Let’s be clear: I’m not neutral on drug patents. They’re supposed to protect innovation. In practice, they exist to protect profit by legally enforcing monopolies and stifling competition.

Some of the worst offenders use what's known as a Markush claim, a legal structure that allows a patent to cover a whole family of compounds by describing a range of possible variations on a molecular scaffold.

If you’re paying attention on social media, you will have seen a rapid increase in the chatter and advertising around psilocybin chocolate products. These shroom chocolates seem to be popping up everywhere I look online, especially the larger psilocybin shroom-related subreddits.

The "4 Ps" are one of the most fundamental concepts in marketing. How could they possibly apply to psychedelics, and why should you care? For marketing communications to be most effective, there's no avoiding these considerations. Whether your organization is a profit-driven corporation looking to maximize shareholder returns or an anti-capitalist nonprofit fighting for justice, getting your message across to your target audience is essential. One way or another, if you want to have any chance of changing what people do, they need to hear what you're saying and be convinced to act on it.

Content, as they say, is still king. Psychedelic-themed content will soon become an essential resource as the market for psychedelic products for both therapeutic and recreational use grows and matures. The thing is, not everyone can write this sort of content.

What to make of this experience, however? Did the plant show me some metaphysical truth? I'm not sure. And even if it did, I'm not sure what to say about it.