The Vine

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, PMP invites Reason for Hope Co-Founders, Brett Waters, Esq. and Dr. Lynnette Averill to The Vine to share their work with psychedelic medicines. 

Most of us have been touched in some way by suicide or death by overdose. The COVID pandemic escalated the mental health crisis in our country. Our guests shared openly their personal connections with deaths of despair that led them to create Reason for Hope, an organization dedicated to developing and advocating for the policy and legal reforms needed to facilitate safe and affordable access to psychedelic medicine through therapy expanded access pilot programs for those who cannot afford to wait for FDA approval. 
 
Our mission at PMP is to end the stigma around healing modalities outside of traditional medicine. We hope that with a broader understanding our community will be better equipped to make informed decisions about alternative medicines for themselves and their loved ones. 
 
On Episode #67 of The Vine, we share information surrounding mental health research and science and how psychedelic medicine is being used for treatment-resistant conditions like severe PTSD and depression. In order for these medicines to become more widely available, the laws in the US need to be reformed to allow legal access for clinicians and patients. 
 
You will also hear about the psychedelic legislation that is happening now in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York along with work at the federal level preparing briefings for the White House Domestic Policy Council, HHS, and members of Congress on the need for an inter-agency psychedelic task force.
 
Now more than ever it is important to talk to your lawmakers about research and healing through psychedelic medicines. Find out how you can join the fight with Reason for Hope. To learn more visit this link.
 
On a personal note, last year I was introduced to Brett Waters by Daniel Conner, Senior VP and Director of State and Local Affairs at the Psychedelic Medicine Coalition. I asked Daniel if he knew of anyone working on legislation in my home state of Pennsylvania, and from the moment that I met Brett I became a Reason for Hope volunteer. 
 
I have been working with a team of volunteers in PA (we’re calling our project the Center for Psychedelic Education), and we are hosting a Psychedelic Education Day sponsored by Reason for Hope in Harrisburg on June 8, 2022 beginning with a press conference at 2:30 PM in the Main Rotunda of the Capitol Building followed by a screening of Psychedelia at the Whitaker Center. If you’d like to join us in Harrisburg, please click here to learn more, and be sure to reach out to Brett and his team if you’d like to get involved in your community.