Set the Setting: April 2025

Meme drop, Set the Setting Mixtape: Daily Bread, HALT Fentanyl Act: a drug policy failure, MDMA-Assisted Therapy Training in Ukraine, Catch me IRL at Ubbi Dubbi (April 25-28th), Photo drop

Apr 05, 2025

I’m relieved that I booked that meditation retreat in March! I needed it, especially with all of the chaos between work at MAPS, my remodel, and everything happening in the world. Despite having many reasons to be anxious (anybody look at their 401k recently?!)… I’m not feeling that unsettled. Like, at all. I’m here, right? I’m healthy, I’m having fun. During those 90 minute meditation blocks, I was able to get really still, quiet the noise, and find peace and joy within. Ahhhh it was really nice!

Along with the meditation guidance, the focus of the retreat was “knowing and trusting your inner guidance.” I learned a TON, particularly around trusting my intuition. Because we all get thoughts, but how do you know when to trust them?! Sometimes, my intuition has been solid and other times… so wrong. Hit me up if you want to hear some of my learnings; I’d be happy to share!

For better or worse (ok, worse), I went straight from the meditation retreat to Vegas for the Transform conference; skipping the integration and sliding right into Aries season.

My favorite birthday voicemail. Can you tell where Dallas ended and Ryan picked up?

I wasn’t able to pick up the phone for birthday calls because I was at Transform! There were so many highlights, I can’t fit them all into one paragraph. It was definitely a highlight meeting people IRL that I’ve only known through zoom for 5 years (hey Alisha!). And meeting people on the dance floor that read this blog (FIZA!). If you don’t believe that an HR conference could be the best place to spend your birthday, well I would share some stories but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

My presentation “Psychedelics in the C-Suite” is available through the online Transform Community

Set the Setting Mixtape: Daily Bread

Even though I’ve been given dozens of talks over my career, I always, always, always get a little nervous. I practice a lot in the 1-2 weeks leading up to it, but I don’t review my slides in the remaining 24 hours. Instead, I find a playlist that’s going to hype me up, like this 25-track mixtape from Daily Bread. His sound is hard to describe. According to AI, it’s a mix of electro-soul and hip-hop featuring nostalgic, soulful melodies, gritty hip-hop hooks, and bass-driven flare, creating a cohesive sound. Give it a listen and read on!

Later that night, my friend Torin, who I have mad respect for as a professional speaker, gave me the best compliment. He said I was “oozing authenticity on stage” and that’s exactly the energy I wanted to bring to my talk. I give to credit Daily Bread for giving me the power, the swagger, to take space and deliver a nuanced topic to a packed room.

Daily Bread was also on my mind because I’m seeing him tonight at Regency Ballroom (SF homies, hit me up!).

HALT Fentanyl Act: a drug policy failure

The clumsy and misguided HALT Fentanyl Act was one of many shit pieces of legislation that was signed into law last month. It’s like we’ve learned nothing from decades of our own failed and racist drug policy.

Say it with me now: Drug addiction and overdose deaths are a public health issue - not a law enforcement issue.

The HALT Fentanyl Act imposes mandatory sentences on people with small amounts of fentanyl, sweeping low level dealers and couriers into prison. This is what we did with the “tough on crime” crack cocaine law in 1986 - which led to more drug deaths, more gang violence, and an almost fivefold increase in the federal prison population.

Locking people up will sound like “getting tough,” but it does nothing to disrupt the global fentanyl supply into the US. This fentanyl sentencing regime will add federal prisoners for decades-long sentences. The cost of a prisoner, paid by taxpayers, is $44,090 per year per prisoner. Data on fentanyl convictions show that 80% of defendants are Black or Hispanic, so we’ll be perpetuating the same racial disparities that defined the drug war in the 1990’s. Adding insult to injury, the HALT Fentanyl Act blocks research into fentanyl analogs (which is how naloxone/narcan was developed).

We know what works: expanding access to naloxone to reverse overdoses, promoting additional screening for students and at-risk populations, investing robustly in treatment capacity and expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder. These initiatives are working on overdose deaths are going down! We can save lives at the fraction of the cost of putting people in prison.

Keep in mind that 70% of people with an opioid addiction today got their first opioid legally through a prescription like Oxycontin. They were told these substances were safe and did not carry significant risk of addiction. These people don’t deserve to be punished - they’ve been fucked by pharmaceuticals and capitalism.

The horrors persist, but so do I. I will continue to fight for drug policy that regulates drugs according to their risks and educates people that are looking for simple “tough on crime” solutions to be smarter, more empathetic and at the end of the day, more effective.

MDMA-Assisted Therapy Training in Ukraine

I know this sounds crazy but we’re moving forward with our first Ukraine MDMA-Assisted Therapy Training this month! Trump said he was going to end the war by now but… maybe he was lying about that? Or maybe it’s happening in a different signal chat? 🇺🇦🕊️🇷🇺

Jon, a veteran and MAPS alum has visited the front lines in Ukraine. He reminded us that our mission to heal trauma around the world necessitates us to go where PTSD, depression and other mental disorders are forming. The scale and complexity of war-related psychological trauma is staggering; MDMA-Assisted Therapy complements current tools for the mental health of Ukrainians.

By this time next month, we’ll have Bruce, Marcela and our fearless leader Rick in Ukraine training 50 therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists in our bold mission to heal trauma where it’s needed most.

FDA Disclaimer: MDMA-assisted therapy has not been approved by any regulatory agency. The safety and efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy have not been established for the treatment of PTSD.

Catch me IRL at Ubbi Dubbi (Dallas/Ft. Worth, April 25-28th)

Are you enjoying Set the Setting Mixtape: Daily Bread? If so, come on down to Ubbi Dubbi, a bass festival in Ft. Worth! Even though it’s already getting close to EDC, I always try to make it to one new music festival each year. Ubbi Dubbi has the smaller-festival, wooky vibes I’m looking for. Anybody else going? Check out the line-up! More Daily Bread anyone?!

And while I’m in the area, I’m hoping to see Caitlyn, the 9 year old I used to babysit in college back when I was a live-in nanny. She’s not 9 anymore, she’s actually going to be wedding dress shopping that weekend(!) JESUS CHRIST time flies!