After a successful inaugural run last year, the Aspen Psychedelic Symposium returns to the Wheeler Opera House on May 31 and June 1. This year’s event sponsors — Aspen Public Radio, the Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center (APRC) and the Healing Advocacy Fund — have expanded the event to two days.
Zach Leary, the son of psychologist and ‘60s and ‘70s psychedelic counterculture leader Timothy Leary, is returning as emcee and will deliver opening remarks at 10am on Friday. This will be followed by a “Psychedelics 101: Respecting Our Roots” panel moderated by Joe Moore, the Breckenridge-based co-founder of Psychedelics Today.
Sandor Iron Rope, president of the Native American Church of South Dakota, advocates for the ceremonial use of peyote and other traditional practices, and Leary will engage in a dialogue focusing on the cultural roots of using plant-based medicines.
“Sandor is a member of the Lakota tribe with a family legacy of practicing peyote traditions. He is going to present a beautiful perspective on the importance of spirituality in healing and humanity,” said Laura Betti, co-founder of APRC. “Many traditions around plant medicines are rooted in spirituality and ceremony. It’s something that, in many ways, has been stripped from society, so it’s going to be an interesting discussion between Sandor and Zach.”
APRC emerged from Right to Heal Aspen, an initiative involving over 30 local therapists, municipal leaders, doctors, lawyers, parents and natural medicine enthusiasts working to develop legislation on plant medicine decriminalization.
In November 2022, Colorado voters passed the Natural Medicine Health Act (NMHA), or Proposition 122, establishing a regulated program for natural medicine access and personal use. Colorado became the second state, after Oregon, to issue licenses for the commercial production of federally-illegal psychedelic substances.
After the passage of NMHA, Betti and Martha Hammel founded APRC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating community members on the beneficial uses of psychedelic medicine. APRC hosts affordable events throughout the Roaring Fork Valley year-round, and its website (www.aspenpsychedelicresourcecenter.org) includes an extensive list of local resources and educational
information.
“We’re not proselytizers; we’re not selling anything. We want to give you information so you can make an informed decision,” Betti concluded.
Ibogaine’s potential
Also on Friday, Kevin Franciotti, a licensed addiction counselor based in Littleton, will moderate the “Ibogaine: The Promise, The Protocol, and Protecting the Sacred” panel.
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring plant-based psychoactive substance that has recently gained attention for its potential to treat addiction, particularly opioid dependence.
Earlier this year, Stanford Medicine researchers discovered that ibogaine safely improves depression, anxiety and overall functioning in veterans with traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
“Prolonged and untreated forms of trauma have effects on the brain. There’s a high co-occurring rate among these groups [individuals with TBI] of suffering from substance use disorders. Some folks get stuck in this vicious cycle of wanting to self-soothe when struggling with neurological conditions, and many are finding that ibogaine helps them both break free of their dependency on drugs that are not helping them and recover some brain capacity to function,” Franciotti explained.
Franciotti’s goal in speaking at events like the symposium is to educate the public about the beneficial uses of natural medicines. With the passage of NMHA, Colorado’s Natural Medicine Advisory Board is now establishing the regulatory framework related to the use of ibogaine.
“I’m strongly interested in petitioning and lobbying the legislature and the natural medicine advisory board to seriously look at the need to bring rules around ibogaine so businesses can set up licensed facilities in the state to bring this medicine to the public,” he continued. “For the first time, at the state level, we have the potential to bring powerful medicines to people who have previously lost hope and give them hope again.”
Safety and support
The Healing Advocacy Fund, according to its website, aims to “protect and expand safe, affordable state-regulated access to psychedelic healing for all who need it.” On Saturday, Tasia Poinsatte, the nonprofit’s Colorado director, will moderate a panel titled “Psychedelic Healing and Community Empowerment: Navigating State Access Models in Oregon and Colorado.”
“The goal of this panel is to help people imagine what might be possible as we make this change in Colorado and Oregon. We now have this opportunity to see what’s happening in Oregon and learn from their process. I’m fortunate to have spent some time in Oregon speaking with people opening businesses and running nonprofits that provide psilocybin therapy today,” Poinsatte shared.
The conversation will focus on how the state model creates opportunities for “innovative approaches to healing that actually bring us back to these more ancient ways of working in ceremony and community,” she explained.
Poinsatte emphasized the importance of safety and support in psychedelic experiences, stating, “We always want to make sure to emphasize that the psychedelic experience is not risk-free.”
Film screenings
The symposium kicks off on May 30 with two film screenings at the Aspen Film Isis Theatre. At 3:30pm, “Of Night and Light: The Story of Iboga and Ibogaine” explores the psychedelic treatment landscape. At 6pm, “From Shock to Awe” follows veterans seeking relief through psychedelics, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker and veteran activists. A cocktail reception follows at Mollie Aspen Hotel at 7:30pm.
In a nutshell:
What: Aspen Psychedelic Symposium
When: May 31-June 1
Tickets: Two-day passes at $100, single-day at $60, aspenshowtix.com
Schedule: www.bit.ly/APS2024schedule