People of the U.S. Psilocybin Movement

Founded the Michigan Psychedelic Center (M-PsyC) at the University of Michigan — high-authority academic medical contact.

Former Army Ranger who founded Heroic Hearts Project to connect combat veterans with ayahuasca and psychedelic therapy — the most prominent veteran-focused psychedelic nonprofit in the United States.

CEO of Dr. Bronner's soap who has donated millions to psychedelic research and decriminalization campaigns, making his family company one of the largest private funders of psychedelic policy reform in

A leading advocate in the Oregon psilocybin movement who has worked to ensure that Measure 109's implementation remains true to its therapeutic and equitable access intentions.

Marriage and family therapist who co-authored Oregon's Measure 109 with her husband Tom Eckert — the initiative that established the first state-level legal psilocybin therapy program in the US — and

Canadian public health researcher and MAPS Canada executive director whose harm reduction framework for regulating psychedelics has become one of the most-cited policy models for jurisdictions conside

Led the UDV's successful Supreme Court case Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal (2006) — the landmark ruling establishing that RFRA protects religious use of controlled psychede

Psychologist, author, and radio host who conducted extensive interviews with first-wave psychedelic research pioneers — preserving their clinical knowledge and historical perspective in the foundation

Author of the book that introduced a generation to safer, smarter psilocybin use. The expert featured in the major VICE psilocybin guide.

Nurse practitioner and historian who conducted one of the first scholarly surveys of LSD psychotherapy practitioners from the first wave — preserving oral history before it was lost and providing the

Psychiatric nurse and co-therapist in the landmark MAPS MDMA-PTSD trials who, together with her husband Michael Mithoefer, developed the therapeutic approach and training infrastructure for MDMA-assis

The woman who started it all in Michigan — founder of MPS and Entheofest, the primary contact for psychedelic community-building in the state.

Founded Oakland Hyphae and the Hyphae Cup — the gold standard for branding and cultivation quality in U.S. psilocybin culture.

Co-founded Decriminalize Nature in Oakland (January 2019). Coordinates the 25+ jurisdiction national chapter network.

Led Detroit's successful 2021 Proposal E ballot measure — Michigan's most consequential psychedelic reform.

Bridges local Detroit advocacy with national DN strategy — a National Board director.

Co-organized the DC Initiative 81 campaign alongside Melissa Lavasani.

The master of Ann Arbor's local legislative process — political advisor for DN Ann Arbor.

Host of 'Hamilton's Pharmacopeia.' The gold standard for chemical and historical research documentation.

Produces the highest-production-value video content in the psychedelic space.

West Point grad. Former Blackhawk pilot. Co-founded 60+ entheogenic churches — the largest church-formation practice in the country.

Partner to Ian Benouis. Together they built the largest entheogenic church-formation practice in the U.S.

The go-to courtroom defender for psychedelic cases in California. Native American Church psilocybin case pioneer.

Lead counsel for Church of Gaia ayahuasca DEA exemption case; drafted SB 5201 amendments for Washington's regulated psilocybin framework.

Founded Manzuri Law in 2010. 20 years of cannabis-to-psychedelics regulatory practice across CA and CO.

The American banker whose 1957 LIFE Magazine article introduced the Western world to psilocybin mushrooms — the foundational text of the modern movement.

The Mazatec curandera whose 1955 velada with R. Gordon Wasson opened the Western world’s exposure to psilocybin mushrooms.

Co-founded DoubleBlind, the preeminent independent psychedelic publication. 'Set & Setting' podcast host.

2024 Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellow. Published in VICE, Rolling Stone, DoubleBlind, Filter.

Produced 'Psychedelics and the Texas Trip' (2025) — deep-dive coverage of psilocybin in one of the most conservative states.

2024 Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellow specializing in psilocybin breeding and legalization complexity.

World-renowned medical researcher specializing in plant medicine; serves on Colorado's Natural Medicine Advisory Board.

Founded MAPS in 1986 and carried psychedelic clinical research from prohibition through the modern era.

Founded The Zome — a 'grow-gather-gift' equity-focused alternative to commercial and church-based psilocybin distribution.

The king of mycology — author of 'Mycelium Running,' inventor of the Stamets Stack microdose protocol.

Used psilocybin to treat postpartum depression — then collected 35,000+ signatures to decriminalize DC. Founded the national Psychedelic Medicine Coalition.

A rare dual-track figure operating simultaneously in medical research (UW neuroimaging) and policy advocacy (drafted SB 5201 amendments).

The architect of Minnesota's psychedelic policy framework — founded the state's Psychedelic Society and chaired its Medicine Task Force.

Co-architect of Oregon's Measure 109 — the first state-level legal psilocybin therapy program in the United States.

Tracks every bill and business shift in Washington's psychedelic landscape — the operational lead at PMAW.

The primary person to watch for Colorado licensing changes — Director of the Natural Medicine Advisory Board.

Led the first clinical trial of psilocybin specifically for major depressive disorder (not treatment-resistant) and is building one of the most productive psychedelic research programs at a Midwest un

Conducted the first new psychedelic research on humans approved by the FDA since the 1970s — his DMT studies at UNM and subsequent book shaped a generation's understanding of the most potent psychedel

Ethnopharmacologist who conducted foundational research on ayahuasca pharmacology, brother of Terence McKenna, and founder of the McKenna Academy — a leading voice for rigorous science in psychedelic

Harvard psychologist who co-directed the Harvard Psilocybin Project before his dismissal — his subsequent advocacy for psychedelics made him the central figure of 1960s counterculture and the most con

The leading historian of psychedelic medicine, whose research recovered the suppressed history of LSD therapy in Saskatchewan in the 1950s and 60s — the world's first large-scale psychedelic therapy p

A leading voice on racial equity in psychedelic research and therapy, and one of the few researchers conducting clinical trials specifically focused on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD in communities of

Former 13-year NIMH director who, after leaving, became a major voice arguing that conventional psychiatry has failed patients — and that psychedelic therapies may represent the paradigm shift mental

The most prominent psychedelic researcher in Canada — leading UBC's psilocybin research program and among the most published researchers on cannabis therapeutics and psychedelic policy.

One of the most rigorous behavioral pharmacologists studying psilocybin and MDMA — her human laboratory studies isolate the specific effects of psychedelic compounds on mood, cognition, and social beh

Georgetown neurologist and neuroethicist whose work on the neuroscience and ethics of psychedelics includes national security dimensions — one of the very few researchers engaging seriously with both

Built the world's largest psychedelic church with 137,000+ members worldwide.

Orchestrated the most aggressive expansion in the sacramental church space — 0 to 3 permanent locations in 18 months.

Pioneered 508(c)(1)(a) status for psilocybin churches in Colorado, with deliberate Mesoamerican spiritual framing.

Stewards the operational continuity of Sacred Garden's interfaith psilocybin ministry.

Pastoral lead and Priestess for one of the country's most veteran-experienced entheogenic churches.

The connective tissue between Decriminalize Nature and the sacramental church ecosystem — chairperson of Oakland's first DN initiative.

Former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who has supported thousands of veterans through 5-MeO-DMT and Psilomethoxin ceremonial work.

Leading voice in Oakland's therapeutic and community space.

Author of Consciousness Medicine and a leading trainer of psychedelic guides — her integration of somatic, Gestalt, and indigenous ceremonial approaches into guide training has shaped how practitioner

Countess of Wemyss and March who founded the Beckley Foundation in 1998 and has spent three decades funding and facilitating psychedelic research partnerships that would not otherwise exist.

Anthropologist and policy scholar who founded the Chacruna Institute to bridge indigenous and scientific knowledge of psychedelics, and a leading voice for equity and indigenous rights in psychedelic

MAPS's most visible policy and equity voice — the person shaping how the psychedelic medicine movement addresses racial equity, drug policy reform, and the politics of who benefits from psychedelic me

The most influential popular philosopher of psychedelics in the late 20th century — author, lecturer, and ethnobotanist whose ideas about consciousness, plant intelligence, and psilocybin shaped an en

Author of How to Change Your Mind (2018), the book that introduced psilocybin and psychedelic science to a mainstream audience and accelerated public and political support for research.

Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous who, in the 1950s, secretly explored LSD as a potential tool for breaking through alcoholic denial — a chapter of history that was suppressed for decades and has bec

Physician and bestselling author whose work on trauma, addiction, and the mind-body connection has shaped how the psychedelic field understands addiction and healing.

Author of The Immortality Key (2020) — the New York Times bestseller arguing that psychedelic sacraments were central to the origins of Western civilization, Christianity, and the Eleusinian Mysteries

UCSF psychiatric nurse practitioner and clinical researcher who has become a leading voice on integrating psilocybin therapy into clinical nursing and psychiatric practice.

One of the most recognized psychiatrists in the psychedelic therapy field — board-certified in psychiatry and neurology, pioneering psychedelic-assisted approaches to traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and

Founder of the world's first graduate-level psychedelic therapy training program at CIIS — the institution that has trained more psychedelic-assisted therapists than any other academic program in the

Swiss Zen teacher who pioneered psychedelic psilocybin retreats integrated with deep contemplative practice — among the earliest European figures to operate legitimate psilocybin retreat work in a leg

Co-founded COMPASS Pathways after his son's treatment-resistant depression did not respond to available treatments — now leading the largest psilocybin clinical trial program toward FDA approval.

Science journalist and author who has covered psilocybin therapy and the broader psychedelic renaissance for major publications, making clinical research accessible to general audiences.

The psychopharmacologist who relaunched modern psilocybin research with his 2006 landmark study and founded the first major US academic psychedelic research center.

The neuroscientist who developed the REBUS model of psychedelic action and led the first controlled trials of psilocybin for depression at Imperial College London.

Led the landmark psilocybin smoking cessation trial (80% abstinence at 6 months) and the first clinical trial of psilocybin for major depressive disorder.

Creator of the Fadiman Protocol (1 day on, 2 days off) and author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide — his systematic microdosing documentation launched a global practice now evaluated in clinical tr

Led the landmark NYU psilocybin alcohol use disorder RCT — the first large randomized controlled trial of psilocybin for any substance use disorder.

Czechoslovakian psychiatrist who conducted the most extensive LSD therapy research before prohibition — his cartography of the psychedelic experience and development of Holotropic Breathwork shaped al

Psychiatrist who conducted the first modern study of psilocybin in cancer patients — a pilot at Harbor-UCLA in 2011 that preceded the Hopkins and NYU landmark studies and established feasibility of th

Led the first randomized controlled trial of psilocybin for cocaine use disorder and is a leading researcher on psychedelics for addiction treatment in underserved populations.

The world's leading researcher on music in psychedelic therapy — developed the therapeutic music playlists used in major clinical trials and founded Wavepaths.

Humanities scholar who studies the history, rhetoric, and politics of psychedelic science — a critical voice on psychedelic exceptionalism, patent activity, and the ideological dimensions of the psych

Medicinal chemist whose synthesis of pharmaceutical-grade psilocybin made modern clinical trials possible, and whose founding of the Heffter Research Institute provided the early grant infrastructure

Psychiatrist and researcher exploring psilocybin as a treatment for depression with a distinctive focus on inflammation as a driver of mental illness.

Co-founder and driving medical force behind COMPASS Pathways, the company running the largest psilocybin Phase 3 clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression in history.

Stanford anesthesiologist who has produced landmark research showing psilocybin's antidepressant effects may be separable from its psychedelic experience — potentially overturning a core assumption in

Johns Hopkins neuroscientist whose discovery that psychedelics reopen 'critical periods' of social learning in the brain has become one of the most influential mechanistic theories in contemporary psy

Imperial College London researcher specializing in the neuroscience of consciousness and psychedelic states, with landmark studies on DMT's effects on the dying brain and psilocybin's alteration of ne

Psychedelic survey researcher at Johns Hopkins whose large-scale population-level studies document who uses psychedelics, why, and with what outcomes — bridging laboratory findings with real-world use

Brazilian researcher studying psilocybin and ayahuasca in ceremonial and therapeutic contexts, bridging indigenous knowledge systems with clinical research methodology.

Swiss neuroscientist whose research on psilocybin's effects on social cognition, empathy, and self-referential processing provides a mechanistic foundation for understanding how psychedelics alter int

Swiss psychiatrist who conducted the first legal LSD-assisted psychotherapy research since the 1970s, establishing proof-of-concept for psychedelic-assisted therapy in terminally ill patients with lif

UK psychiatrist and author who has championed MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and alcohol use disorder, conducting some of the earliest clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted treatment in Britain.

Independent mycologist and researcher contributing to psilocybin species identification and cultivation science within the Oregon regulated psilocybin framework.

Leading neuroscientist studying the neural mechanisms of consciousness and perceptual metacognition, with research directly relevant to understanding psychedelic states and the neuroscience of subject

Author and ethnobotanist specializing in the historical and cultural use of psychoactive plants and fungi across world traditions.

Cognitive psychologist at Hebrew University of Jerusalem whose phenomenological study of ayahuasca experiences produced one of the most detailed academic accounts of the psychedelic state.

Psychiatrist and clinical researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College focusing on psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression and the design of rigorous psychedelic clinical trials.

Clinical psychologist at Imperial College London who developed the ACER integration model and led landmark psilocybin for depression trials, among the most influential therapist-researchers in the fie

NYU psychiatrist who served as co-investigator on the landmark 2016 psilocybin cancer anxiety trial and has become a leading trainer of psychedelic-assisted therapists through the NYU program.

Computational neurobiologist whose theoretical and pharmacological research on DMT — including proposals for sustained intravenous DMT infusion — represents some of the most rigorous scientific thinki

The physician who conducted the first modern MDMA-assisted therapy trials for PTSD and carried them through Phase 3 — the most consequential psychedelic clinical trial program of the past two decades.

UCLA neuroscientist whose EEG research on psilocybin's effects on brain oscillations and neural dynamics provides real-time measurement of how psilocybin alters the electrical activity of the brain.

Britain's most prominent drug policy scientist — fired from the UK government's drug advisory council for stating that alcohol is more dangerous than psilocybin, and subsequently a driving force behin

Director of NIDA since 2003 whose brain-imaging research on addiction transformed how medicine views substance use disorders — and whose evolving stance on psychedelic research has been pivotal for fe

The Swiss chemist who synthesized LSD in 1938, experienced its effects in 1943, and isolated psilocybin and psilocin in 1958 — establishing the chemical foundation for all modern psychedelic research.

Licensed psychedelic integration therapist specializing in somatic approaches, ketamine-assisted therapy, and trauma resolution through body-based therapeutic modalities.

Clinical psychologist at the Portland DBT Institute specializing in psychedelic integration therapy and the intersection of dialectical behavior therapy with psychedelic-assisted treatment.

UK-based psychedelic integration therapist working at the intersection of psychotherapy, harm reduction, and support for individuals navigating challenging psychedelic experiences in a country where p