This event was recorded on June 7, 2026 at the Wheeler Opera House, in partnership with Aspen Public Radio, Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center, and Healing Advocacy Fund.
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.
William Leonard Pickard is a research affiliate with Harvard Law School, Petrie-Flom Center on Health LawPolicy, Biotechnology and Bioethics, Program on Psychedelics Law and Regulation. Currently, he is a senior advisor for JLS Fund II LP and the Fireside Project.
Alleged to have produced “90% of the world’s LSD,” William Leonard Pickard was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole, he served 20 years in maximum security federal prisons and was given compassionate release in 2020. As former deputy director of the Drug Policy Analysis Program as UCLA, and a research associate in neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, his 1996 prediction of the fentanyl epidemic, and recommendations for prevention, were confirmed by the RAND Corporation in its seminal volume “The Future of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids”.
Click here to explore the entire 2026 Program Book, including speaker bios and additional resources.
The 2026 Aspen Psychedelic Symposium was held on Saturday June 6, and Sunday, June 7, produced by Aspen Public Radio, Healing Advocacy Fund, and the Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center in partnership with the historic Wheeler Opera House in the heart of Aspen, Colorado. This two-day gathering showcased expert panels, groundbreaking research, and firsthand insights into the transformative world of psychedelic medicines.