Psilocybin changed their lives for the better - Pt 1

While still a developing industry on the island, psilocybin producers and retailers here are jointly devoted in championing the benefits of the ‘magic mushroom’ in effecting turnarounds for persons plagued by mood and behavioural afflictions.

Adopting the moniker The Mushroom Collective, the group of forward-thinking entrepreneurs wants to increase visibility and provide Jamaicans greater accessibility to the natural healing properties of psilocybin.

Singing its praises is one of the collective’s members, Jordan James, who is chief executive officer and mycologist at Looking Glass Farms Limited and Innergem, with his co-founder brother Brandon. The 31-year-old Jordan – who alongside his sibling founded the 2,500-square-foot vertically integrated Looking Glass facility in St Mary in 2021 – envisions that psilocybin dosing, which clinical studies have shown positively impact the well-being of persons afflicted with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, grief, and other behavioural and mood conditions, will be “incorporated into the national healthcare system, supported by the Jamaican Government, and even covered by health insurance”.

Researchers at the highly respected Johns Hopkins Medicine in the United States revealed that treatment with psilocybin can relieve major depressive disorder symptoms, for at least a year, in adults.

The 2022-published report in The Journal of Psychopharmacology, cited assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at John Hopkins University School of Medicine Natalie Gukasayan, who noted that through case studies, “ our findings add to evidence that, under carefully controlled conditions, this is a promising therapeutic approach that can lead to significant and durable improvements in depression”.

STRICT AGE RESTRICTIONS

Back on ‘The Rock’, the James brothers’ Looking Glass business focuses exclusively on psilocybin-producing mushrooms. The pair also create value-added products such as capsules, chocolates, and gummies made from strains with such creative names as Sacred Sun, True Albino, and Holy Trinity, which is a nod to the consciousness-expanding properties of the chemical agent found in the mushroom plant that has more than 200 identified species worldwide.

Quality assurance and testing of Looking Glass end products to purchasers is of paramount importance, as is the observed case for other producers within The Mushroom Collective.

“We assess the potency [of our products] by having tests done to determine the percentage of active compounds, then measure the amount of biomass that goes into each unit of the products,” Jordan detailed to The Gleaner’s Health in an interview last week.

The Scientific Research Council, the Cannabis and Mushroom Testing Lab, and The University of the West Indies’ Caribbean Centre for Research in Bioscience comprise the three testing bodies that Looking Glass and Inner Gems utilises to authenticate that their psilocybin varietals are fit for consumption.

“We currently retail through cannabis dispensaries and health and wellness stores, all of which enforce strict age restrictions for access to our products. We also export small amounts for research and testing to laboratories and universities in Canada and Australia,”noted one Looking Glass’ co-partner whose first encounter with psilocybin occurred when he was 25.

“I was going through a dark period in my life. Just one gram of dried mushrooms illuminated that darkness. It helped lift my depression, giving me a new outlook. I was able to mend family relationships, become a better parent to my newborn child, and begin to truly heal,” recalled the married father of three children.

As for Charles Lazarus, who operates the decade-plus psilocybin operation Patoo with co-proprietor Kevin Bourke, he began cultivating mushrooms as a personal journey “in exploration and fascination with the living earth, and grew into a business motivated by helping other people by providing the same tools that benefited both Kevin and I so much throughout our personal stories”.

Following a tragic car accident that claimed the lives of both his parents when he was just 21, the Runaway Bay, St Ann-raised Lazarus leaned on family and friends for support during this trying period.

Though Lazarus initially discovered psychedelics in his latter youth, he told Health: “ I had forgotten about mushrooms but when the dust cleared, a friend reminded me and I started occasional moments sitting with the medicine. I felt loved and cared for, I was reminded of the presence and favour of the Divine, and through the community of people, coupled with the self-love I experienced, I was guided on the pathway of healing.”

Lazarus’ 2,000-square-foot Rose Hill Apothecary Limited is an indoor facility on his family’s Runaway Bay property.

“We produce various cultivars of both dried and fresh mushroom which are then used for chocolate production, gummies, microdose capsules and infused honey for microdosing,” he informed of his operations that is powered by a geothermal HVAC unit with lower temperatures than what typically obtains in Jamaica. “We also have humidity control and air purification, our laboratory is extremely clean and we are constantly fine-tuning our process.”

HEIGHTEN VISIBILITY

Assessing the growth arc of the company, he shared that it has been an enjoyable journey, with the first seven years being gentle, while “the last few have been more pressing and adventurous”.

“I would say that the experience has been positive and fills me with a sense of purpose, and provides me with the happiness that comes from serving my community and playing my part in adding some much-needed positivity.”

Speaking to the specificity of the strains grown, he noted: “We hybrised our own proprietary strains that we have found to be beneficial in these areas. Originally, we started from landrace Jamaican Cubensis and have crossed them over the years with Polynesian genetics.”

Data analysis forms a major component of Lazarus’ and Bourke’s business model, which, he explained, “because of the nature of mushrooms, we are constantly communicating with our customer base for feedback on experiences and using genetic selection to fine-tune the experience expected by each of our products.”

This, as each product is unique in its properties in addressing behavioural and mood afflictions. “We are very conscious of this and use data we gather from our retreats and other retreats that we cultivate medicine for, as well as questionnaires and volunteer data from people who enjoy our offerings.

Lazarus wants to reposition the imaging of psilocybin and heighten its visibility and pluses. “I would like to see a steady acceptance and understanding of how beneficial mushrooms are not just for personal exploration, but also for helping with various issues that impact us on a mental health level,” he explained. “I would like the global community to continue to see Jamaica as a centre for mushroom retreats, responsible products, and assisting in community programmes that can help all people through research. We are already on the way and I want that to continue.”