Hello! Here is a brief overview of where we are in the conference planning process.
Event Summary:
Title: A Trip Into Your Experience: Psychedelic Symposium
When: Saturday & Sunday, August 14-15, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Where: The Capri Theater, 2027 West Broadway Minneapolis, MN 55411
The Capri is a newly renovated theater in a predominantly Black community that is currently rebuilding and creating equal opportunity for its residents. It is an anchor of trust, reliability, and innovation. We want to not only honor the achievements of the Capri as a historic center for community, but highlight its capacity for intellectual conversation and progressive leadership.
Preliminary Schedule:
Day 1
10-10:30 Registration
10:30-11 Introduction
11-11:45 Speaker 1
11:45-12 Intermission
12-12:45 Speaker 2
12:45-1 Intermission
1-1:45 Speaker 3
1:45-2 Intermission
2-2:45 Speaker 4
2:45-3 Intermission
3-3:45 Panel discussion
3:45-4 Closing comments
Day 2
10-10:30 Registration
10:30-11 Intro
11-11:45 Speaker 1
11:45-12 Intermission
12-12:45 Speaker 2
12:45-1 Intermission
1-1:45 Speaker 3
1:45-2 Intermission
2-2:45 Speaker 4
2:45-3 Intermission
3-3:45 Panel discussion
3:45-4 Closing comments
We’ve allotted 45 minutes per speaker, 5 per day. Intermissions will involve poetry, spoken word, and other mediums of community expression.
Our goals for the first annual psychedelic conference include:
• Decriminalize psychedelic experiences: POC are disproportionately stigmatized and criminalized for psychoactive experimentation while White academics are praised for their exotic pursuits in medicine.
• Increase access to alternative career and lifestyle resources: Lack of knowledge on professional careers in the industry and personal lifestyle, leave marginalized communities at a disadvantage.
• Decrease drug misinformation: Transparent drug education enhances risk reduction, prevents drug related deaths and addictions, as well as opens the dialogue for intellectual debate. Critical thinking is a necessary skill!
• Address social justice issues in the psychedelic community: Only recently has the community begun to recognize the lack of diversity within the psychedelic space. Recent research explores psychedelic assisted therapy as a means for healing racial trauma. But these efforts are lost if the lack of representation creates barriers for healing.
• Grow community involvement in sustainable health and wellness practices: We want to add to the sustainable pursuits of our community. The beautiful community gardens and farmers market. These sustainable practices should be alive and well throughout the community.
• Normalize cultivators having a voice in this space: Cultivators play an important role in the pursuit of psychedelic liberation. Let’s hear from all voices in our community!
The overarching theme is centering the everyday person in the plant medicine community as valid explorers with the capacity to experience, reflect, heal, and contribute.
Potential Topics:
- Cannabis and commercialization/capitalism
- Psychedelics and seasonal depression → microdosing
- Psychedelics and indiginous traditions/history/practices
- Risk reduction in party settings
- Race based trauma and psychedelic healing
- The role of language in psychedelic community
- Decriminalization in Minneapolis → legality of substances in mpls, where are we, what is the process of progression for mpls
- Cultivation
- Psychedelic Therapy and Community Building
- Psychedelics and the grieving process
- Psychedelics and addiction
Workshops: Small breakout rooms of about five people will be rotating throughout the day. These will be pre-registered workshops hosted by primarily local healers and educators. Some confirmed workshop hosts include the following:
- Embody Yoga and Expression: POC & Queer operated yoga studio located in North Minneapolis
- Courtney Osborn: Mycologist at Myco-Operation Twin Cities
- Alex Tuthill-Preus: Artist and light show performer
- Shireen June Ghanatabadi, MA, LPCC, SEP, Energy healer
More updates to come!