Denver is the site of a conference from a psychedelic advocacy group, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which is the largest advocacy group in the U.S. The Psychedelic Science 2023 conference is taking place, June 19 through 23, just months after Colorado’s voters decided to join Oregon in decriminalizing psychedelic mushrooms.
The conference is bringing together an eclectic crowd of thousands, including podcasters, vendors, startups, and seekers. The lineup of speakers was wide-ranging and included a former Republican governor, NFL star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and rapper Jaden Smith.
Rodgers, who’ll soon debut with the New York Jets after years with the Green Bay Packers, spoke
Wednesday night with podcaster Aubrey Marcus.
Rodgers described taking ayahuasca with his teammates as “radically life-changing,” and claimed many other pro athletes have reached out to him. “I found a deeper self-love,” said Rodgers of his ayahuasca experience. “It unlocked that whole world of what I’m really here to do is to connect, to connect with those guys, and to make those bonds and to inspire people”.
While there is growing cultural acceptance for substances that proponents say may offer benefits for things like post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism, some medical experts still caution that more research is needed on the drugs’ efficacy and the extent of the risks of psychedelics.
