Psy Diaries

We talk with Jasper Simons, Chief Publishing Officer at the American Psychological Association (APA), about how trends shift in the psychology industry, and what psychedelic medicine needs for adoption.
Highlights

— The Nugget: psychedelic federal legislation proposal (0:44)

— The Noodle: is it time to stop using the words "trip" & "psychedelics" (1:25)

— What's needed to shift the paradigm of psychedelics within psychology (2:40)

— Biggest roadblock to innovation in psychology (7:11)

— The need for legality and reimbursement (7:50)

— Psychology as a science with humans as the observer and the observed (10:40)

— Challenge of having conversations all go back to COVID (12:15)

— Engaging with undergrads and reimagining education (14:45)

— Personal career strategy as an executive (17:45)

— Advice to a 25-year old aspiring executive for the quarter life crisis (21:45)

— How Jasper deals with adversity and change (26:55)

— How therapists view psychedelics (28:55)

— A Soul Search with Jasper (31:25)

— The one musical band he'd bring with him to a desert island

— Clap and a Slap {Double Blind and Compass Pathways} (34:25)

Jasper Simons

Jasper Simons is an information industry executive with more than 20 years of experience in building and growing products, platforms, and content portfolios for leading knowledge businesses.

Simons is the Chief Publishing Officer at the APA, overseeing the world’s premier portfolio of journals, books and digital solutions for behavioral scientists, health practitioners, educators and the public.

Prior to joining the APA, Simons was a Vice President of Product and Market Strategy at Thomson Reuters (now Clarivate). There he managed software solutions for publishers and associations, including ScholarOne Manuscripts, the leading content management platform for the industry.

Simons currently serves on the Board of Directors of Crossref, a not-for-profit membership organization that exists to make scholarly communications better. He also serves on the board of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), which represents the leading book, journal, and education publishers in the United States on matters of law and policy.

Simons earned an MA in Political Science & Sociology from the University of Amsterdam and a BSc in Management & Organization from Van Hall Larenstein College.

Find Jasper here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaspersimons1/

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www.textpert.ai

Episode summary:
We talk with Matt Stang — CEO of Delic Corp — about a dramatic change in mental health, lessons from cannabis, and psychedelic conferences.
Highlights:
00:36 — NUGGET AND A NOODLE: Legal psilocybin therapy in canada; Reevaluating our relationship with alcohol
02:33 — What is there to the psychedelic space that inspires Matt's work?
06:35 — What lessons can we take from cannabis and apply to psychedelics?
14:35 — What does a world 10 years into widespread psychedelic legalization and intentional use looks like?
21:11 — What is Matt's personal journey with psychedelics?
25:03 — Ray and Matt share psychedelic experiences
28:32 — SOUL SEARCH: You get to live the life of any historical figure...
Matt Stang
Matt Stang was an Owner and Operator of High Times for 17 years prior to its sale to a private equity fund, and during that time he helped legalize Cannabis in multiple states, launched the Cannabis Cup in America, and helped build the legal cannabis industry.
For almost 20 years he has met and interacted with all corners within the cannabis community. As one of the most connected people in the Alternative Drug space he helped found DELIC 4 years ago as the first psychedelic corporation.
His expertise in business includes marketing, branding, business development and product viability.
Find Matt here:
https://deliccorp.com/
https://www.ketaminewellnesscenters.com/
https://realitysandwich.com/
https://meetdelic.com/

Psychedelic Diaries episode summary:
We talk with Rebecca Nicholson — CEO of 5D World — about healing in a group setting, the importance of our elders, and rewiring your soul system.
Highlights:
00:00 — Come up
01:16 — NUGGET AND A NOODLE: Maryland state passes bill to fund psychedelic research
03:54 — How do your plentiful past travels and experiences with nature impact you as a CEO?
06:13 — Burning off an intention to the universe
09:08 — What has your Jamaica retreat with Amanda Feilding shown you?
12:59 — Do you believe there's a way to bring retreats to the masses?
15:30 — How was Rebecca's experience going public on psychedelics?
18:39 — Ray and Rebecca share mystical experiences
24:12 — SOUL SEARCH: What is your ideal mix of mind-altering substances to chill on a Friday night...?
Rebecca Nicholson
Rebecca Nicholson is the CEO of 5D World and Founding partner of 5D Ventures. Her vision and creativity are balanced with a grounding force that allows her to oversee executive leadership and operations in the fast-paced and ever evolving industry of impact investing.
Rebecca brings over 20 years of experience managing high-level teams and projects, leading transformation into all that she does. She is responsible for running all facets of the business at 5D World including bringing her passion, patience, and persistence to investor relations, driving company growth, development of corporate culture, team-building, projections and goal-setting, events, and fundraising. She is also on the Advisory Board for Dimensions Retreats, is a panelist and a founding member of Women Advancing Psychedelics.
Before joining 5D World she excelled as an industry leader in the marketing and wellness sectors. Rebecca currently resides in Toronto and she is passionate about her two sons, exploring deep nature and building strength through her dedicated yoga practice.
Find Rebecca here:
https://www.5dworld.com/
https://www.instagram.com/5dworld_
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-nicholson-31b068208/
https://www.instagram.com/rebecca_nicholson_/
Become part of the growing Psilocybin Psoirée with promo code MUSHROOM22

Episode summary:
We chat with Cameron Wenaus — CEO at Retreat Guru — about surpassing mental health baseline, understanding the root of fear, and experiencing death.
Highlights:
— NUGGET AND A NOODLE: Psilocybin improves health for a year; how do we support solo explorers? (0:36)
— What has surprised Cameron about this psychedelic renaissance? (2:28)
— Why is it so hard to let go and explore altered states? (5:21)
— In the last 12 months at Retreat Guru, what was one hard-earned lesson? (9:44)
— Cameron's shares his journey with psychedelics (16:12)
— Ray and Cameron share profound mystical experiences (19:53)
— SOUL SEARCH: You get to relive the life of any historical figure... (27:11)
Cameron Wenaus
Cameron is inspired by the evolution of consciousness. He has been working with retreat centers and organizations focused on many wisdom lineages for more than 2 decades.
He is the CEO and co-founder of Retreat Guru – an ecosystem of products and services for a growing community of retreat seekers and professionals.
He is also a meditation teacher and director of his local Buddhist center, and is curious about the connection between mediation and psychedelics and how they can support the discovery and stabilization of non-dual awareness.
Find Cameron here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-wenaus
https://retreat.guru/

Summary:
We talk with Ben Westhoff — award winning reporter and author of Fentanyl, Inc — about LSD on a mountain hike, hip hop artist arrest records, and magic mushrooms at a work conference.
Highlights:
— NUGGET AND A NOODLE: Toronto votes to decriminalize all drugs; are transcendent experiences simply a chemical reaction for Darwinian evolution (0:35)

— Ben's relationship with East Coast hip-hop (2:38)

— Research on the Opioid epidemic (3:09)

— Challenging parts of the book writing process (5:47)

— What surprised Ben about hip-hop culture (7:02)

— Celebrities changing attitudes as they grow older (9:25)

— Why LSD is arguably safer than Water (12:05)

— How LSD gives Ben profound confidence (14:31)

— Why LSD's production should be standardized (21:55)

— Teaser from his upcoming book Little Brother: Love Tragedy and My Search for the Truth (22:21)

— SOUL SEARCH: Ben's three favorite rappers of all time... (24:55)

Ben Westhoff:
He is a best-selling, award-winning investigative journalist who writes about culture, drugs, and poverty. His books are taught around the country and have been translated into languages all over the world.
His new book Little Brother: Love, Tragedy, and My Search for the Truth (May 24, 2022, Hachette Books) details his search for the man who killed Jorell Cleveland, Westhoff’s longtime mentee in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Part memoir, part true crime, it’s a three-year investigation set in the northern suburbs of St. Louis that uncovers a heartbreaking cycle of poverty, poor education, drug trafficking, and violence.
Westhoff’s 2019 work Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic is the bombshell first book about fentanyl, which is causing the worst drug crisis in American history. Westhoff was interviewed about the book for Fresh Air and Joe Rogan, and published an excerpt in The Atlantic. Since the book’s publication, Westhoff has advised top government officials on the fentanyl crisis, including from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the U.S. embassy in Beijing, and the U.S. State Department.
Westhoff’s 2016 book Original Gangstas: Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and the Birth of West Coast Rap is one of the best-selling hip-hop books of all time. It received raves from Rolling Stone and People, and a starred review in Kirkus. S. Leigh Savidge, Academy Award nominee and co-writer of Straight Outta Compton said it "may be the best book ever written about the hip hop world."
Westhoff's work has appeared in the Library of Congress, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, New York, Forbes, Playboy, Vice, Oxford American, Pitchfork, and others. He's been honored by the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Entertainment Journalism Awards, Religion Newswriters Association, Best Music Writing, Best of Southern Food Writing, L.A. Press Club, and the Missouri Press Association.
He has been interviewed as an expert commentator for CNN, BET, A&E, and ITV, and is the former L.A. Weekly music editor and Voice Media Group Senior music editor. He's a contributor to the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap, and his 2011 book on southern hip-hop, Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop was a Library Journal best seller.
Find Ben here:
https://www.benwesthoff.com/