Psychedelics

Lucid News: Shifting Strategy, MAPS Turns to Equity Investment

Published

2 years ago

March 30, 2023

admin

Maps entering the markets… ummmm?

Doblin, MDMA and an investment house in a sector where pharma development companies appear to be dropping like flies at the moment sounds fraught with future pain.

Lucid write

The non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has for the first time offered to sell shares in its for-profit, drug-development subsidiary, MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC), as it struggles to raise the money needed to bring MDMA to market as a prescription medicine.

Last year, MAPS asked Cowen & Company, a New York investment bank, to seek investors in MAPS PBC, a wholly-owned subsidiary that is closer than ever to gaining FDA approval for its plan to treat PTSD with MDMA-assisted therapy.

Cowen’s bankers brought a proposal to sell equity in MAPS PBC to about 40 investors with an interest in biotech startups, but found no takers, according to Rick Doblin, MAPS founder and president. While no deals have been consummated, MAPS says a variety of investors have expressed interest and are in various stages of discussion with the PBC.

Last fall, MAPS developed a new plan to take bridge loans from well-to-do investors that would be converted into equity if the loans are not repaid, Doblin said. The organization has put that proposal before selected investors.

The willingness to take on outside investors is a turnabout for MAPS, which for decades since has led efforts to bring psychedelic medicines into the mainstream.

It’s also a disappointment for Doblin, who previously said that MAPS PBC would sell shares only as a last resort.

“They don’t have any other option to get to the next level,” says a MAPS ally who has spoken with Doblin, but asked not to be identified because their conversations were private.

Read the full report

Shifting Strategy, MAPS Turns to Equity Investment

Source link

Psychedelics

Alert: We are just over a week away from the Natural Medicine Division opening our application process to individuals who are interested in becoming business Owners or Natural Medicine Handlers, and to business applications for Healing Centers, Cultivations, Testing Facilities and Product Manufacturers.

Published

4 weeks ago

December 27, 2024

admin

Dear Interested Parties:

We are just over a week away from the Natural Medicine Division opening our application process to individuals who are interested in becoming business Owners or Natural Medicine Handlers, and to business applications for Healing Centers, Cultivations, Testing Facilities and Product Manufacturers.

This week, we wanted to share some logistical information about the application process.

We encourage you to submit your application online, and there will be instructions on how to submit applications on the Natural Medicine Division website.

However, based on stakeholder feedback, we will be opening up limited appointment slots for in-person assistance at our Lakewood office starting on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. At this time, Fridays will be the only day that we will be offering in-person natural medicine licensing application assistance. We will be open from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for in-person Friday appointments.

We are finalizing the applications and will be sharing those prior to our application process coming online. You can always check out our Public Resources folder to find information and compliance tools.

As always, please reach out to us at [email protected].us if you have any questions.

Stay tuned!

The Natural Medicine Division

Source link

Psychedelics

Mexican “Shamen” on The Run After Actress Dies In Frog Ceremony

Published

2 months ago

December 9, 2024

admin

An actress in Mexico tragically lost her life after she ingested Amazonian frog venom as a part of a cleansing ritual while at a spiritual retreat. She experienced severe diarrhoea after taking part in the ceremony and was rushed to a hospital, but the doctors failed to save her life.

A shaman at the spiritual retreat where the actress took the Amazonian frog venom that caused her death has fled.

The 33-year-old actress Marcela Alcázar Rodríguez took part in the traditional South American Kambo ritual, which involves drinking water, getting burns on the body, and ingesting frog venom to cleanse the body of toxins, reported the Mirror. However, this ritual is known to have deadly consequences.

How is the Kambo ritual performed?

The participants in the ritual are made to drink more than a litre of water. Small burns are then created on their skin, following which frog mucus is applied on the wounds.

The mucus, which contains venom, increases blood pressure and induces vomiting, reported the outlet. It also causes diarrhoea in some cases. Other symptoms involve fainting, dizziness, swollen lips and face. Usually, the symptoms last for nearly half an hour. However, extended exposure of the venom to the blood stream can cause seizures and also death.

What happened to Marcela Alcázar Rodríguez?

Soon after beginning the ritual, Rodríguez reportedly started throwing up and eventually suffered from severe diarrhoea – these symptoms are often considered the body’s “healing” reactions during the cleansing process. Initially, she refused help but gave in when her friend visited her.

According to the Metro, a shaman at the retreat in Mayocoyani, Durango, told her she couldn’t leave. However, after her condition worsened, the person fled. Reportedly, police are now searching for the shaman.

Tribute to the actress

In a social media post, Durango Film Guild paid tribute to the actress after her untimely demise. They remembered her as “a young woman who worked in various short films, series and movies filmed in Durango.”

The guild added, “She leaves a void in the hearts of the people who knew her working in what she loved: cinema.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/actress-dies-after-taking-amazonian-frog-venom-during-cleansing-ritual-at-spiritual-retreat-101733371832107.html?ck_subscriber_id=1050193520

Source link

Psychedelics

Dutch police find gnome made of MDMA during drug bust

Published

2 months ago

November 23, 2024

admin

BBC

Officers in the southern Netherlands have found a garden gnome weighing nearly 2kg (4lb) and made of the drug MDMA.

“Drugs appear in many shapes and sizes, but every now and then we come across special things,” Dongemond Police said in a translated social media post.

The gnome was found among suspected narcotics during a large drug search.

“In itself a strange place to keep your garden gnome,” the force said. “That’s why we decided to test [it] for narcotics”.

“The gnome himself was visibly startled,” police said, referring to the gnome having its hands covering its mouth.

It is not known which area the gnome was recovered in, but the Dongemond Police covers the municipalities of Oosterhout, Geertruidenberg, Drimmelen and Altena.

MDMA – which is an illegal substance in the Netherlands – is a synthetic party drug also known as ecstasy.

As of 2019, the Netherlands was among the world’s leading producers of MDMA.

Source link