Welcome to issue #7 of The Ethical Trip! In this issue:
What’s the deal with that top 100 thought leaders list?
Just how wrong is non-consensual dosing with psychedelics?
How to consistently write lots of words (yourself, not with an LLM)?
For all this, plus (back by popular demand) a roundup of recent research and jokes that some of you won’t let me stop writing, read on!
But first: Did we make it to 100 subscribers this week? No, but it’s very close! Thank you to everyone who has helped spread the word about my work and double-mega-thanks to people supporting me via buy me a coffee cacti.
Table of Contents
Industry Insights:
Research Round-up
It felt like a slower fortnight in psychedelic research. Nonetheless, there were still some interesting papers.
While not super-granular in nature data from Kamenderi et al (2025) suggests that use of psychoactives such as LSD are growing amongst Kenyan university students.
Hwang et al (2025) surveyed American college students on aptitudes around psychedelics and their use. ‘Males, sexual minorities, older students, those who were not religious, and those who used other substances evidenced more positive attitudes toward psychedelics, which in turn led to a higher likelihood of actual usage. Lifetime usage was also found to be directly associated with better mental health.’ No huge surprises but worth a look to see if Hwang’s (2021) Psychedelic Attitudes Scale could be used elsewhere.
Johnson-Groh (2025) discusses the potential entourage effect in magic mushrooms, noting some arguments both for and against its importance to psychedelic experience and clinical outcomes.
Evers et al (2025) is still in preprint, but if it makes it over the line their newly validated Psychedelic Media Exposure Questionnaire should become an important part of psychedelic research.
Lots more good stuff below, but only for subscribers!
(Ad)Ventures of a Top 100 Thought Leader™️
‘Top 100 Psychedelic Thought Leader,’ they said. I was flattered. But I was also curious. Who was this company that put together the list, and what did they hope to contribute to the world of psychedelics? Set off by a minor red flag, I took a look at the business behind what should have been a PR slam dunk.
What I found was more, but also somehow less, than I imagined.
Read the whole story here: Thought Leader, Clickbait or Something Weirder?
Want to help upgrade my budget from ‘Gmail’ to ‘Proton’? Support me via Buy Me a Coffee.
Philosophical Brief: Non-consensual Dosing
Choosing to use psychedelics is usually considered to be a deeply personal decision; a celebration of our freedom to choose how we experience the universe and ourselves. This normally means we make informed decisions, so we can give informed consent.
Even Timothy Leary, flawed as he was, recognised the importance of psychedelic use being a free choice, writing: “Thou shalt not alter the consciousness of thy fellow man.”
And yet, some people dose others with psychedelics in the absence of their consent, violating rights that are at the core of our humanity.
This article, hosted by the good folk at Chemical Collective, explores the ethics, impact, and history of non-consensual psychedelic dosing, as well as offering some tips on what to do if this happens to you: Psychedelic Ethics: Addressing the Issue of Non-Consensual Dosing.
Consultancy Corner: Write well, write often
This fortnight I wanted to throw some tips out there for the writers and creatives amongst us. I’ll talk about writing because that’s my creative output. But with a little imagination it’s not hard to adapt this to other mediums.
This routine, which is based on what I learned from from Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner, authors of Turbocharge your writing, breaks down to basically this. On days that you’re going to write:
Don’t check email, messages, or social media before writing.
Unless what you’re writing will be radically changed by current events or breaking news, don’t read the news before writing.
Do some warm up writing if you have to - not a current project but just getting literally any words ono the page.
Work in blocks that suit you. Some people need breaks every 25 minutes, other can smash that keyboard for a lot longer. But it’s good for you to at least get up and move/stretch.
Don’t edit or obsess over typos/grammar, just keep going and come back to them later.
Don’t stop to find references if you can’t remember them off the top of your head. put a placeholder in the text and keep going.
IMPORTANT: Stop writing before you hit the wall of mental exhaustion. Where this is varies for individuals and where we’re at that day. This is essential if you want your practice to be sustainable over time.
Once you’ve written as much as you can before getting too tired, which for most people will align with somewhere between morning tea and lunchtime, take a break.
After that break (which you probably spent scrolling social media), you can do your emails.
Now, go back and at least roughly edit your work from the morning. If you need to fill in any references you missed, do that too.
Make any notes or summaries for yourself that help you keep track of your train of thought or things you want to write next - this is especially helpful if your next writing day isn’t tomorrow.
If you have time, do some relevant reading or research, but sometimes it’s easier to make an entire separate day for that.
Repeat as necessary. Adapt if and where you need to. You might find you can be less restrictive, specially once you get some momentum. But you might also find a more extensive and disciplined practice, Like Joan Westenberg’s 90 day brain rebuild is beneficial.
Corrections/additions
Last issue, writing in a rush, I failed to mention a few important things in my harm reduction piece.
The first is that ‘pill-testing’ is also known as ‘drug checking’ (especially overseas.) Why? Because these services don’t just test pills, they test powders, crystals, blotters, liquids and, depending on the service, organic materials such as cannabis flower or dried mushrooms.
Second: In addition to Night Coach, There is a site called The Know that aggregates all Australian drug alerts - perfect for people who don’t want a drug alert app on their phone.
Finally, I meant to include somewhere to actually get Nitazene test strips. Drug Policy Australia has them here
Reminder - Garden States!
Tickets for the EGA Garden States conference are limited, and lecture/workshop applications are closing soon. So if you want to attend and/or give a talk, hit that website now to buy tickets and/or apply: https://www.gardenstates.org/
If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
What is the reddest of red flags you’ve witnessed in the world of psychedelics? Hit reply to let me know and I’ll feature it next time (with your permission, of course.) Alternatively, forward this email to someone who still thinks chatbots are going to save the world.
As always, all feedback and suggestions are welcome, and I promise* to not satirise you without mercy.
*Unless you deserve it.
This week’s issue of The Ethical Trip was brought to you by Jungian Sperm Energy™, a visionary wellness startup rooted in archetypal masculinity, integrated embodiment, and spiritually retained potency. Jungian Sperm Energy™: Fuel the myth. Honour the seed🥜.
PS:
Q: How many thought leaders does it take to make microdosing respectable?
A: Hardly any. We just had to pretend they were optimizing consciousness instead of monetizing attention.
Written on Worimi lands. Sovereignty was never ceded.
Icon by Freepik from Flaticon
