Founder of Toms Shoes Pledges $100 Million Towards Psychedelic Research
Toms Shoes founder promises $100 million towards psychedelic research and access.
Founder of Toms Shoes, Blake Mycoskie, pledged to provide $100 million to assist access and research regarding psychedelics (1).
Mycoskie interviewed with MartketWatch (2), where he discussed how the money being donated will aid research, nonprofits working to expand access for patients in need of psychedelic treatments, and support academic institutions researching psychedelic medicine.
Mycoskie shared an experience he had with ayahuasca in 2017. During this psychedelic therapy encounter, he was able to witness healing on another level. “[It] “cracked me open, and it connected me more to my faith in God, made me feel that we were all connected and everything was fine and perfect…I came back just feeling like, wow, that was more powerful than any therapy I’d ever done,” Mycoskie said (1).
The $100 million donation, approximately a quarter of Mycoskie’s net worth, may be the most generous donation to psychedelics research. Blake Mycoskie discussed with MarketWatch (2), ”We really need to get this right, and we really need to have these foundations and nonprofits funded properly … I felt a real sense of urgency.”
References
Ep 24, Part I: Data Transparency in Cannabis Testing with Yasha Khan
November 21st 2024Evan Friedmann interviews Yasha Khan, co-founder of MCR Labs, about his journey into the cannabis industry and his efforts to promote transparency and integrity in laboratory practices. Yasha discusses the origins of MCR Labs, which began in Massachusetts to meet the needs of the soon-to-be legal medical cannabis market. He explains the challenges faced, including result manipulation by labs and the impact on public health. Yasha's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) project aimed to gather testing data from 37 states, revealed significant discrepancies in potency and mold results. Despite some states' reluctance to share data, Yasha has made much of this data public, leading to collaborative research and publications on various aspects of cannabis testing.
Assessing Cannabis as a Harm Reduction Strategy: Insights from a Large-Scale Study
November 19th 2024A New Zealand study aimed to assess cannabis use as a harm reduction tool. Findings highlight lifestyle factors, and suggest cannabis-focused harm reduction strategies in reducing other substance use such as alcohol.
Ep 23, Part III: Accreditation in the Cannabis Industry with Susan Audino
October 24th 2024In Part III of this episode, host Evan Friedmann is joined by Susan Audino, PhD, founder of S.A. Audino & Associates, LLC, and co-founder of Saturn Scientific, LLC, to examine the complexities of sampling in the cannabis industry, emphasizing the need for proper sampling plans, and methods.
