A New Era For Legal Psychedelics

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Tuesday was so hot, it broke an unofficial record for the hottest day on Earth in recent history. Average temps across the globe hit 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit (note that half the world is currently experiencing winter). It is likely that Tuesday was the hottest day going back to at least the mid-1800s, when records first started being kept.

And it could be a short-lived record. The forecast for the rest of the summer: sizzling 🔥 due to the start of an el Nino weather cycle—combined with climate change.

On a separate note: Be sure to check us out on Threads, aka Instagram’s new Twitter competitor. It launched on Wednesday night and we are already bringing our news coverage to the social media platform. We will have a full review in tomorrow’s newsletter.

Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney

🗞 ‘SHROOMS TAKE A TRIP TO LEGAL STATUS

Australia became the first country in the world this week to allow psychiatrists to prescribe certain psychedelic substances to patients with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

HOW IT WILL WORK
Physicians in Australia can now prescribe doses of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, to patients with PTSD, and Psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, to people with depression.

It wont work like a typical prescription because Australian regulators still haven’t approved any actual medications that contain these substances. So, psychiatrists will have to apply to become authorized prescribers, and also get a permit from Australia’s office of drug control to import the drugs.

One Australian researchers says, in the case of MDMA, a patient would likely receive three treatments over a 5-8 week period. Each session would last about eight hours, with the therapist staying with the patient the entire time.

A NEW ERA OF MEDICINE
One scientist said this puts Australia “at the forefront of research in this field.”

An expert in psychedelic substances tells TIME magazine that Australia’s approval of these drugs could expedite the approval process in the U.S. because American regulators don’t like to be the first or the only ones to do something.

Switzerland, Canada, and Israel allow clinicians to use certain psychedelics for patients with severe conditions. Jamaica and Costa Rica already operate legal psychedelic clinics.

WHERE IT STANDS IN THE U.S.

• In 2018, the FDA designated psilocybin as a “breakthrough therapy.” This is a designation that’s meant to streamline the development and review of drugs to treat a serious condition.

• Just last month, the FDA released draft guidance for researchers designing clinical trials for psychedelic drugs to treat various medical conditions.

• As for a potential timeline for approval nationally, it’s still not clear.

  • Back in May 2022, an official from the US Department of Health and Human Services wrote that FDA approval of MDMA and psilocybin was “anticipated” within “approximately 24 months.” That’s according to a letter obtained by The Intercept.

BUT BUT BUT…
Just like with marijuana, individual states have plowed ahead of the federal government.

• Oregon was the first to legalize the adult use of psilocybin when used by adults, under the supervision of a licensed facilitator.

• Colorado voters decriminalized psilocybin in 2022.

• Legislation to legalize psilocybin has also been introduced in Connecticut, New Jersey, and California.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨 NATIONAL

📌 U.S. maternal deaths keep rising. Here's who is most at risk. (NPR)

📌 Fourth of July holiday weekend marked by at least 17 mass shootings, data shows. Three mass shootings in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Fort Worth, Texas, alone left at least 10 people dead and 38 wounded. (NBC NEWS)

📌 Additional lab tests show substance found at White House was cocaine. Secret Service found it in location where staff-led tours of the White House pass through. (CNN)

📌 Ron DeSantis presidential campaign struggles to find its footing (NY TIMES)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Ukraine and Russia accuse each other plotting attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (CBS NEWS)

📌 Koran burnings have Sweden torn between free speech and respecting minorities (AP NEWS)

📌 US says it stopped Iran’s plan to steal two oil tankers (WASHINGTON POST)

📌 French president proposes cutting off social media during future protests (POLITICO)

💵 BUSINESS & TECH

📌 UPS workers edge closer to strike as union negotiations stall (CBS NEWS)

📌 Why Instagram is taking on Twitter with “Threads” (THE VERGE)

📌 What’s next for Apple’s AirPods: Health Tracking, USB-C and lower prices (BLOOMBERG)

 🎥 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Major League Pickleball names new bosses to capitalize on surging popularity (CNBC)

📌 Michael Rubin’s famous annual white party in the Hamptons was bursting with famous athletes and celebrities like Tom Brady, Gayle King, J-Lo and Jay-Z. Here’s how Rubin decides which 350 celebs to invite. (NY POST)

📌 Cynthia Nixon ‘worried’ about fan reaction to Kim Cattrall’s ‘And Just Like That’ cameo: “It’s important to know that it is a very brief, very small cameo.” (SUNDAY TIMES)

🗓 ON THIS DAY: JULY 6

• 1942: Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in Amsterdam on this day and lived in a secret annex — an experience documented in her diary — until their capture on August 4, 1944.
  

• 1957: A 16-year-old John Lennon meets 15-year-old Paul McCartney for the first time at a performance by Lennon’s band.
  

• 1976: Women admitted to the US Naval Academy for the first time.

• 1994: Forrest Gump opens. The film wins Tom Hanks a second Oscar. 

And a happy birthday to President George W. Bush, who turns 77 today.

Fun fact: Three living former U.S. presidents were all born in the summer of 1946, just a few weeks apart. (Donald Trump in June, Bush in July and Bill Clinton in August)