San Jose, a city in the Bay Area, is located on the southern shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California. It’s the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and the largest city in Northern California by both population and area.
Major global tech companies, including Cisco Systems, eBay, Adobe Inc, and PayPal have situated their headquarters here in San Jose. Not only is the city a global center for technology, but it’s also home to many renowned places of higher education.
This includes the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a handful of other Universities. Being located in the heart of the tech industry and between so many of California’s universities, has created a very interesting relationship between the city, the people, and psychedelics.
In this article, we will take you through a brief history of psychedelics in San Jose, along with current psychedelic laws and decriminalization efforts. We’ll help you learn where exactly you can find professional psychedelic guidance in California, specifically in San Jose.
The History of Psychedelics in San Jose, California
San Jose has played a significant role in psychedelic culture since the early days, when LSD first reached the shores of California. The Bay Area, specifically San Jose, was the nucleation point for the LSD experience that fueled an entire peace-loving counterculture.
Hamelton Morris, an American Journalist interviewed a person who was heavily involved in the synthesis of LSD (who wanted to remain anonymous). The interviewee had quite the story to tell. According to him, San Jose was an area where clandestine chemists could purchase Ergotamine tartrate.
Ergotamine– in this form, was the primary chemical used in the synthesis of LSD. This person’s intimate knowledge of the synthesis makes this a highly credible account. This, combined with a high density of clandestine chemists, led California to sign bills which would– for the first time– outlaw the manufacture, sale, and possession of the drug.
This was in 1966, far before the United States would Schedule LSD, and while certain psychedelics were still being explored for their medicinal value. San Jose played an important role in both discovering psychedelics and in proposing the psychedelic therapy framework that’s been built off of today.
In Lafayette, a small city just outside of San Jose, a man by the name of Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin would make some pivotal contributions to both psychedelics and psychedelic therapy.
Sasha is credited with introducing 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, commonly known as “ecstasy”) to psychologists in the late 1970s for its therapeutic use.
Realizing the therapeutic value of psychedelics, he would devote the rest of his life to chemicals that could improve and enhance communication between all people.
This personal quest led to the discovery, synthesis, and personal bioassay of over 230 psychoactive compounds for their entactogenic potential. His findings were then condensed and published in two books.
In 1991 and 1997, he and his wife compiled the books PiHKAL and TiHKAL from his laboratory notebooks. In them, he extensively described his chemical work logging his synthesis, and discussed their personal experiences with these psychoactive drugs.
These books have added much informational knowledge to psychedelic research and healing practices, as a whole. They are a mainstay amongst researchers and psychonauts alike, forever deeming San Jose, California as a place of psychedelic discovery.
Current Legal Status of Psychedelic Mushrooms in San Jose
Despite its somewhat common use, psilocybin mushrooms and many other psychedelics are still controlled substances in California. Although not legal yet, thanks to Proposition 47, the possession of most drugs for personal use is considered a misdemeanor.
Although San Jose has yet to decriminalize psychedelics like Oakland and Santa Cruz, all of California is slowly inching toward decriminalization. With all of the growing scientific research into the therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs, it’s becoming hard for lawmakers to ignore the benefits.
Combine this with a push to soften punishment for drug crimes after years of the failed drug war, California lawmakers are considering a bill to legalize magic mushrooms, MDMA, LSD, and several other natural psychedelic substances.
The proposal has sparked an intense debate among lawmakers over how far California should go to embrace this form of novel medical treatment without compromising public safety.
While research into psychedelics for PTSD, depression and anxiety are becoming increasingly mainstream in the halls of academia, this California bill goes beyond controlled medical applications and would allow for the recreational use of psychedelics.
Senate Bill 519 would decriminalize the possession and non-commercial sharing of psychedelics by people aged 21 or older. Although it would allow for the possession and use, it would not permit the sale of psychedelics in government-sanctioned shops the way cannabis is allowed under state law.
Under the bill, the California Department of Public Health would be required to establish recommendations regarding a regulatory system that could later be adopted to promote safe access to certain psychedelics. Those recommendations are due by January 1st, 2024.
It seems that psychedelics will follow a path very similar to cannabis, with decriminalization and medicalization leading to eventual legalization. However, in many ways, psychedelic reform is predicted to surpass cannabis.
Where To Find Legal Psychedelic Experiences in San Jose 2023
Though psychedelic decriminalization measures are still under development in San Jose and in the rest of California, many options still exist for engaging with psychedelic medicine. The two main options in San Jose are Ketamine clinics or guided psychedelic journeys with Psychedelic Passage.
1. Ketamine Clinics
Currently, ketamine clinics are one of the only state-wide options in California for working with psychedelic-like drugs. Ketamine, a well known dissociative anesthetic, has proven to be effective in treating PTSD, depression, and chronic pain.
Since ketamine is already widely used throughout our medical system as an anesthetic, it’s much easier to find clinics offering ketamine therapy as it is legal for certified practitioners to use the drug for off-label use.
The main benefit of ketamine is that it temporarily allows journeyers to distance themselves from their issues. This separation allows for a more empathetic and objective view of their lives and current issues. Although this is a great way to begin your psychedelic journey, a few components are often missing.
We see these as crucial for ketamine therapy to be truly effective: preparation and integration. Because of the lack of integration practices in ketamine clinics, many past ketamine clients report that benefits have been short-lived and require many repeat visits to maintain the benefits. Many who undergo ketamine treatment will eventually end up seeking other forms of psychedelic therapy.
In fact, about 50% of Psychedelic Passage clients approach us to do unsatisfying ketamine therapy experiences. To learn more, check out our article on the benefits and pitfalls of ketamine therapy and explore how you can find ketamine clinics in your local area.
2. Guided Psychedelic Experiences with Psychedelic Passage
At Psychedelic Passage, we allow you the freedom to set the direction and pace of your healing process. Realizing that a psychedelic journey is a highly personal experience, our guides and facilitators customize every experience with you, the client, in mind.
Our 5-week program is completely customized to each client and designed for transformation. We’re connected to a large number of facilitators located around the country. This allows you the flexibility to choose the location of your psychedelic experience, or if it suits you better, journey from the comfort of your own home.
Our network of facilitators work with a wide range of psychedelics and know that this is a personal journey of self-realization and growth. With this in mind, we give you access to our network of pre-vetted and experienced psychedelic facilitators to ensure you have the most authentic and tailored psychedelic experience possible.
Whether we can help by giving you access to our sliding payment scale or by connecting you with the perfect pre-vetted facilitator, we are here to help facilitate your growth and healing.
Find Your Next Psychedelic Journey in Any Major San Jose Area
- Santa Clara, CA
- Campbell, CA
- East Foothills, CA
- Milpitas, CA
- Cupertino, CA
- Los Gatos, CA
- Sunnyvale, CA
- Saratoga, CA
- Mountain View, CA
- Los Altos, CA
Explore How it Feels to be Connected
Navigating the world of psychedelics and psychedelic therapy can seem daunting. Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone. If we’ve caught your interest and you’re looking for new ways to improve your life, we invite you to book a consultation and speak to one of our psychedelic concierges.
When used thoughtfully and with intention, psychedelics have proven time and time again to promote healing and personal development. If you have any further questions we didn’t answer in this article, head over to our resources page, as we cover a myriad of other topics there! Have fun, enjoy the journey of self-discovery, and stay safe!
