Media company and education platform DoubleBlind drops issue 07. As people around the world seek ways to cope with the unique intensity that is the 21st century, the global community has seen the emergence of new and old solutions. Nowhere is that reflected more than in the psychedelic movement.
In this issue, DB highlights many of the solutions being put forth, from disrupting capitalism to, simply, spending more time with trees. Dr. Bennet Zelner, Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy at the University of Maryland, prompts us to consider what an equitable psychedelic pharma might actually look like (and whether that’s even possible); reporter Ben Adlin investigates the US military’s $27 million psychedelic research program; and DB cofounder Madison Margolin takes us deep into the underground scene of Hasidic Jews, finding catharsis through tripping and praying—at the same time.
DoubleBlind also goes to Gabon, where Cameroonian poachers are overharvesting Iboga amid rising demand for Ibogaine, and to an island off of British Columbia, where writer Mercedes Grant encourages us to make space in our lives for grief. The overarching theme is that we’re at a moment that’s calling us inward, to reflect on who we want to be and how we want to show up as the psychedelic “industry” grows..
“From the pandemic to the recent crisis in Ukraine, every day we are prompted to consider the ever-changing and precarious nature of this world we’re living in,” says Shelby Hartman, Co-Founder & CEO of DoubleBlind. “Psychedelics may provide answers, but the more deeply we investigate how they fit into this moment, the more we realize it may not be quite that simple. In this issue, we seek to return to DoubleBlind’s raison d'être, to zoom out from the ‘psychedelics will heal all’ narrative and, instead ask, where we might go wrong or how we might improve.”
In addition to its print and online journalism, DoubleBlind offers a membership program, DoubleBlind+, a definitive resource for psychedelic education and community building. The program includes intimate conversations, a library featuring dozens of educational videos only available to members, webinars with the world’s leading psychedelic experts, and much more. DoubleBlind+ is the one-stop-shop for people who are just beginning to explore psychedelics, and don’t know where to begin, as well as people who are looking to go deeper into their healing journeys.
