This is… The PSA Tuesday News Blast
PSA Tuesday News Blast
The Rundown
PSA x Global Psychedelic Week ‘25
Psychedelic State(s) of America presents….
The Inaugural Capitol City Plant Medicine Showcase
The ONLY Global Psychedelic Week event in Washington, D.C. this year!!
Join PSA Founder Jack Gorsline on Friday, November 7th for an enthralling evening of heightened conversations, next-gen psychedelic discourse, and community networking at The Village DC at Union Market in the heart of our nation’s Capitol!
Huge thanks to our community partners - Paradise Farmers Market DC, Decriminalize Nature, Decriminalize Nature Virginia, and The Psychedelic Writers Guild!
Sponsorship packages are available - contact PSA for more info ASAP!
Stay tuned for the full speaker lineup later this week but in the meantime get your ticket(s) at the link below!
PSA Profiles: Set. Setting. Sound.
An Interview with Cam Avery, Tame Impala's Bassist
By Stephanie Karzon-Abrams, PharmD
Isn’t All Music Psychedelic? A Quick Review of Sonic Journeys, Then and Now
Music, as a tool for ceremony and connection, has evolved from ancient traditions to modern forms, each uniquely suited to guiding the human spirit through transformative experiences. For ancient peoples, music was deeply intertwined with the sacred. The Greeks, the Egyptians, the Native Americans, the Nubians, the Zhou, the Celts, the Inca, the Māori, and many more, all banged the drum as a form of communication and as a spiritual practice, connecting the community to ancestral wisdom and the rhythms of the earth. Tibetan monks and monastics across the world used sacred chants and harmonic singing to invoke meditative states, their voices creating a resonant, almost otherworldly atmosphere conducive to transcendence.
In the 20th century, bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish pioneered a new form of ceremonial music. The Grateful Dead’s live performances, characterized by extended improvisational jams, became ritualistic gatherings where audiences collectively explored altered states of consciousness. Songs like “Dark Star” and “Terrapin Station” became spiritual journeys in their own right. Phish carried this torch into the next generation, creating intricate, genre-blurring compositions like “You Enjoy Myself” and “Reba” that offered moments of euphoria, introspection, and collective celebration. Their live shows became communal rites, where the interplay between band and audience was a ceremony of spontaneity and shared energy.
In contemporary music, Tame Impala, the project of Kevin Parker, has become synonymous with introspection and sonic exploration. Albums like Currents and The Slow Rush seamlessly blend dreamy psychedelia with cutting-edge production, crafting immersive soundscapes that invite listeners on deeply personal mental journeys.
PSA Media NewsWire Highlights
PSA Media Newswire Highlights
2025: The Year of Ibogaine Therapy
By Noah Daly
Like many of the traditionally used plant medicines discussed at the conference, advocates believe that the iboga plants cultivated in Central Africa and the ibogaine used in the West are at risk from corporatization and predatory practices that separate these powerful medicines from the people who’ve stewarded them for hundreds if not thousands of years. NGOs focused on protecting Gabonese rights regarding the global proliferation of iboga and ibogaine were on hand in Denver, giving stark warnings about what they see just behind the hype surrounding one of the most potent and long-lasting psychoactive compounds.
Neuroplasticity: The Latest Buzz Word
By Stephanie Karzon-Abrams
At its core, neuroplasticity simply means the brain’s resilience and ability to change: to form new connections, reorganize old ones, and adapt in response to experience, learning, or injury. Neuroplasticity is present throughout life, with heightened sensitivity during critical periods of development, but remains active in adulthood, supporting adaptation, recovery, and learning. While the word is often used as a catch-all for brain “healing,” the science is far more nuanced.
PSA x Lucid News: New York Assembly
Considers Psilocybin Bill
By Christine Divine
The New York State Assembly Committee on Health is considering a proposal that would reform criminal penalties against the use of psilocybin and create a regulated public-health framework for medical use of psilocybin. Assembly Bill A2142, sponsored by Assemblymember Amy Paulin with co-sponsors Donna Lupardo and Andrew Hevesi, would create a permit system for adult use, regulate cultivation and distribution, and remove psilocybin from the state’s controlled-substance designation.
The Ultimate Guide to Using Functional Mushrooms to Enhance Your Mind and Body
By Stephanie Karzon-Abrams
Mushrooms have captivated human imagination and played diverse roles in health and culture for millennia. Various civilizations have used these versatile organisms for culinary, medicinal, and spiritual purposes. From ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs depicting mushrooms as “plants of immortality” to their sacred use in indigenous ceremonies through the present day, mushrooms are woven into the fabric of human history.
Until next time,
The Psychedelic State(s) of America Team