First annual California Psychedelic Conference features influential figures

The California Psychedelic Conference, hosted by Oakland Hyphae and held April 23-24 at The East Angel in downtown Los Angeles, is positioning itself as an essential source of passion to guide the psychedelics industry as it grows becoming more mainstream.

The event’s founder, Reggie Harris, who has been involved with other psychedelic events such as the Psilocybin Cup and the Oakland Psychedelic Conference over the past two years, is excited to bring a wealth of information about psychedelics to a diverse group of people. “This is not another event that’s about Ivy League-educated white males who work in biotechnology or pharmacy who have never tripped before,” Harris said. “We feature REAL people from the community, some of whom have been in the psychedelic game for decades.”

Some of the world’s most renowned mushroom growers will be in attendance, as well as therapists, activists, medical professionals and artists. “There will be in-depth discussions about the true history of psychedelics policy, moderated by people who have experienced these moments firsthand,” said an Oakland Hyphae press release. “You can also expect panels on psychedelic parenting and motherhood, sex and psychedelics, mushroom cultivation, harm reduction, avoiding the cannabis pathway, and much more.”

The press release also suggests that not taking a more active part in the legalization of psychedelics “could become a capitalist nightmare.” Therefore, the goal of this event is to highlight some of the most respected minds in the industry to help legislate as psychedelics enter the mainstream market.

“Without the legacy community PERIOD, there would be no psychedelic community,” Harris said. “These people put their lives on the line and built this culture that we can be a part of. At a time when we are talking about land back and reparations, we have a unique opportunity to structure the psychedelic landscape in a way that centers the people who built this whole thing on their backs who have been in prison and had separated their families. We should reward them for taking these risks. That’s what we do at the CA Psychedelic Conference.”

Harris has over a decade of political campaigning experience. He has worked locally with Oakland public schools and The Black Organizing Project, and has also been responsible for West and Southwest campaigns for Color of Change, credited with being one of the reasons Nevada “went blue” in the 2020 election. In the field of psychedelics he has contacted many top mushroom growers, worked with a major grower in the Netherlands and even advised a Jamaican mushroom farm and testing facility. His advocacy and passion for supporting “old herbalists” has led him to protect the burgeoning mushroom industry from corporate takeover.

The legislative effort for psychedelics is rapidly gaining momentum. Recently, House Bill 2850 was introduced in Missouri by Rep. Tony Lovasco, which would allow people suffering from treatment-resistant depression, PSTD, or terminal illness, to take “dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine, mescaline (except peyote), psilocybin, and psilocyn” for medical treatment .

Last month, Michigan’s Decriminalize Nature Michigan announced that it had been officially certified to collect signatures to qualify for November’s vote on an initiative that would “decriminalize the possession and cultivation of ‘natural plants and fungi,’ and the would reduce penalties for controlled substances, which currently include life imprisonment and life probation, and create avenues for religious organizations and hospitals to develop psychedelic-assisted mental health and ceremonial services.” Chapter co-director Julie Barron describes these Initiative as “a rare glimmer of hope for people who have suffered”.