Alleged to have produced “90% of the world’s LSD,” academic, author, and advocate William Leonard Pickard has a lifetime of stories to share. In this intimate storytime session, he will share reflections from his extraordinary life,including encounters with mystics, scientists, outlaws, and seekers across generations of psychedelic culture.

The Natural Medicine Health Act allows for supervised and unsupervised use of psychedelics by Coloradans aged 21and over. What does the shifting paradigm of psychedelic healing mean for youth understanding of drug use? What can we do to promote comprehensive understanding of the risks of psychedelic exploration among youth? What are we seeing here in Aspen that may need to be addressed?

Ripples Alliance weaves psychedelics, peacebuilding, science, art, and rituals to foster a movement of peace and liberation – in Palestine and Israel, and beyond. It is the continuation of seven years of research. Working with a cohort of Palestinian and Israeli researchers, peacemakers, and artists, several successful sessions resulted in deep personal & collective healing and visionary future building.

With ibogaine policy rapidly evolving in Colorado and Gabon, Josh Kappel and Georges Gassita discuss the importance of collaboration across international psychedelic stakeholders. What does it mean to have reciprocity? How can we improve communication channels to allow for robust discussions about collaboration? How can Gabon and Colorado support each other as interest in ibogaine grows?

In this talk, clinical neuropharmacologist Stephanie Karzon Abrams makes the case that psychedelics are uniquely suited to the female experience — and that hormonal state and life stage are not background variables but central clinical determinants that the field can no longer afford to ignore. From puberty to postpartum to menopause and beyond, she will explore why a psychedelic-informed lens now belongs at the center of women’s care.

Many new participants are entering this landscape seeking palliatives — relief from depression, anxiety, and trauma. Others approach psychedelics as wellness tools, productivity enhancers, or beautiful peak experiences. From the perspective of an initiate, these medicines are far more than psychological tools or therapeutic interventions. They are ancient doorways to ego death, spiritual awakening, and profound transformation. As these substances move from the underground into cultural acceptance, a critical question emerges: Will we reduce them to safe, sanitized wellness products... or will we preserve their power to truly initiate us?

This panel explores how anecdotal reports and citizen-led inquiry are helping shape emerging psychedelic research related to stroke recovery, traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative conditions, and chronic pain. Bringing together researchers, practitioners and individuals with profound personal healing experiences, the conversation examines the opportunities and ethical tensions of translating lived experience into scientific understanding and broader clinical acceptance.

Join MAPS’ co-executive director Ismail Lourido Ali reflecting on exciting opportunities, surprising contradictions and emergent risks facing the psychedelic field today.

Dr. Sames has been studying ibogaine and iboga alkaloids for more than 20 years and argues that ibogaine cannot be explained by classical scientific paradigms.

Too often, the culture and systems we’ve created restrict the bounds of our imagination, causing us to accept what we should not. In a cultural moment characterized by conflict, illness and ecological crisis, this panel explores ecological integrity – how we may orient our collective actions towards regeneration of the Earth’s ecosystems and in doing so, heal ourselves. Plant and fungi medicines can be powerful allies in rediscovering our capacities for attunement, imagination and action.