Psychedelics Weekly – Field Trip Health Closes Five Clinics, Legalization Bills Introduced in VT, and Ketamine Telehealth Uncertainty

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, Joe and Kyle join up once again to discuss the news and articles they found the most interesting this week.  They start with the business news everyone is talking about: Field Trip Health & Wellness closing 5 of their clinics due to financial struggles (a deficit of $48.7 million since their inception and a net loss of $6.9 million reported for the last quarter), little confidence they'd be able to receive more funding, and the changing landscape of ketamine telehealth now that the Covid Public Health Emergency should finally come to an end in May. They also highlight an article dissecting the collapse of Synthesis Institute and the lessons to be learned, with both stories really showing just how new and unstable psychedelic business still is, and how the allure of first-mover advantage can be a dangerous gamble. They also discuss four drug reform bills introduced in Vermont: two of which would decriminalize simple possession of all drugs, making a "personal use supply of drugs" a civil offense with a $50 fine; one removing penalties for using or selling psilocybin; and the last decriminalizing certain psychedelic plants and fungi.  And they look at a research study aiming to learn more about people's lives after they've been involved in a clinical trial, Time Magazine's article about psychedelics and couples therapy, and a study that found that while 64% of survey respondents said at-home ketamine helped their symptoms, 55% (and 58% of Millennials) said they used more than the recommended dose – either by accident or on purpose. www.psychedelicstoday.com