The voting is now open for South by Southwest 2024. This year, more than 100 panels on marijuana and psychedelics are being considered.
The Austin-based event has featured drug policy reform issues on a regular basis over the last few years, as the cannabis legalization has spread and the interest in psychedelics has boomed locally, state and federally.
Recent SXSW festivals have seen a surge in psychedelics panels, indicating the speed of research and reform around substances such as psilocybin MDMA, and ayahuasca. There’s no marijuana panel this year. But there is a track for psychedelics.
It is the first time in history that the number of cannabis panels proposed for this festival, 49, has been outnumbered by those for psychedelics, 56.
The SXSW panelPicker vote period to help decide which panels would appear at the festival in March 2024 started on Tuesday and ended on August 20.
Below are some examples for marijuana panels from which voters can choose:
How advocacy can impact cannabis
This panel will be hosted by The Last Prisoner Project. It will focus on the importance “of storytelling, activist collaborations and direct policy changes” for those who are working to reform marijuana law and repair harms caused by prohibition. The attendees will learn “how to navigate direct advocacy to policymakers, create a grassroots campaign, and translate advocacy into real policy changes.”
Cannabis and the Campaign Trail: Politics, Promises, and Potency
The panel is going to discuss the changing politics of cannabis, and the “motivations” behind politicians’ opposition or support for reform. They will also delve into the complicated dynamics that are involved in the industry’s efforts to influence legislation. The event will feature Natalie Fertig from Politico, Mason Tvert of VS Strategies, Justin Strekal of Useful Strategies, and Verano Holdings Corp. president Darren Weiss.
Designing The Future of Cannabis Consumption
Elisabeth Garber Paul, Rolling Stone’s culture editor and cannabis entrepreneurs, will discuss how consumer trends are changing as the legalization process evolves and new license types such as social consumption lounges become available in states. The panel will discuss how design influences consumer preferences and experiences, as well as the influence of females in the marijuana industry.
From Stigma to Success – Embracing Cannabis Boom in South
This panel is a perfect fit for the Texas event. It will explore the “booming cannabis business in the south of the United States,” where leaders from the cannabis industry will gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face.
Business as a way to reduce the impact of the War on Drugs
Weldon Angleos, founder of the Weldon Project, who received a pardon from the Trump administration for his federal cannabis conviction, will talk to Makr House CEO Amber Senter on the role businesses can play in creating positive change and elevating communities that have suffered disproportionately under prohibition.
The PanelPicker community voting is now open. Help shape the Conference Programming for #SXSW in 2024. https://t.co/EnWaZ0AwaM
SXSW (@sxsw). 8 August 2023
Here is a list of psychedelic panel options:
Psychedelic Leadership & System Change
“Can psychedelics improve leadership by encouraging qualities like creativity and openness of mind? Can they encourage prosocial behavior and empathic behaviors to help us achieve balance? Are they more likely to increase narcissism, and other extractive behaviors?
Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Framework of the Future
Professors at University of Texas at Austin will be discussing “numerous questions and controversies” that still need to be addressed when it comes psychedelic assisted therapy. They will discuss issues like dosages, administration routes and the role of subjective experiences within the therapeutic setting.
Psychedelics & Preventing Deaths from Despair
The executives of Reason for Hope, a non-profit organization, will discuss their personal experiences in losing loved ones due to diseases of despair. They will also share the therapeutic potential certain psychedelics have to treat severe mental illnesses that can lead to such deaths. They will also talk about their advocacy efforts to secure funding for research on these psychedelics, which could help inform future drug developments.
The Future of Psychedelics – Drug Development & Policy Reform
MAPS Founder Rick Doblin will present an exploration into future of psychedelics. The panel will focus on drug policy reform, as well as sponsoring cutting edge psychedelics research.
FDA Approved Love? Explore MDMA’s Psychedelic Experience
This panel will feature MAPS representatives and Palo Santo Fund Co-founder Daniel Goldberg. They will discuss the history and the future of MDMA which has been designated as a “breakthrough drug” by the Food and Drug Administration.
Here are just a handful of the over 100 drug policy panels that will be considered for SXSW in 2024. The selections are likely to be made by the end the year after the voting is completed and the panels have been reviewed by staff at the event and an advisory panel.
New Hampshire Governor signs bill creating Marijuana Legalization Commission to prepare state-run sales model
Image element provided by Kristie Gianpulos.
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