Psychedelic healing can be one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences a person can go through, and we want to honor your decision to take these initial steps.
You may be thinking: Florida hasn’t even fully legalized cannabis. How can I possibly have a safe psychedelic experience?
If you’ve arrived here after reading about psychedelics in the news or because of Michael Pollan’s book, How To Change Your Mind, then it’s likely you’re seeking psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, or the use of psychedelics under the guide of a trained therapist.
Unfortunately, this kind of healing is currently only available through participation in a clinical study. The reason is that therapists are mental health professionals licensed by their state governments. In order to keep their license to practice emotional healing work, they must abide by the rules of the state— i.e. no psychedelics.
However, a therapeutic psychedelic experience is still possible. Therapeutic simply means “to have a beneficial effect on the body or mind.” Someone experienced with psychedelics and trained in a healing discipline like shamanism or somatic release can thus guide someone through a psychedelic journey without facing the same legal repercussions as a licensed therapist.
At Psychedelic Passage, we are committed to providing a safe, supportive container for therapeutic psychedelic experiences. All of our facilitators have extensive backgrounds with psychedelics, and they have been trained in various disciplines to create safe containers for this kind of transformational healing.
Read on for a review of the legal landscape of psychedelics in the Sunshine State and how you can have a supported psychedelic journey in your area.
Benefits of Having a Therapeutic Psychedelic Experience
Psychedelics are revolutionizing not just psychology and mental health, but how we view ourselves in relationship to the world.
In just one to three sessions with MDMA, people with treatment-resistant PTSD can walk away without any more symptoms. Similarly, after a few sessions with psilocybin, the active compound in “magic” mushrooms, people can heal from depression or addiction.
These medicines, when it comes to healing, address the root cause of suffering. They radically shift perspectives, opening people up to deeper states of forgiveness, compassion, and love that can release root traumas or negative beliefs.
But psychedelics are not just for those who are struggling with a mental health disorder. Through the practice of microdosing, or taking small doses of a psychedelic substance a few times a week, emotionally healthy people use these substances to enhance creativity, optimize work performance, and step into more compassionate leadership.
The Current Legislation on Psychedelics in Florida
Although Florida’s first attempt at psychedelic reform was modeled after Oregon’s legalization of psilocybin for supported therapeutic experiences with psilocybin, in April of 2021, this bill failed.
However, the state legislature is currently working on a new bill, HB 193, which would require the state to research the efficacy of MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine in treating a host of disorders, including depression, PTSD, chronic pain, and migraines. HB 193 is modeled after a similar Texas bill signed into law in June of 2021.
Another bill, HB 275, aims to decriminalize all drugs in the state. Although the bill focuses on drugs of addiction, like cocaine and heroin, psychedelics would be included in the ruling.
Aside from these burgeoning efforts, psychedelics remain illegal to use in the Sunshine State.
However, there are several activists and psychedelic groups across Florida, working hard for further reform. With MDMA expected to become a federally legal treatment for PTSD by 2023, it’s very possible that even if Florida’s state laws are slow, residents will soon be able to experience psychedelic therapy.
For now, let’s dig into what legal options are currently available in Florida for therapeutic psychedelic experiences.
Your Legal Options for Therapeutic Psychedelic Experiences in Florida
In Florida, you have two options for psychedelic healing: ketamine clinics and guided psychedelic journeys.
It’s important to note that if you do decide to pursue a guided psychedelic journey, you are responsible for sourcing your own medicine. If you have questions or concerns about this process, check out our Resources page for more information.
1. Ketamine clinics
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic, and although it’s not a traditional psychedelic, it can provide rapid transformation. Used most commonly for depression, ketamine can take a person out of their negative or limiting narrative and gift them a new perspective.
Almost all clinics administer ketamine through an IV, while some use oral lozenges. Because the medicine can elicit very powerful experiences, you’ll want to make sure you’re given adequate support. Clinics can vary widely, with some providing an in-house therapist in a mutli-week program and others providing no support at all.
If you find yourself in a situation with limited support, check out the MAPS directory of psychedelic integration specialists. Despite the illegality of psychedelics in Florida, there are many therapists and non-therapists alike who are trained in helping people integrate their psychedelic experiences without actually providing the medicines themselves.
2. Guided psychedelic journeys with Psychedelic Passage
At Psychedelic Passage, we’re committed to providing you a fully supported psychedelic experience. No matter where you live in Florida, if we can physically get to you, we will sit for you.
Our programs are typically five weeks long. They include two virtual integration sessions, an in-person ceremony with the medicine you choose, and two virtual integration sessions. If you don’t feel ready to jump into a high-dose journey, we can provide coaching on microdosing to help you prepare.
Our clients typically choose to work with psilocybin mushrooms, but all of our facilitators are experienced with a wide variety of psychedelic medicines, including LSD, MDMA, and mescaline. If you feel called, we also sit with cannabis.
We Provide Guided Psychedelic Journeys in Every Major Florida City
- Jacksonville
- Miami
- Tampa
- Orlando
- St. Petersburg
- Hialeah
- Tallahassee
- Port St. Lucie
- Cape Coral
- Fort Lauderdale
- Pembroke Pines
- Hollywood
- Miramar
- Coral Springs
- Gainesville
This list is not meant to be exhaustive. We provide our trip sitting and guiding services in all major cities in Florida, including those which are not listed above. If we can physically get ourselves to you, we will sit for you. If you are curious whether we are able to service your area specifically, please contact us.
Ready to Take the Next Step in Your Healing Journey?
In a world that continuously tries to make us feel broken, scared, and confused, psychedelics can be a shining light of wholeness and clarity. They are not panaceas for every mental and physical condition, but they are tools of immense transformative potential, and we’re mission-driven to help as many people as possible experience these medicines in a safe, supportive container.
From Tallahassee to Miami, if you feel led to take the next steps, book a consultation call with us. We’d be honored to hear from you.