🍄 When Couples Trip Together

👋 Welcome

Hey friends!

Hope your Valentine’s weekend was filled with love! This week feels like another inflection point. Clinical trials are hitting major milestones. Ancient mysteries are being reexamined with modern tools. Lawmakers are advancing bills that once would’ve been politically radioactive.

And at the same time, researchers are mapping how altered states shift memory, perception, and even metabolism.

The science is maturing. The policy landscape is shifting. The cultural conversation keeps widening.

Let’s get into it!

🔝 Weekly Highlights

• 🧠 Compass just hit a major Phase 3 milestone for treatment-resistant depression
  Compass Pathways says its COMP360 program achieved the primary endpoint in a second Phase 3 trial for treatment-resistant depression. That’s late-stage evidence — the kind that shapes regulatory conversations and investor confidence alike. It doesn’t equal approval yet, but it does signal the data trendline keeps moving in one direction. Many are expecting the FDA greenlight by early 2027. Fingers crossed. Get the full readout →
  

• 🌿 One dose of DMT was linked to rapid drops in depression symptoms
  New reporting covers research suggesting a single, controlled dose of DMT reduced depression symptoms quickly for participants. The speed is what grabs attention here — fast change raises big questions about mechanism, durability, and where this could fit alongside existing therapeutic models. See what they found →
  

• 🏛️ Scientists think they may have found the chemical key to the Eleusinian Mysteries
  A new paper explores whether the legendary Eleusinian rites may have involved psychoactive compounds tied to ergot. For centuries, it was one of the most tightly guarded spiritual ceremonies on record. Now modern analysis is revisiting what initiates may have actually consumed — and why it mattered. Open the paper →

🧬 Quick Hits

RESEARCH 🔬

• 🧠 Altered states may quiet “outside reality” and boost memory-driven perception
  New research suggests psychedelics can reduce external sensory dominance while amplifying internally generated imagery and recall — a possible mechanistic clue for why experiences feel vivid and self-contained. Dive into the findings
  

• 🤖 AI models can generate “convincingly realistic” trip narratives when virtually dosed
  A study found large language models can produce detailed, experience-like accounts when prompted as if under psychedelic influence — raising weird, important questions about simulation, suggestion, and what “realistic” even means in this context. See the write-up
  

• ⚖️ Low-dose psilocybin reduced weight gain and blood sugar changes in mice
  In a preclinical study, mice fed an obesogenic diet showed reduced weight gain and improved glucose regulation after receiving low doses of psilocybin. Early data, but the metabolic angle keeps getting harder to ignore. Read the report
  

• ⚡ LSD-linked brain entropy may correlate with seizure protection
  Researchers found that increased neural entropy under LSD correlated with seizure resistance in experimental models. The idea: more flexible brain dynamics might offer protective effects in certain contexts. Explore the study

POLICY 🏛️

• 🍄 New Hampshire’s House advanced a bill to legalize psilocybin therapy
  The bill cleared the House, marking another step in the therapeutic access conversation. More legislative steps remain, but the direction is clear: these ideas are now moving in daylight. Follow the thread
  

• 🌱 Virginia lawmakers passed a trio of bills reshaping cannabis policy and sentencing
  Measures covering sales, resentencing past convictions, and allowing medical cannabis in hospitals all advanced — another snapshot of how state-level reform keeps stacking up. See what passed
  

• 📜 Maryland voted to keep its psychedelics task force running through 2027
  Rather than wrapping the conversation early, the state is choosing to extend it — more time, more data, more institutional attention. Slow progress still counts as progress. Track the move

CULTURE 🎭

• ⛪ National Geographic looks at psilocybin as a game-changer for end-of-life care
  A major mainstream outlet explores how psychedelic-assisted therapy is influencing palliative care, fear of death, and the emotional reality of terminal illness. The cultural shift here is subtle, but massive. Step into the story
  

🌈 Main Feature

Couples Who Tripped Together Strengthened Their Sense of “Us”

Shared experiences hit different when you go through them with someone you love, especially when the experience is intense.

A recent survey study by Talea Cornelius (Columbia University) and Tommaso Barba (Imperial College London) looked at romantic couples and asked a simple question: when partners have these kinds of experiences together, does it actually change how connected they feel?

A lot of couples said yes.

People who “journeyed” together often reported feeling closer, more emotionally aligned, and more intimate. The biggest thread running through it was something the researchers call shared reality, that feeling of we went through that together, not I went through it and then tried to explain it to you later.

When two people walk away with the same emotional meaning from an experience, it can tighten the bond fast.

But the study also makes a point that feels important: context decides everything.

In solid relationships, couples often described growth and renewed closeness. In shaky relationships, the same intensity sometimes magnified what was already there, tension, insecurity, poor communication, power dynamics.

Timing matters too. Early on, big peak experiences can feel like proof of forever… even if the foundation is still thin.

Because intensity creates closeness. It does not automatically create stability.

Real partnership still comes down to the unglamorous stuff: communication, repair, accountability, and how you treat each other on the random Tuesday when nothing mystical is happening.

These experiences can open people up quickly, sometimes bringing truths to the surface before a couple feels ready to hold them. In a supportive dynamic, that can deepen trust. In a fragile one, it can feel like emotional whiplash.

The takeaway: shared peaks can be meaningful, but lasting love is built in the ordinary days.

👉 Read the full study here

🧠 The Psybrary

We’re about one month into our launch of The Psybrary and thousands of people have asked questions and had discussions with the tool. We thought it would be interesting to share what people are asking about the most.

1. Mushroom Strains & Potency Comparisons

Users are constantly asking about:

• Penis Envy vs. B+
• Tidal Wave vs. APE
• Enigma potency
• “Are these strong visually?”
• “Which strain is best for therapeutic journeys?”

Strategic Question:
👉 How much does mushroom strain actually change the experience compared to dose, set, and setting?

2. Dosage & Tolerance

Heavy volume around:

• Microdose amounts
• Equivalent doses between strains
• “How much should I take?”
• Tolerance timelines
• Heroic dose curiosity
• Wet vs. dry weight
• Lemon tek timing

Strategic Question:
👉 What does research actually say about tolerance buildup and how long someone should wait between sessions?

3. Growing & Cultivation

Frequent themes:

• Best substrate
• Grow bags
• Fruiting timing
• Contamination
• Spores legality
• Greenhouse setups
• Temperature/light questions

Strategic Question:
👉 What are the most common beginner cultivation mistakes that lead to contamination or weak yields?

4. Mixing Substances & Safety Interactions

Recurring concerns:

• MDMA + antidepressants
• Lithium
• Benzos
• MAOIs
• Nicotine
• Melatonin
• Alcohol
• Blood pressure meds

Strategic Question:
👉 What are the biggest safety risks when combining psychedelics with common medications or other substances?

5. Therapeutic Use & Integration

Strong emotional threads:

• Depression
• Addiction
• Parkinson’s disease
• Integration circles
• Retreat selection
• Finding therapists
• Clinical trials
• Veteran mental health

Strategic Question:
👉 What separates recreational use from structured therapeutic use in real clinical settings — and why does that difference matter?

Just to rehash, The Psybrary is a searchable, growing knowledge hub designed to live outside the scroll and beyond algorithmic whiplash. A place where research, culture, and long-form thinking can exist without being throttled or buried.

Inside, you’ll find:

• Curated articles and deep dives
• Research breakdowns written for real humans
• Cultural stories that rarely survive platform filters
• Resources built to support informed, responsible exploration

Try it out for yourself or bookmark it for later: ask.psychedelics.com

👋 Signoff

This week held clinical milestones, ancient speculation, policy movement, and relationship science , all in the same cycle.

The conversation keeps expanding.

We’ll keep tracking the data, the decisions, and the real human stories unfolding inside it.

Have a steady week ahead!

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P.S. Explore what they don’t want you to see - check us out on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and dive deeper into all things psychedelic on our website. 🌐✨