Portugal Approves Psychedelic Therapy, Christian Angermayer Supports atai
Public funding in Europe and major biotech reinvestment signal a growing shift toward psychedelic legitimacy, while cannabis markets expose the pitfalls of regulatory fragmentation.
Key Highlights
Portugal’s public funding for esketamine and bipartisan U.S. efforts to ease research on Schedule I substances signal growing institutional acceptance of psychedelic therapies.
State-level developments, like New Hampshire’s psilocybin decriminalization bill, reflect shifting attitudes, though inconsistencies such as Florida’s spore ban and Oregon’s troubled psilocybin rollout show uneven progress.
The cannabis sector’s struggles with fragmented state regulations, federal hesitation, and heavy operational burdens offer critical lessons for psychedelics, underscoring the need for clear and unified frameworks.
European movement on medical cannabis, including reforms in France and Spain and Curaleaf’s EU certification, suggests a broader trend toward regulated access that could support psychedelic medicines.
Despite record U.S. cannabis sales of $30.1B in 2024, signs of market maturation emerged through workforce declines and price wars, highlighting a shift toward operational discipline.
Emerging cannabis markets and changing consumer tastes, such as the rise of pre-rolls, reveal dynamic trends that psychedelics may echo in their growth phase.
Investor confidence in psychedelics was demonstrated by atai Life Sciences’ $22.75M reinvestment, contrasting with cannabis sector volatility and highlighting belief in therapeutic potential.
Cannabis players continue to innovate and expand, for example, Ascend and Trulieve retail and drive-through models, reflecting normalization and evolving consumer behavior that could shape psychedelic service experiences.
However, the cannabis industry also faces pressure from unregulated markets and financial instability, for example, Ecofibre emphasizing the need for clear regulatory boundaries and public education, which are lessons crucial for psychedelics.
Scientific research into psychedelics is advancing with clinical trials like atai’s R-MDMA for social anxiety and ongoing affirmation of psilocybin’s antidepressant effects.
Studies into mechanisms such as brain hemisphere dominance and DMT’s influence on neural complexity reveal a deepening understanding of how these substances affect the brain.
Ethical practices, therapist training, and integration strategies are gaining attention, as seen at events like the UK Psychedelic Conference, showing a maturing and responsible approach to development.
Public demand is growing for nuanced, evidence-based education about psychoactive substances, especially among younger generations seeking more than outdated institutional narratives.
The conversation around psychedelics is broadening beyond medical treatment to include cultural healing, identity, and community, which are themes that align with shifting societal values. As cannabis becomes normalized through mainstream figures and as the impacts of the drug war gain scrutiny, psychedelics have a growing opportunity to connect education with justice and wellness.
Regulatory
Regulatory shifts show growing medical acceptance of psychedelics, while cannabis remains a source of lessons in complexity and contradiction.
Governments take measured steps toward psychedelic acceptance
🇵🇹 Portugal will publicly fund esketamine (Spravato) for treatment-resistant depression, marking a first in Europe and a signal of changing attitudes toward medical psychedelics.
🇺🇸 In the U.S., the Secretary of Veterans Affairs backed psychedelic research for veterans, and lawmakers introduced the bipartisan Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act of 2025 to ease restrictions on Schedule I substances.
🇺🇸 New Hampshire advanced a psilocybin decriminalization bill.
🇺🇸 Florida's new ban on psychedelic mushroom spores underscores the patchwork of state-level approaches and potential countercurrents that necessitate careful monitoring.
🇺🇸 Oregon’s legal psilocybin program continues to reveal real-world data, with early signs of success alongside persistent issues like high costs and limited access.
Cannabis struggles reflect what psychedelics should prepare for
🇫🇷 🇪🇸 France and Spain are moving toward permanent medical cannabis frameworks, reflecting broader European openness to regulated access.
🇪🇺 Curaleaf’s cannabis inhalation device received EU medical certification, potentially setting the stage for future psychedelic delivery formats.
🇦🇺 Australia simplified its hemp regulations, joining other countries in refining plant-based product oversight.
🇺🇸 The U.S. cannabis market continues to face a web of inconsistent state rules and ongoing federal hesitation, reflected in the DEA's recent threat assessment and the cancellation of potency tracking contracts. Businesses in states like California and Minnesota deal with high taxes, while operators in New York face steep licensing fees and strict compliance crackdowns.
Recommended actions
Map shifting priorities across key regions
• Explore developments in Alabama, Texas, and Florida if these are jurisdictions of interest for future planning.
Follow federal and international legislative changes
• Track the Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act of 2025 and regulatory updates in New York, Wisconsin, California, Pennsylvania, Brazil, South Africa, New Hampshire, Nebraska, and Michigan.
Market
Strong cannabis sales continue, but workforce cuts and price battles reveal a maturing industry with uneven regional outcomes.
Sales rise while mature markets recalibrate
🇺🇸 U.S. legal cannabis sales reached a record $30.1 billion in 2024, with projections for continued growth, but the first industry-wide employment decline since 2017 signals deeper strain beneath the surface.
🇺🇸 States like Michigan and Arizona are facing price wars and sales slowdowns caused by saturated markets and aggressive competition.
🇺🇸 In contrast, newer markets such as Missouri continue to grow, showing that the cannabis industry is moving at different speeds across regions.
🇺🇸 🇨🇦 In both the U.S. and Canada, pre-rolls are gaining popularity, reflecting a shift in consumer preferences toward convenience and ready-to-use formats.
Lessons emerge for psychedelics as cannabis adjusts
🇺🇸 The current phase of recalibration in cannabis, including workforce shifts and pressure on mature markets, may preview challenges psychedelics could encounter as access expands. Programs like Massachusetts' EquityWorks Career Hub highlight the rising importance of workforce development and social equity, areas that will likely shape how psychedelics scale.
🇺🇸 Research linking cannabis legalization to increased workers' compensation claims with lower associated costs, along with reduced opioid use, adds to the broader picture of how public health narratives can influence substance regulation.
Recommended actions
Turn cannabis market trends into future-facing content
• Create articles or webinars analyzing cannabis market maturation (price compression, consolidation) as a case study for future psychedelic market evolution.
Highlight product innovation
• Produce educational pieces on emerging cannabis product formats (e.g., pre-rolls) and discuss potential parallels for user-friendly psychedelic product education (once legally viable).
Follow workforce and policy efforts for applicable insights
• Initiate a content series tracking regulatory and workforce development initiatives (e.g., Massachusetts model) in cannabis, drawing lessons for future psychedelic industry best practices.
Frame broader outcomes to inform public understanding
• Develop informational content on the observed secondary effects of cannabis legalization (e.g., impact on opioid use, workers' comp), framing potential similar discussions for psychedelics.
Look across borders to build a global perspective
• Create a brief comparing U.S. and Canadian cannabis market trends (e.g., pre-roll adoption) to inform a global perspective in psychedelic education.
Competitive
This week's market signals, while predominantly rooted in the cannabis sector, offer valuable analogues and direct indicators for the burgeoning psychedelics landscape.
Investor confidence reinforces psychedelic sector potential
🇺🇸 Christian Angermayer’s $22.75 million reinvestment in atai Life Sciences demonstrates continued belief in the long-term promise of psychedelic medicine and human enhancement. The move strengthens atai’s leadership in research and signals momentum in the biotech side of the industry, even as adjacent sectors show instability.
🇦🇺 Ecofibre faces financial distress and Vitura Health shows mixed progress, highlighting that international market maturity remains uneven. These shifts serve as reminders that financial resilience in psychedelics cannot be assumed and must be supported with strong scientific credibility and clear messaging.
Retail expansion and product innovation reshape consumer expectations
🇺🇸 Major cannabis companies such as Ascend, Trulieve, Curaleaf, and TerrAscend are expanding aggressively into developing markets like Ohio, using formats like drive-throughs and hybrid medical-adult use models. These strategies reflect a push toward convenience and normalized access, which could influence how psychedelic services are designed in the future.
🇺🇸 At the product level, Grön’s commentary on competition between regulated edibles and unregulated hemp-derived THC products points to the critical importance of consumer education, regulation, and clarity in product offerings.
🇺🇸 The growing popularity of CPG-style formats such as gummies indicates a wider shift in consumption preferences, underscoring the need for trusted guidance and clear information as new product categories emerge in psychedelics.
Recommended actions
Showcase investor trust to build credibility
• Develop and disseminate content (articles, social media posts, newsletter segments) highlighting the significance of Angermayer's investment in atai as a positive market signal for the entire psychedelic therapy ecosystem, emphasizing long-term potential and scientific backing.
Translate cannabis market lessons into strategic guidance
• Create educational pieces drawing parallels from the cannabis market's evolution (e.g., Ohio expansion, unregulated product risks highlighted by Grön). Focus on the importance of quality, safety, and regulatory clarity, subtly positioning the need for trusted educational resources in the psychedelic space.
Track consumer shifts to shape future product education
• Initiate a content series or internal brief analyzing the consumer shift towards CPG-like products (e.g., gummies in cannabis). Discuss potential implications for future psychedelic product delivery and the educational narratives required around responsible consumption of such formats, should they become prevalent.
Bring global snapshots into market context
• Incorporate brief mentions of international developments (like Vitura and Ecofibre in Australia) in market updates to demonstrate a broader understanding, framing them as learning opportunities for the nascent global psychedelic industry, without requiring deep dives or resource-intensive analysis.
Scientific
This week's scientific updates in the psychedelic domain highlight two core advancing fronts: continued clinical validation for specific indications and a deepening exploration of the neurobiological mechanisms and ethical frameworks underpinning psychedelic experiences.
New findings deepen understanding of psychedelic effects
🇩🇪 atai Life Sciences began a Phase 2 trial for R-MDMA targeting social anxiety disorder, expanding the clinical scope of empathogens beyond PTSD.
🇺🇸 Ongoing research confirms psilocybin’s antidepressant benefits in treatment-resistant depression but highlights reduced efficacy in individuals with comorbid PTSD.
🇬🇧 A theory proposing that psychedelics shift brain hemisphere dominance to enhance empathy is gaining attention.
🇺🇸 Studies on DMT suggest it reduces control energy in the brain and increases signal complexity, offering insight into subjective and cognitive effects.
Ethics and history shape the future of the field
🇬🇧 The UK Psychedelic Conference addressed essential topics such as ethics in therapy, therapist selection, the role of female biology in drug response, the potential of non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens, and the importance of integration practices.
🇺🇸 Historical perspectives on early LSD therapy were also discussed, highlighting how far scientific understanding and regulation have evolved since the 1950s.
🇺🇸 While cannabis research showed continued progress in areas such as pain relief, sleep apnea, and physical activity, and raised questions around marketing claims like “entourage effect”, the most relevant developments for our focus remain concentrated in the psychedelic space.
Recommended Actions
Break down complex science into accessible formats
• Create accessible articles, infographics, and short video explainers detailing the implications of the R-MDMA Phase 2 trial, psilocybin’s clinical nuances, the brain hemisphere dominance theory, and DMT’s influence on brain activity.
Lead conversations on ethics and integration
• Launch a content series covering themes from the UK Psychedelic Conference, including ethical concerns, therapist selection, the role of integration, and the science behind non-hallucinogenic alternatives.
Showcase progress through historical contrast
• Develop content that compares early psychedelic research, such as 1950s LSD therapy, with current advancements to highlight the evolution of the field.
Social
Public narratives around psychoactive substances are shifting, with rising demand for education that moves beyond stigma.
Misinformation makes the case for evidence-based education
🇺🇸 A recent DEA campaign promoting disputed claims about cannabis has reinforced outdated institutional messaging and contributed to public confusion. This underlines the need for evidence-based psychedelic education that avoids oversimplification and moral panic.
🇺🇸 Gen Z audiences are increasingly engaging with resources like "Before You Trip," which aim to deliver balanced, non-sensationalized psychedelic education. This growing interest suggests a shift toward more nuanced understanding and greater openness to honest conversation about altered states.
Psychedelics gain visibility in cultural healing and social justice
🇵🇭 Wilhelmina De Castro’s work highlights the role of psychedelics in cultural and personal healing, identity exploration, and community-building, pushing the discourse beyond clinical or recreational frameworks.
🇨🇦 Cannabis normalization is also contributing to changing attitudes, with figures like Montreal-based Chef Laurent Dagenais helping reduce stigma through casual, mainstream visibility of substance use.
🇺🇸 In parallel, the reintroduction of congressional reparations legislation that references the drug war’s racist impact shows growing readiness to confront historical harm. This moment creates a powerful opening to connect psychedelic education with broader conversations around equity and justice.
Recommended Actions
Respond directly to misinformation with accessible content
• Rapidly develop and disseminate targeted, easily shareable content (e.g., social media infographics, short blog posts) that directly counters the specific misleading claims from the DEA's campaign, emphasizing factual accuracy and the unique context of psychedelics.
Amplify balanced voices and emerging education platforms
• Create content that highlights and supports balanced education efforts, including initiatives like "Before You Trip," and explore themes related to psychedelics and cultural healing, identity, and community connection.
Connect destigmatization and justice narratives
• Author a thought leadership piece analyzing how public figures (e.g., Chef Dagenais in Canada) contribute to shifting public perception, and develop a separate piece linking reparations discourse to the need for reimagined drug education, positioning your content as part of that movement.
Consclusion: This week’s developments in the psychoactive substance landscape highlight a pivotal divergence: psychedelic medicine is steadily advancing towards medical legitimization, buoyed by positive regulatory signals and robust scientific inquiry. Conversely, the more mature cannabis sector, despite overall sales growth, grapples with significant regulatory fragmentation, market saturation, and competitive pressures, offering crucial lessons. For an entity focused on content and education in psychedelics, the imperative is to champion evidence-based understanding, track the cautious ascent of psychedelic therapies, and strategically leverage insights from the cannabis industry's complex journey to inform responsible development and public discourse.