful in letting go of past trauma. She, like Amanda in Medford, was living with the trauma of being sexually assaulted in the military. (Almost one in every four women in the military face sexual assault while in the service, according to a New York Times analysis.) After her husband’s death, Moulin-France became a trauma specialist.

Shrooms Fight Depression Better Than Normal Meds, Study Says
HAVE A NICE TRIP
Tony Ho Tran


Until recently, she’d been eyeing a tract of remote land in Jackson County as a potential wellness center site. But the county commissioners voted to restrict psilocybin service centers from rural parts of the county and put the kibosh on that plan. Moulin-Franco is frustrated, but is determined to build a service center wherever she’s allowed. “My county wants me to treat veterans with PTSD and TBIs alongside noisy freeways? Fine, but it’s not ideal,” Moulin-Franco said.

Describing herself as traditional, veteran airwoman Amanda says she hopes to one day be able to legally try psilocybin in a safe, clinical setting. She doesn’t think she’d feel comfortable finding magic mushrooms on the black market, Amanda said. And the idea of traveling outside the country for the treatment is a no-go.

“I didn’t do drugs growing up. I don’t like doing stuff that’s illegal,” Amanda said. She said she wants to try magic mushrooms with a trained, credentialed facilitator she knows and trusts.“I want to do it in a way that is clinically appropriate and evidence based. Otherwise, I won’t have much belief in it.”

Bill to legalize ‘magic mushrooms’ in N.J. rolled out by Senate president

2022/6/30 
© Advance Local Media LLC.

Senate President Nicholas Scutari unveiled a new bill on June 23 that would legalize the use of psilocybin, aka "Magic Mushrooms," to treat mental health disorders. 

Photo by Emily Bingham | MLive.com

A year and a half ago, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law authored by state Sen. Nicholas Scutari that reduced the penalties for possession of psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms, in New Jersey.

Now Scutari, who has since become Senate president, wants to legalize the psychedelic drug for adults to treat depression, anxiety, and other disorders in the state.

As the state Legislature was wrapping up details of a new $50.6 billion state budget last week, Scutari, D-Union, introduced a new bill that would set up a legal, regulatory, and therapeutic framework for using psilocybin to treat mental health in the state.

The bill, S2934, called the Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Act, would make it legal for New Jersey adults 21 and older to “possess, store, use, ingest, inhale, process, transport, deliver without consideration, or distribute without consideration, four grams or less of psilocybin.”

Adults would also be allowed to grow, cultivate and process plants or fungi capable of producing psilocybin for personal use as long as they keep it away from minors.

“This bill is a recognition of evolving science related to psilocybin and its medical uses related to mental health, and if science can provide relief in any fashion with this natural substance under a controlled environment then we should encourage this science,” Scutari told NJ Advance Media.

Some psychedelic drug experts said this is a progressive proposal that takes psilocybin policy reform to the next level.

An insert in the New Jersey bill that allows home grow of psilocybin mushrooms is drawing comparisons to cannabis.

Only licensed operators can grow cannabis in New Jersey — even for medical use — which puts the psilocybin bill ahead on that front.

“I think it’s a very good idea that you can cultivate mushrooms at home, and I support cultivation of cannabis at home,” Noah Potter, principle at Legal Market Strategies, a New York psychedelic sector consulting firm. “It doesn’t make any sense to include criminal prohibitions when cultivating a naturally occurring substance.”

Potter said there was a contradiction in permitting psilocybin cultivation from home and not cannabis.

“The question is, `What’s the rationale — other than trying to protect the for-profit commercial sector?” said Potter.

It’s a question others say could surface as the mushrooms bill advances through Trenton — much like the massive cannabis bill that Gov. Phil Murphy signed in February 2021 after a five year journey. New Jersey launched legal weed on April 21. So far 16 locations are selling adult weed with at least three more dispensaries pending: Verano in Neptune, Ascend in Montclair and TerrAscend in Lodi.

“This is an extremely progressive bill,” said Potter. “It reflects the evolution of state level psilocybin bills since 2019.”

Dan McKillop, a partner at Scarinci Hollenbeck who co-chairs the Psychedelics Law Subcommittee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, noted the connection between legalizing marijuana and legalizing magic mushrooms.

“Psychedelic law is where cannabis was a half dozen years ago, following an inevitable trend into the mainstream legal use,” said McKillop. “It is interesting the way it’s (Scutari’s bill) set up. There are a lot of similarities to the way the adult use cannabis market is being constructed and is now being implemented.”

McKillop also noted the eye-catching home grow provision.

“This bill not only decriminalizes and expunges past offenses involving psilocybin, but it also actually at least opens the door towards a home grow aspect,” said McKillop. “It goes beyond the cannabis bill and the cannabis program.”

Scutari, the chief architect of both the state’s medical marijuana and adult recreational adult cannabis laws, inserted an amendment to reduce penalties on mushrooms to the marijuana decriminalization measure in late 2020. But backers decided to sever the psilocybin legislation from the marijuana legalization measure and make them two separate bills. The bills passed in both chambers by huge majorities.

Murphy signed the mushroom bill into law on Feb. 4, 2021, that reclassified possession of psilocybin as a disorderly-persons offense from a third-degree crime in New Jersey. With that law, possession of a small amount subjects individuals to a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to six months in prison.

Psilocybin policy reform started in state legislatures in 2019 and gained steam as the psychedelic earned some credibility.

The federal Food and Drug Administration designated the psychedelic as a “breakthrough therapy” for treating major depressive disorder based on preliminary clinical trials.

Oregon voters approved a historic ballot initiative in 2020 to make psilocybin legal for adults. A bill in the California State Legislature would legalize psilocybin possession and distribution in specified amounts.

Scutari’s new psilocybin measure calls for the development of an 18-member Psilocybin Behavioral Health Access and Services Advisory Board within the New Jersey Department of Health. The board would “provide advice and recommendations to the (Department of Health), upon request or upon the board’s own initiative, concerning the implementation of the bill,” according to the legislation.

“It’s a bold and needed step in the right direction; albeit somewhat confusing considering we still have not addressed cannabis home grow and re-sentencing for the associated drug manufacturing charge,” said attorney Beau Huch, former senior aide to Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, who worked on both medical and recreational cannabis bills.

But McKillop is predicting the bill could start a new round of dialogue.

“If the home grow provision of the psilocybin bill survives the legislative process and is actually enacted into law, folks who are arguing for home grown cannabis would have a stronger argument,” said McKillop.

The 50-page bill was referred to the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, which will likely take it up in the fall.

It would need to be passed by the Democratic-controlled state Senate and Assembly and signed by Murphy, a Democrat, to become law.

Suzette Parmley may be reached at sparmley@njadvancemedia.com or follow her on Twitter: @SuzParmley

Congress debates decriminalising magic mushrooms in DC as representative claims it would make area ‘drug capital’

Activists have focused on health benefits of natural hallucinogens
James Crump @thejamescrump


Representatives on the House Appropriations Committee have debated the status of magic mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs in Washington, DC, after activists called for them to be decriminalised in a petition.

Last week, activists submitted a petition with 36,000 signatures to the Board of Elections, that they say is enough to get the decriminalisation of natural hallucinogens in the district on the ballot in November, according to the Associated Press.

If the motion is successful, then it would follow similar laws passed in Denver, Colorado, and California cities Oakland and Santa Cruz, where natural hallucinogens, have been decriminalised in recent years.

Melissa Lavasani, who proposed the initiative and claimed using the mushrooms helped treat her postpartum depression, said the activists are focused on promoting the therapeutic and medical benefits of the drugs.

“DC could really lead the way on this,” Ms Lavasani told the AP. “You shouldn’t bear the repercussions of the drug war while you are healing yourself.”

However, Maryland representative Andy Harris, proposed forbidding a voter initiative on the policy on Wednesday, and argued that “we certainly — I would hope — don’t want to be known as the drug capital of the world.”

Watch more

Magic mushroom compound ‘has anti-anxiety effect lasting years’

His amendment, which also called for the use of psychedelics to be still be banned without a doctors recommendation, was backed by other Republicans, who suggested that decriminalising the drugs would be dangerous, according to the New York Post.

“We all can agree that policies that increase the availability of psychedelic drugs in the nation’s capital — that’s dangerous,” said Republican representative Tom Graves.


“As the nation’s capital, the District of Columbia, it should be a place where Americans come to see their government at work, for history and to go to a Braves-Nats game. It shouldn’t be a destination for illegal drugs,” he added.

However, Democrats on the committee criticised Mr Harris’ proposed amendment and said that the vote is a choice for the public, not politicians.

“If the district’s residents want to make mushrooms a lower priority and focus limited law enforcement resources on other issues, that is their prerogative,” Illinois congressman Mike Quigley argued.

The health benefits of using natural hallucinogens has long been debated, but a study at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine earlier this year found that a single dose of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, could have long-term positive effects.

The study into psilocybin, found that in conjunction with psychotherapy, cancer patients experienced improvements in emotional and existential distress five years after they had been administered just one dose.


“Participants overwhelmingly (71 to 100 per cent) attributed positive life changes to the psilocybin-assisted therapy experience and rated it among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives,” the researchers said of the study from 2016 to 2020.
Watch more

Magic mushrooms and LSD can give prolonged mood boost, study finds

Mr Harris later withdraw his amendment, but released a statement where he said he would revisit it if the motion is on the ballot in November.

“This is a new issue to the committee,” he said. “Between now and the meeting of the conference committee this fall, the issue of whether this will be on the ballot will be resolved.

“Fortunately, in that time, members will also have time to learn more about this complicated medical issue.”

MORE ABOUT:
MAGIC MUSHROOMS | PSILOCYBIN |

He was the Canadian head of the world’s largest pot company. His next big bet? A rare fungus worth $10,000 a kilogram – Toronto Star

 December 18, 2021 

It’s worth tens of thousands of dollars per kilogram, grows out of the corpse of a caterpillar, and for centuries has only been found in the heights of the Himalayas.

Now Bruce Linton, the former CEO of cannabis giant Canopy Growth, has his eye on this fungus, and it may play a key role in his next massive money-maker.

Linton is a founding investor in Mood Science, a young company that’s researching the properties of cordyceps sinensis and other fungi with potential health benefits, dubbed “functional mushrooms.”

Mood Science is launching a line of drops, gummies and more using cordyceps, which the company claims can help with stress, energy and focus. And in the background, Mood Science will also conduct research into psilocybin, or “magic mushrooms,” which some believe are the future of mental health treatment.

Sitting at a table in Strange Love, a white-marbled financial-district cafe run by Mood Science’s sister company that boasts functional-mushroom-boosted coffee, Linton said he was struck not only by the monetary value of cordyceps sinensis, but also by its purported health benefits.

Functional mushrooms are not psychoactive like their magical cousins. Though they have been used in traditional medicine for centuries, research is still thin on their purported health benefits. But many companies in the psychedelics industry are getting into functional mushrooms.

Linton has had his eye on psychedelics for a while. After his departure from Canopy Growth, he told The Canadian Press he saw “untapped value” in the psychedelics industry.

Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound produced by more than 200 species of fungi, is a long game, Linton told the Star, whereas functional mushrooms can go to market right now because they aren’t psychoactive.

“(Psilocybin will) become increasingly more legal in more places,” he predicts. “So what you want to be able to do is start here in the functional, build your science, your brand, your competencies, and then when you can, you smash them all together.”

Linton built Canopy Growth into the world’s largest cannabis company. But can he do the same with mushrooms? There are a lot more unknowns in the mushroom world, from tight regulations on psychoactive mushrooms, to a lack of scientific research on the growing market of functional mushrooms and fungi including cordyceps sinensis.

The functional and the fun

Functional mushrooms and fungi are finding their way into everything these days, including coffee, skin care, supplements and gummies. These mushrooms are often marketed in North America with a variety of health claims; cordyceps, for example, is often advertised as an energy booster or “Himalayan Viagra.”

Vague promises made about functional mushrooms include improving mental performance, boosting immunity and improving quality of sleep. Comedian turned podcaster Joe Rogan recommends coffee mixed with lion’s mane and chaga. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has reportedly used skin care made with reishi.

Many of these functional fungi have been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years in countries including China, Russia and Japan to treat a variety of ailments.

Psychoactive mushrooms, on the other hand, have been illegal in Canada since 1974, but there’s a growing body of research into their potential use in psychotherapy, including in end-of-life care.

But while functional mushrooms and their magic cousins have very different effects, it’s not uncommon for a psychedelics company to get into the functional — a.k.a. legal — mushroom business, said Simeon Schnapper, general partner at JLS Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in psychedelics and technology.

For example, Silo Wellness, a Canadian-based company that offers psychedelic mushroom retreats (in Jamaica, where it’s legal), recently partnered with the late Bob Marley’s family to release a line of functional mushroom products.

The idea is to establish a brand and a revenue stream for the company, with an eye to a more colourful future, said Schnapper.

Linton was drawn in by the sleek branding of Strange Love, whose financial district location has all the trappings of a trendy cafe: tall windows, white marble, pink and green branding, a neon sign reading “All you need is love.”

He likened the Strange Love cafes to Tokyo Smoke, acquired by Canopy Growth in 2018. Tokyo Smoke started out as a cannabis lifestyle brand, said Linton, gaining market awareness before it was licensed to actually sell cannabis.

Around the same time, Canopy Growth bought ebbu, a Colorado-based hemp research company, adding to the firm’s scientific strength, said Linton. He sees the relationship between Strange Love and Mood Science in the same way, which influenced his decision to invest.

Mood Science founder David Tran was a founding investor in Strange Love, which was started by Chris Nguyen in 2016 and now has three locations in Toronto.

Both Nguyen and Tran come from a sales and marketing background, with Tran most recently in the fashion industry. Neither has a background in science. Strange Love also has a naturopathic doctor on its team.

Tran founded Mood Science during the COVID-19 pandemic after integrating functional mushrooms into his health regimen. He wants Mood Science to be “the Tesla of adaptogens,” and is betting on huge growth in the use of functional fungi in the wellness community.

“I think what we’re doing is really a reaction to the growing trend in the market,” he said. “Consumers want to go more natural, holistic, with their wellness, and they want to get away from pharmaceuticals.”

This isn’t Linton’s first foray into fungi; he is on the advisory board for psychedelics company Red Light Holland, and was on the board for psychedelics company Mind Medicine.

But now he’s interested in bringing the science of mushrooms into people’s everyday lives.

Mood Science is actively looking for acquisitions that can help bolster the science side of the company, said Linton, who is serving as an executive advisor for the company.

“The reason a winner occurs is because they make a number of rapid decisions that get their momentum and rate of acceleration going better than anyone else’s. And I think we’re in that spot,” he said.

‘People want to buy outcomes’

Cordyceps sinensis or Ophiocordyceps sinensis, also known as the caterpillar mushroom, is particularly difficult to cultivate. It grows in the wild, at high-altitude locations in the Himalayas where the parasitic fungus takes over the body of a ghost moth caterpillar, eventually killing it.

Cordyceps sinensis is used in traditional Chinese medicine to boost energy, endurance and libido, among other bodily functions.

The caterpillar mushroom has become increasingly rare due to overharvesting and the changing climate. Decades of attempts to artificially cultivate the growth from the host larvae, called a “fruit body,” were not successful. In recent years, however, researchers in China have succeeded in cultivating it in a lab.

But Mood Science is taking the insect out of the equation, cultivating the mycelia of cordyceps sinensis — like the roots of a plant without the plant itself — in liquid, in a lab in Colorado, Ohio. The result is Cordycell, Mood Science’s proprietary cordyceps sinensis compound. Tran calls it a “molecular mushroom.”

Mood Science is not the first to do this. There are a number of cordyceps sinensis products on the market today that use the mycelia, the vegetative part of a fungus, instead of the fruit body, which is easier to cultivate, said Nicholas Money, a mycologist at Miami University in Ohio.

So what makes Cordycell different from other products?

For one, Mood Science claims it has exclusive access to a strain of cordyceps sinensis belonging to Penn State University, a claim the Star was unable to verify via Penn State.

Tran said Cordycell has up to 15 times more sought-after derivatives of the fungi — such as cordycepin — than other products on the market today, and said Mood Science is able to “formulate clinically dosed products that help consumers with focus, energy, better sleep, and supporting stress.”

Money said while it’s certainly possible that Cordycell has significantly more cordycepin, further research is needed to determine cordycepin’s properties.

In fact, while Mood Science and many other natural wellness companies say mushrooms and fungi have medicinal properties, there is currently no widely accepted research to support these claims.

Mood Science bases its claims on the traditional uses of functional mushrooms, as well as some scientific studies done on their effects.

There’s more research on some mushrooms than others, but overall, the scientific community is still in the early days of exploring functional mushrooms, said Money; good research on the real effects of cordyceps sinensis and other functional fungi is “almost nonexistent” at this point, he said.

“I’m not saying that it doesn’t have these properties,” Money said. “But at the moment, this is faith-based medicine rather than medicine for which there’s a strong scientific rationale.”

Mood Science has partnered with an Ontario lab that specializes in testing cannabis and is currently developing protocols for testing Cordycell and other fungi to learn more about their properties.

Cordycell will officially launch in 2022, said Tran, in an array of products such as gummies and drops.

Mood Science is focusing on selling and researching functional mushrooms for now, but it also has two Health Canada licenses to conduct research into psilocybin.

“Not only are we gonna have the baseline infrastructure and all the fancy equipment to analyze the functional mushrooms, but we can analyze … psychedelic mushrooms,” said Tran. “We don’t know where the industry will go. But we think that knowledge will be valuable.”

One major claim made by the Mood Science team has yet to be proven, and that’s cordyceps sinensis’ potential use in treating mild depression, which as of yet has very little research to back it up.

Tran hinted that research into cordyceps sinensis’ potential mental health effects could begin in 2022.

Much like with cannabis, “people want to buy outcomes,” said Linton.

“I just think science is going to be a bigger part of this than people expect.”

This isn’t ‘Cannabis 3.0’

Science aside, Linton is betting money on the future success of the mushroom business, from the functional to the magical. But experts in emerging industries say it may be a long road ahead.

Michael Armstrong, an associate professor in the Goodman School of Business at Brock University, said while some parallels can be drawn between the cannabis industry and the psychoactive mushroom industry, there are also some key differences.

Far fewer Canadians use mushrooms recreationally, he said. So while he thinks it’s possible that psilocybin will become more widely available for medical purposes, Armstrong isn’t putting money on them being legalized recreationally.

“It’s not going to be cannabis 3.0,” he said.

But it’s not a bad idea for psychedelics companies to get into functional mushrooms, Armstrong said, so they can still get to know what customers are looking for, and build brand recognition.

It helps on the revenue side, too — Mood Science isn’t profitable right now, but Strange Love is, according to Tran.

Armstrong said the legalization of cannabis in Canada has made people more open-minded about other natural products, including previously banned substances.

“We legalized it and the world didn’t fall apart,” he said. “What else have we banned and have not studied?”

Schnapper agrees that magic mushrooms are on their way to being used in medical settings, but he also thinks that the growing popularity of microdosing magic mushrooms could signal a potential recreational market for psilocybin.

As for functional mushrooms, the more companies that get into this market, the more consumers will demand research to back up claims, said Schnapper.

The functional mushroom play has a lot of upfront costs and it’s a crowded market, but if it’s done well, it is a good revenue opportunity to help fund the science side of a business, he said.

Linton said Mood Science is moving fast, despite difficulty raising money in such an evolving market.

Nevertheless, the company has managed to attract investment, said Linton, including from Canadian fashion designer and entrepreneur Joe Mimran.

Linton said the legalization of cannabis has paved the way for psilocybin, which he predicts could be approved for medical use in five years or less, even if recreational psilocybin is a long way off.

Now, about a year into his investment, Linton is feeling good about his decision.

If he wasn’t, “I wouldn’t have done this interview,” said Linton.

HIP CAPITALI$M

What to know about the booming psychedelics industry, where companies are racing to turn magic mushrooms and MDMA into approved medicines

ylee@businessinsider.com (Yeji Jesse Lee) 

© jackfoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus Psilocybin mushrooms on a mossy log jackfoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus

A year ago, nonprofits and scrappy startups made up the psychedelics space.
Now, companies are raising millions from investors and going public on major exchanges.

Here's what you need to know about the booming psychedelics industry.

The psychedelics space is booming.

Over the few years, startups focused on turning psychedelic compounds into approved medicines have raised hundreds of millions of dollars from private investors and dozens have gone public.

Research on compounds like psilocybin, the active compound found in magic mushrooms, and MDMA is resurfacing after years of neglect amid the war on drugs.

As companies get closer to receiving approval from the Food and Drug Administration to bring their psychedelic treatments to patients, they've also been planning out their patent strategies to carve out their share of the market.

Here's a look at the booming psychedelics industry:

© Anitram/Shutterstock Psilocybin mushrooms Anitram/Shutterstock

VCs have deployed millions into psychedelics startups — here's what they say will happen next

Venture-capital investors have been at the center of the psychedelics boom. In early 2020, startups in the space said they were beginning to see signs that investor appetite was growing.

Then, we saw a flurry of activity, which one industry exec called a "psychedelic renaissance."

Soon, VC firms focused on psychedelics companies specifically began to emerge. Insider's list of the top 11 venture-capital investors in the space collectively deployed $139.8 million into startups in just a few short years.

They also gave us their predictions for the coming months. Some told us that biotech giants were looking to get into the space, while others predicted a boom in tech companies and clinics that would lay the groundwork for when medications come to market. We can also expect to see new compounds and a slew of startup failures, they said.

The top 3 VC firms told Insider about the green and red flags they see among startups in the space.

Read more:

Meet the top 11 VCs who've bet the most cash on turning MDMA and magic mushrooms into medical treatments

Top VCs in psychedelics say Big Pharma is knocking at the door — and it could fuel a wave of deals

Top VCs predict new compounds and impending failures will shape the future of the psychedelics industry

3 top VCs who've sunk the most cash into psychedelics say they prioritize data, deep expertise, and a clear market strategy when placing their bets

Mainstream startup accelerators are also eyeing the space

© Provided by Business Insider Woven Science and Founders Factory are teaming up to create an accelerator program for psychedelics startups. From left: Sahil Sachdev, head of venture design at Founders Factory; Nick von Christierson, CEO & Co-Founder at Woven Science; Shona Chalmers, venture design lead at Founders Factory; Damian Routley, chief commercial officer at Founders Factory Woven Science & Founders Factory

In a signal that the psychedelics space is becoming increasingly mainstream, startup accelerators known for investing in tech, retail, and healthcare are jumping into funding companies in the industry.

Famed startups accelerator Y Combinator is dabbling in psychedelics: over the past few years, the organization has accepted at least four startups into its program. Insider spoke to three of the startups to ask them about their experiences and the advice they would give to other founders looking to be accepted.

Founders Factory, an accelerator that's worked with companies like L'Oréal, Johnson & Johnson, and Marks & Spencer, is an example of another mainstream player that's eyeing the $100 billion industry.

The organization is partnering with psychedelics company Woven Science to to support a handful of early-stage startups focused on psychedelics-based mental-health treatments.

Read more:

The famed startup accelerator Y Combinator is wading into the $100 billion psychedelics industry. Here's how 3 psychedelics firms got into the program.

A startup accelerator that's worked with J&J and L'Oréal is getting into psychedelics as the industry goes mainstream

CEOs set the tone for the burgeoning space

© Provided by Business Insider ATAI Life Sciences CEO Florian Brand. ATAI Life Sciences

A slew of companies have entered the psychedelics industry, but a few stand out as frontrunners.

In February 2020, Atai CEO Florian Brand said that he was turning to pharma and biotech investors as the company looked to further grow. At the time, Atai was a private company that made headlines for winning over backers like Mike Novogratz and Peter Thiel.

In March of this year, the company raised a record $157 million, pushing psychedelics further into the mainstream.

Meanwhile, change has been bubbling on the state and local levels. In November, Oregon legalized psilocybin for therapeutic purposes — but that doesn't mean you'll see the giants rush in.

The biggest companies in the space told Insider they were focused on seeking approval for their experimental substances from the Food and Drug Administration. Atai founder Christian Angermayer said recently that while he personally supports decriminalization, he thinks legalizing psychedelics could create a backlash for the industry.

Compass Pathways CEO George Goldsmith told Insider soon after the company's IPO last fall that he expects treatments to come on the market by 2025. Atai's Brand said there are challenges to address between now and when treatments become widely available, such as scalability and reimbursement.

Read more:

The CEO of a $1.2 billion psychedelics company told us he expects psilocybin-based treatments by 2025 and predicts a 'Cambrian explosion' of innovation in the industry

The founder of the biggest psychedelics company says legalizing magic mushrooms risks creating a backlash that could undermine the industry

The CEO of the biggest psychedelics company lays out the 3 challenges he has to address before treatments hit the market

Startups are raising big sums for drug development and clinics

© Provided by Business Insider The first page of Compass Pathway's 2019 pitch deck. Compass Pathways

Drug development takes a lot of capital, and startups are focused on getting the funding they need.

Insider got ahold of three pitch decks that companies used to raise tens of millions of dollars. Beckley Psytech raised $18.6 million in December to develop a slew of new treatments focused on rare diseases and mental health.

Compass Pathways raised $80 million from investors like Founders Fund in 2019, fueling its rise to the top.

Meanwhile, startups focused on clinics, where psychedelic treatments are expected to be administered, are raising capital too. Novamind raised $7.8 million with this pitch deck.

© Provided by Business Insider Psilocybin found in magic mushrooms is a type of psychedelic Alexander Volkov/Getty Images

Another way to get access to capital is to go public, and there are now dozens of psychedelics companies in the US and Canada.

We broke down the 7 companies with the biggest market caps and laid out their business models, drug pipelines, and timeline to get treatments to market.

Read more:

What to know about the major public psychedelics companies, including a guide to their business models and when they expect to sell medications

See the pitch deck a psychedelics startup just used to raise $18.6 million to develop new treatments derived from the Sonoran Desert toad

See the 20-slide pitch deck a psychedelics startup used to raise funds to build out a network of ketamine clinics

See the pitch deck that Compass Pathways used to raise $80 million and fuel its rise into one of the world's biggest psychedelics companies

The top startups are racing forward

© The Synthesis Institute A look at a legal psychedelic retreat hosted by The Synthesis Institute The Synthesis Institute

Private startups are still a core part of the space.

Earlier this year, we published a list of the psychedelics startups that raised the most cash in 2020. The 14 names on that list raised over $222 million.

We recently asked the biggest investors in the space to name two top startups in the industry — one they had invested in and one in which they hadn't — and came back with 15 names.

Read more:

Meet the top 14 psychedelics startups raising the most cash to develop new ways of treating depression, addiction, and more

VCs name the top 15 startups in the psychedelics industry

As drug discovery and development heats up, companies are using patents to raise money and protect market share

© Provided by Business Insider Psychedelics companies are using patents to raise funds and protect future market shares. Marianne Ayala/Insider

Psychedelics treatments based on psilocybin and MDMA are inching closer to FDA approval.

In November, Compass Pathways, one of the few psychedelics companies in mid-stage trials of its psychedelic treatment, released data around its phase IIb trials for its a synthetic version psilocybin, the psychoactive component found in magic mushrooms, to treat treatment-resistant depression, or depression that doesn't get better with at least two other treatments.

Compass is also in the midst of a brewing debate over the role that patents should play in the world of psychedelics, which has traditionally been a field defined by open science and natural compounds. Critics say the psychedelics giant is attempting to dominate the industry with its overreaching patent strategy, while Compass says it is only using patents to protect new inventions.

But virtually every company developing psychedelics as FDA-approved treatments is employing a patent strategy to protect its market share and raise money from investors. Patent lawyers told Insider that a slew of patent disclosures could determine the winners and losers of the space.

Read more:

Experts share how a brewing fight could shape the future of the $100 billion psychedelics industry

Compass Pathways released its latest study on a psychedelic to treat depression. A top Wall Street analyst says the results are 'very encouraging.'

The future of the psychedelics industry hinges on patents. Whoever wins could make billions.
Academics, lawyers, and analysts are wading into the burgeoning space

© Provided by Business Insider DMT research at Imperial College London Thomas Angus, Imperial College London

Meanwhile, it's not just investors and companies that are building out the foundation for what could become a $100 billion market.

Academics have continued to publish promising studies on the benefits of psychedelic compounds.

Wealthy philanthropists are responsible for the rush of funding entering academia as prestigious universities set up psychedelic research centers. One scientist told us that as psychedelic research has emerged from the fringes, donors have begun to catch the "psychedelic bug."

"What psychedelics seems to do is, when it grabs you, you really seem to get it," he said.

Lawyers and analysts are also wading into the space. As a slew of companies began to go public, analysts at investment banks began to cover the industry. Lawyers originally focused on cannabis clients also took the plunge.

Read more:

A Canadian investment bank that capitalized on the cannabis rush is now looking toward a new market. Meet the first analyst covering the burgeoning psychedelics industry.

Cannabis lawyers are wading into the psychedelics industry as companies push forward with mega-deals and medical trials to win a slice of the $100 billion market

Wealthy donors are fueling a psychedelics renaissance as universities vie for funding to study 'magic mushrooms' and MDMA

A landmark study shows the main compound in magic mushrooms could rival a leading depression drug

This article was first published on Aug 3, 2021 and was updated on Jan 14, 2022.

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