#65 - A North Star for Psychedelic Ethics | Liana Sananda (Auryn Project)

The Psychedelic Renaissance is a profound step forward in our understanding of the mind, but there’s growing concern that important lessons and a vibrant culture may be left behind in the rush to medicalization. My guest today, Liana Sananda, has spent a lot of time considering the cultural delivery mechanism of psychedelics into society. Liana is the Development Officer of MAPS and co-founder of North Star and the Auryn Project, which just released the North Star pledge. With input from over 100 stakeholders, North Star is setting a foundation for psychedelic values for an emerging industry. The pledge is an initiative by the Auryn Project, authors of last Autumn’s “We Will Call It Pala,” a cautionary tale about the dark side of psychedelic business. On the show, we set a foundation through Liana’s own story from festivals to Occupy to the Archview Group, and MAPS. We talk about the philosophy behind North Star and the unique participatory process of becoming a signatory. We go over each of the seven invitations and how you can join this growing coalition. I also have an exciting announcement! I have been looking for a community building role in the psychedelic space and speaking regularly with Liana over the past year as I explored different organizations. I am proud to announce I’ve accepted a position leading community for Maya, a psychedelic therapy intelligence platform co-founded by my friend, David Champion. Today we are launching the Psychedelic Therapy Podcast a new show for therapists, healers and enthusiasts. If you’d like to help build it, please join us in the Psychedelic Therapy Facebook Group. The psychedelic movement is at a threshold point where it is vitally important to create an attractor coalition of value-driven leadership. However, in order to get this right we need to co-create and move at the speed of trust. LINKS North Star: https://northstar.guide/ethicspledge Auryn Project: https://aurynproject.org/ “We Will Call It Pala”: https://aurynproject.org/pala North Star Town Hall Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcOCsrToqHtyfVS8Q1GM0wEBzPe6dqINR Maya: https://www.mayahealth.com/ The Psychedelic Therapy Podcast: https://www.mayahealth.com/podcast The Psychedelic Therapy Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2876946142342178/ TIMESTAMPS :12 - How Liana got involved in this work :20 - The cultural delivery mechanism of psychedelics into society :23 - Liana’s background in Occupy and the Cannabis industry :29 - Will psychedelics go the way of cannabis? :33 - “We Will Call It Pala” :36 - The process of creating the Northstar pledge :44 - MAPS and Northstar :50 - How the pledge starts a conversation :59 - 1. “Start Within” 1:05 - 2. “Study the Traditions” 1:09 - 3. “Create Equality and Justice” 1:12 - 4. “Focus on Process” 1:18 - 5. “Build Trust” 1:21 - 6. “Consider the Gravity” 1:26 - 7. “Pay It Forward” 1:31 - How can individuals support this pledge? 1:36 - How do we impact the “big boys” in psychedelic medicine? 1:42 - North Star Town Hall