Some Thoughts on For-Profit Psychedelic Startups and Companies

Credit: Lewis Minor This week has been a fascinating firestorm for me.  Part of the excitement came after a series of tweets I published about some of the concerns I have as psychedelic medicine makes the leap from research to for-profit startups and companies. Here is what I wrote:“I am very concerned by the patent land grab warming up...

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Walter Isaacson on CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (#503)

Illustration via 99designs “The molecule is going to become the new microchip.”— Walter Isaacson Walter Isaacson (@WalterIsaacson) is a professor of history at Tulane, has been CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He is the author of Leonardo da Vinci; The Innovators; Steve Jobs; Einstein: His Life and Universe;...

3d

Jordan Peterson on Rules for Life, Psychedelics, The Bible, and Much More (#502)

Illustration via 99designs It seems to me that the purpose of life is to find a mode of being that is so meaningful that the fact that life is suffering is no longer relevant.— Jordan Peterson Jordan B. Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) has taught mythology to lawyers, doctors, and business people, consulted for the UN secretary-general, helped...

5d

Steven Pressfield on The Artist’s Journey, the Wisdom of Little Successes, Shadow Careers, and Overcoming Resistance (#501)

Illustration via 99designs Resistance with a capital R, that force of self-sabotage, will try to stop you as a writer or an artist or anybody from achieving your best work, from following your calling, will try to distract you, undermine your self-confidence, make you procrastinate, make you quit, make you give into fear, or, on the other hand,...

2w

KevKev TimTim TalkTalk on Dragon Slaying, Lessons Learned, Viagra, and Assorted Nonsense (#500)

Illustration via 99designs Kevin Rose (@KevinRose)—technologist, serial entrepreneur, world-class investor, self-experimenter, and all-around wild and crazy guy—was the first guest on the podcast nearly seven years ago. We were in San Francisco, sitting at this huge wooden table, and I remember being very nervous. I didn’t know what to expect,...

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An Urgent Plea to Users of Psychedelics: Let’s Consider a More Ethical Menu of Plants and Compounds

Extraction of Kambo frog poison near Iquitos, Peru. (Photo: Pawel Bienkowski / Alamy) “Do as little as needed, not as much as possible.” — Henk Kraaijenhof Coach of Merlene Joyce “Queen of the Track” Ottey, who won 23 combined medals at the Olympic games and world championships. This is a blog post I wish I didn’t need to write.I have...

2w

Katie Haun on the Dark Web, Gangs, Investigating Bitcoin, and The New Magic of “Nifties” (NFTs) (#499)

Illustration via 99designs Katie Haun (@katie_haun) is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Previously, she spent a decade as a federal prosecutor with the US Department of Justice, where she focused on fraud, cybercrime, and corporate crime, alongside agencies including the SEC, FBI, and Treasury. She created the government’s first cryptocurrency...

3w

Josh Waitzkin and Tim Ferriss on The Cave Process, Advice from Future Selves, and Training for an Uncertain Future (#498)

Illustration via 99designs Most of the great performers that I’ve known or competed against or worked with in different fields just had this beautiful connection between their areas of dysfunctionality and brilliance. Sometimes the very thing that helps them excel in their professional life, or their artistic life, or their competitive life,...

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Joyce Carol Oates — A Writing Icon on Creative Process and Creative Living (#497)

Illustration via 99designs “If you feel that you just can’t write or you’re too tired or this, that, and the other, just stop thinking about it, and go and work. Life doesn’t have to be so overthought. You don’t have to wait to be inspired. Just start working.” — Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) is the author of...

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Marc Randolph on Building Netflix, Battling Blockbuster, Negotiating with Amazon/Bezos, and Scraping the Barnacles Off the Hull (#496)

Illustration via 99designs “You have to have the willingness and the confidence to walk away from sure mediocrity to bet everything on the long shot of a big success.” — Marc Randolph Although best known as the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph‘s (@mbrandolph) career as an entrepreneur spans more than four decades. He’s...

Feb 2021