In this episode of Galaxy Balance, Cory Smith sits down with Dr. Case Newsom, an emergency physician and pioneer in psychedelic medicine who helped shape Colorado’s therapeutic psychedelics legislation.
The conversation explores why a single psychedelic experience can lead to lasting change, the neuroscience behind these effects, and the real risks that are often left out of public discussions. Case shares lessons from his work with the Zendo Project, providing peer support at festivals and events, and explains the principle of “sitting, not guiding” to create safe containers for difficult experiences without imposing interpretation.
They dive into the tension between medicalization and legalization, why the FDA rejected MDMA-assisted therapy despite promising data, and how harm, trauma, and abuse can emerge in unregulated spaces. The discussion also examines why bringing psychedelics into regulated, transparent systems may be safer than keeping them underground.
The episode goes further, connecting psychedelics to broader questions about consciousness, community, and the future of intelligence, including a speculative look at what a “psychedelic experience” might mean for artificial general intelligence. Along the way, they discuss emergency medicine, harm reduction, drug policy, and emerging data on psilocybin and longevity.
This conversation is essential listening for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and anyone curious about consciousness, mental health, and how society navigates powerful transformative technologies.
