It's been a reoccurring theme for years to get emails asking me to cape for the psychedelic cause, for absolutely nothing. If psychedelics advocacy was my lane, then it would not be an inappropriate ask. However, it's not, and I truly do not understand how everything I've done over the course of 10+ years has been pigeonholed into "talk about psychedelics/psychedelic harm reduction". I would literally rather do my 2 years worth of back taxes than keep answering these types of questions over and over, and spending a lot of energy advocating for groups that are not very vulnerable and don't have the same amount of issues and compounding needs, when many give little to no energy to broader drug policy reform and harm reduction initiatives.
I've been an ally to everyone in the drug policy reform space--because any progress is good in my book--but where are y'all when it comes to truly advocating for harm reduction? And I'm not talking about psychedelic harm reduction, I'm talking about impressing upon your people that all people who use drugs should be prioritized in everything that we do to ensure no one is left out, or to keep a different variation of the same oppression from emerging when drug elitists/purists in those ranks continue to stigmatize other people who drugs, and the laws do nothing to support our needs.
To many psychedelic advocates, every "junkie" looks like someone who simply hasn't tried psychedelics yet, or doesn’t have access to psychedelic therapy. We're not tripping our way out of this problem. Harm reduction is not just "doing drugs more safely", it's a whole movement of community care and solidarity, and it's NOT rooted in recovery, or the assumption that harm reduction is just a stepping stone to an eventual recovery. No PWUD owes anyone eventual sobriety. Until advocates focused in the psychedelic space are willing to reciprocate the labor or support harm reduction meaningfully, I simply can not, and will not get involved. It's both an issue of capacity, and an intentional protest.
There are many others who can and will, especially if they have stable income and gainful employment. I assume many folks come to me because they have followed some aspect of my work and believe I would be a good asset. Seeing me as an asset and not a comrade is a problem, especially when this comes at a cost to or at the expense of my community. Even just taking up my time when I could be advocating for my community that's underserved is a problem.
I've told my story plenty. I've had to come out of pocket on many occasions to accommodate requests, but the psychedelic community has shown in many cases it only cares about itself. I know including "junkies" in your advocacy makes drug policy reform more challenging, but I can't accept anything less than rights for ALL people who use drugs, especially when some of us are way more vulnerable than others--the same way NY cannabis advocates refused to settle for anything less than adult use bills with equitable business opportunities and programs in the cannabis industry for black communities.
It may sound as my expectations are transactional. They are when I only get hit up out the blue when folks suddenly "need" something from me, especially if that need looks more like being a token spokesperson that checks multiple marginalized identity boxes to platform something I wouldn't platform on my own accord. If we're not working in solidarity, at least make it mutually beneficial. This really isn't an unreasonable ask. I still might say no, though, if I find it to be a waste of my time. Money isn't everything. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That being said, you can catch me as a community partner with the Global Psychedelic Society at the Find The Others: A Community Weaving Decompression, in Brooklyn May 12th at House of Yes. We’re less than one month from Horizons NY, where many psychedelic community members will be in town for the conference.