First Annual California Psychedelic Conference Highlights Influential People

Hosted by Oakland Hyphae and held at The East Angel in downtown Los Angeles between April 23-24, The California Psychedelic Conference is positioning itself as an essential source of passion to direct the psychedelics industry as it becomes more mainstream.

Event Founder Reggie Harris, who has previously been involved in other psychedelic-related events such as the Psilocybin Cup and Oakland Psychedelic Conference within the last two years, is excited to present a diverse group of people with a wealth of information to share about psychedelics. “This isn’t another event centered around Ivy League educated white males who work in Biotech or Pharma, and have never tripped before,” said Harris. “We’re featuring REAL people from the community, some of whom have been in the psychedelic game for decades.”

Some of the world’s most renowned mushrooms cultivators will be in attendance, as well as therapists, activists, medicine workers, and artists. “There will be deep dive discussions on the real history of psychedelic policy, hosted by people who experienced these moments firsthand,” an Oakland Hyphae press release states. “You can also expect panels on psychedelic parenting and maternity, sex and psychedelics, mushroom cultivation, harm reduction, avoiding the path of cannabis, and so much more.”

The press release also suggests that not becoming more actively involved in the legalization of psychedelics could “become a capitalist nightmare,” so the goal of this event is to highlight some of the industry’s most respected minds to help guide legislation as psychedelics enter the mainstream market.

“There would be no psychedelic community without the legacy community, PERIOD,” said Harris. “These people have put their lives on the line and built this culture for us to be a part of. In a day and age when we talk about ‘Land Back’ and Reparations, we have a unique opportunity to structure the psychedelic landscape in a way that will center the people who built this entire thing on their backs, who’ve been to jail and had their families split up. We should be rewarding them for taking those risks. That’s what we’re doing at the CA Psychedelic Conference.”

Harris has over a decade of experience in political campaigns. He’s worked locally with Oakland public schools and The Black Organizing Project, and he was also responsible for both western and southwestern campaigns for Color of Change, which is credited as part of the reason that Nevada “turned blue” in the 2020 election. In the realm of psychedelics, he has connected with many top mushroom growers, worked with a large cultivator in The Netherlands, and even consulted for a Jamaican mushroom farm and testing facility. His advocacy and passion to support “legacy plant medicine workers” has led him to protect the budding mushroom industry from being taken over by corporations.

Legislative efforts for psychedelics are rapidly gaining speed. Most recently, House Bill 2850 was introduced by Representative Tony Lovasco in Missouri, which if passed, would allow people who suffer from treatment-resistant depression, PSTD or terminal illness to use “dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine, mescaline (except peyote), psilocybin, and psilocyn” for medical treatment.

Last month in Michigan, Decriminalize Nature Michigan announced that it was officially certified to collected signatures to qualify for the November ballot for an initiative that “would decriminalize the possession and cultivation of ‘Natural plants and mushrooms’, reduce penalties for controlled substances that currently include life sentences and lifetime probation, and create pathways for religious organizations and hospitals to develop psychedelic assisted mental health and ceremonial services.” The chapter’s co-director, Julie Barron, describes this initiative as a “rare ray of hope for people who have been suffering.”