The 2025 Psychedelic Science Conference in Denver, explores the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.

Denver

The MAPS conference in Denver brought together advocates, researchers, and businesses focused on the therapeutic use of psychedelics. Colorado, the first U.S. state to decriminalize adult use of certain natural psychedelics, hosted a diverse expo floor, including booths from psychedelic churches and companies marketing both mind-altering and wellness products.

The event highlighted the growing investment in the psychedelic industry, with companies like Cambio Life Sciences promoting ibogaine treatments for addiction and neurodegenerative diseases, despite its illegality in the U.S. Notable political figures, such as former Texas governor Rick Perry, advocated for psychedelic therapies, especially for veterans. While ketamine remains the only psychedelic approved for therapeutic use in the U.S., ongoing legislative efforts in states like California aim to expand research and access to other substances.

Therapy meets magic mushrooms at MAPS conference

I am Teo Piquidez. I am with the Colorado Psychedelic Church. Plenty of psychedelic church booths at the expo floor of the 2025 MAPS conference in Denver, where you don't have to go far from the convention center to find a church housed within a psychedelic resource center with a coffee shop selling pastries and psilocybin microdoses. All right, there's your shroom shroom. Colorado is the first state to decriminalize the adult use of what locals call natural medicine. Natural medicines being psilocybin, psilocin, and mescaline, not including peyote, dimethyltryptamine or DMT, and also ibogaine. Lots of natural medicine booths to explore here, but also plenty of non-mind-altering products and practices, from healing body work to meditation headsets. Combined with the fact that mushroom spore prints are purple ground. And that's superstar mycologist Paul Stamets packing them in. Good luck sneaking in to get a badge signed. People lined up for hours. Things get more psychedelic looking in the deep space area with plenty of personality on display. But all this stuff, it's big business. I'm the founder and president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. When I started MAPS, it was 39 years ago, and the idea that there would one day be around $4 billion invested in for-profit psychedelic companies, I never ever thought that would happen. Some of the companies at the convention are from California. The Cambio Life Sciences, which is based in San Diego. But it takes its clients to a Tijuana center, promoting treatments with the plant-based psychoactive ibogaine. It is illegal in the U.S., but has shown some effectiveness in the treatment of drug addiction and PTSD. In a Stanford University study backed by the company. More recently we've had the opportunity to develop another program that's accessible for people with neurodegenerative conditions, like Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis and ALS. It's very early days, but we've been seeing really good results. Good enough, Texas. Just approved $50 million to research the therapeutic use of ibogaine. What in the hell is the governor of Texas doing at a psychedelic conference in Denver, Colorado? Right? That's Rick Perry, former Texas governor and secretary of energy during Trump's first term. He's now one of the leading conservative voices pushing for the therapeutic use of psychedelics, saying he's seen it work on veterans. My reputation is not worth more than their lives. For now, though, the only psychedelic approved for therapeutic treatment in the U.S. is the anesthetic ketamine. One of the convention sponsors is actually from Los Angeles. California has always been an innovator, a pioneer. Californians, we have led the way in so many industries and fields. And I know that we, too, can be early adopters in this space. And it's just unfortunately taking longer than it should. The highly publicized death of actor Matthew Perry highlighted the unsupervised, excessive use of black market ketamine. One doctor is facing up to 40 years in prison for illegal distribution of the drug. And a woman described by authorities as the, quote, ketamine queen is about to go on trial for supplying the dose that killed Perry. But the supervised use of ketamine infusions at licensed facilities like ketamine clinics, Los Angeles, remains legal and popular, as it has proven effective in the treatment of PTSD and other psychological disorders. California veterans are behind legislation that would fast-track studies on psychedelics, especially ibogaine. AB 1003 just cleared the assembly, and it is with the state senate. In Los Angeles, I'm Cristina Gonzalez, Fox 11 News.

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