PSA's Sunday Sound-Off: December 21st, 2025

In the past decade, the Global North has witnessed a remarkable transformation in attitudes toward psychedelic substances. Once relegated to the countercultural fringes and dismissed as relics of the 1960s, psychedelics are experiencing a renaissance, prompting new conversations in medicine, science, spirituality, and popular culture. Once found only in the underground, the psychedelic movement has risen in visibility and is bringing all the typical symptoms of an emerging industry with the arrival of social influencers, entrepreneurs, and self-declared shamans. Amidst this shift, a novel social phenomenon has emerged: the rise of the “psychedelic aristocracy”. This is a burgeoning class of influential individuals and groups who shape, benefit from, and guide the evolving landscape of psychedelic exploration and enterprise.

When I refer to the “psychedelic aristocracy” I’m speaking of a new class of individuals and organizations that occupy privileged positions within the evolving psychedelic ecosystem. Unlike the aristocracies of old, which were defined by birthright, this group draws its influence from a combination of wealth, expertise, social capital, entrepreneurial spirit, and cultural cachet. Its members include:

This network forms a new cultural and economic elite with the power to shape the direction of the psychedelic renaissance.

The rise of the psychedelic aristocracy is not without controversy. It can be argued that it risks replicating the inequities and power imbalances seen in other areas of health care and wellness. Indigenous communities that have stewarded psychedelic traditions for centuries are often excluded from the profits and decision-making processes of the modern industry. There are concerns about cultural appropriation, intellectual property disputes, and the potential for “elitism” to overshadow the original psychedelic ideals of communal healing and egalitarian access.

In a better light, the psychedelic aristocracy can serve as a bridge between underground cultures and mainstream acceptance. By leveraging their resources and influence, members of this group can drive research, destigmatize use, and advocate for sensible policy changes. The challenge lies in ensuring that these benefits are shared broadly and that the voices of marginalized or Indigenous groups are included and respected.

The rise of the psychedelic aristocracy is a defining feature of the current renaissance. As psychedelics move from the underground to the mainstream, a new cultural and economic elite has emerged, one with the power to influence research, policy, and public perception. Their ascent brings both opportunities and challenges, highlighting the need for ongoing dialogue about equity, access, and the responsible stewardship of these powerful life changing substances. Membership in this group bring responsibility, and I’m hoping the aristocracy will use their power and influence to promote the common good. After all, isn’t that the message that psychedelics can bring? The message that we are all connected, everything is alive, and kindness begats kindness.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by our friends at the Chronicles of Kykeon over on Substack - be sure to support and subscribe!

By Jack Gorsline

On Tuesday, December 16, the Jackson, Michigan City Council passed a resolution to deprioritize the enforcement of laws against the purchase, cultivation, and possession of certain psychedelic plants and fungi.

The 4-2 vote in support of the municipal resolution was met with cheers from a large crowd of supporters who had gathered in the council chambers. The move makes Jackson the sixth municipality in the state of Michigan to approve such a measure - joining Ann Arbor, Detroit, Hazel Park, Ferndale, Ypsilanti, and Washtenaw County in doing so. 

The resolution covers substances like ayahuasca, psilocybin, and peyote – which are all currently prohibited at the state and federal levels. Notably, during the meeting, City Council Member Will Forgrave offered moving personal testimony, explaining that these entheogenic treatments succeeded where traditional methods failed in treating his wife’s postpartum depression. 

“It’s not hyperbolic when I tell you that it saved her life,” Forgrave said. “It definitely saved our marriage and our family. It’s something that’s near and dear to my heart.”

In contrast, Council Members Arlene Robinson and Freddie Dancy voted against the measure, with Dancy attributing his "no" vote to his “personal convictions.” Beyond deprioritizing arrests, the resolution urges the Jackson County prosecutor to stop pursuing charges related to these plants. However, the policy maintains strict boundaries: the use or possession of entheogens remains prohibited for minors, on school property, and while operating a vehicle.

The Recipe for Success: Education and Persistence

Alina DeRossett, Roger Maufort, and Kate Brown, Co-Founders of Decriminalize Nature Jackson, credited the breakthrough vote to, “providing education, hard work, and being diligent and consistent” in their outreach to city officials, “over three years.” 

Julie Barron - Founder of the Michigan Psychedelic Society told PSA that the measure’s passage serves as proof that, “even small, rural towns are willing to push the needle forward to help their community.”

Barron also highlighted that, “the work of the local Decriminalize Jackson helped to convince enough council members to vote ‘yes.’”  

Can Local Momentum Spur Statewide Change?

As for the status of statewide reform efforts, Barron told Lucid News earlier this year that an attempted 2024 statewide ballot initiative, “had some money committed to us” at first, but that ultimately long-term funding fell-through in part due to the high cost of effectively staffing such a lengthy campaign process, which she estimated as needing, “about a million dollars minimum.”

At the Michigan state house in Lansing, earlier this year Rep. Mike McFall (D), introduced House Bill 4686, which if enacted into law would decriminalize possession of up to two ounces of psilocybin for adults with a medical record indicating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While the bill hasn’t garnered any further traction at the state house this session, the continued support from state lawmakers for some kind of policy advancement bodes well for future reform efforts.

In her statement to PSA, Barron acknowledged that while “Michigan has not yet had a successful statewide effort to decriminalize,” advocates across the Great Lakes State will, “continue to go city by city and county by county until we build the momentum for a successful statewide push.”

On the national stage, Michigan native and Co-Founder of Decriminalize Nature Larry Norris heralded the local measure’s passage as further proof that the, “[psychedelics] movement transcends politics and can win in both progressive and conservative areas.”

“At the end of the day people want to help support their community in healing…” Norris added, “and they realize the punitive approach to plants and mushrooms is not working.”

The enthusiasm of local, state, and national activists is certainly mirrored by local officials, too - as Jackson Mayor Daniel Mahoney publicly proclaimed after the successful vote, “I’m so happy we freed the [mu]shrooms!”

From our friends at Filter Magazine

The final weeks of 2025 have brought overlapping psychedelic drug policy efforts in Washington. Since early December, advocates have presented to hundreds of legislators about the promise of individual molecules, and visited dozens of Congressional staff offices, seeking to propel reform.

Among the proposals on their agenda, the Freedom to Heal Act seems a modest step for lawmakers to consider. If passed, it would expand the 2018 federal Right To Try Law—which gave eligible patients with life-threatening conditions access to certain drugs that haven’t been FDA-approved—to include Schedule I substances under DEA jurisdiction for which Phase I clinical trials have been completed.

“As a physician, I have seen how critical Right To Try can be for patients who are running out of options,” said Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), a co-sponsor of the Freedom to Heal Act. “Yet current law leaves doctors with no clear, legal way to administer investigational therapies that fall under Schedule I. This bill creates that pathway.”

Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) and Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) were the other legislators who introduced the bill on December 4. Its language was largely crafted by the Veterans Mental Health Leadership Coalition (VMHLC), a nonprofit advocating for expanded access to psychedelic and other emerging treatments to help end the suicide epidemic.

Until next time,

The Psychedelic State(s) of America Team