Founder’s Note: On Community Feedback and Coverage Expansion

Founder’s Note: On Community Feedback and Coverage Expansion

By Jack Gorsline

Hey folks re-sharing the intro to my prior hiatus announcement from earlier this summer, along with some updated reflections at the bottom of this post in advance of my going on vacation next week.

When I first drummed up the idea to create Psychedelic State(s) of America back in March of 2024, the concept was a lot simpler than what PSA has flourished into today. The basic premise was to highlight lesser known and underrepresented voices from across the undeniably diverse “psychedelic renaissance” (a term I’ve grown to both love and loathe as a label for this sociopolitical movement of few if any comparisons).

I’d been on the psychedelic beat for all of six months or so by then — having gotten my start as a reporter with the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ) in late September 2023. At the time, I was a 28-year-old college student finishing my degree (in part) at Northeastern University, and ended up writing for BINJ as a student intern following an administratively-stifled attempt to start a student newspaper at Bunker Hill Community College in my adopted hometown of Boston, Massachusetts.

For the sake of some additional lore: after I met BINJ Editorial Director and my now-longtime journalistic mentor Chris Faraone, I figured I’d cover psychedelics and a little bit of cannabis industry reporting here and there for about year — with plans to expand my scope of coverage to local labor union contract negotiations and education issues through a working class lens.

But after stumbling into the whacky world of psychedelic activism through my coverage of local community events like mushroom forages in Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum and subsequent outing of a particularly ill-behaved bad faith activist by the name of James Davis of the now re-branded Bay Staters for Creative Well-Being. I found my niche (and a home) as the only local reporter in Greater New England at the time that was covering the broader psychedelic ecosystem through a multi-scaled political lens.

And in embracing that niche, I found myself catapulted from literal obscurity to scooping The esteemed Boston Globe nearly a dozen times on serious community and Yes on 4 Campaign-related psychedelic issues in the first 9 months of my career as an early career (semi)-pro scribbler.

So by March 2024, while in between studying for midterms and scooping The Spotlight Guys, frustrated by the inanely repetitive PR cycle that seemed to be the psychedelic media ecosystem of that era, I started Psychedelic State(s) of America over on Substack - with the goal of publishing interesting interviews with community and organizational leaders like Dr. Emily Kulpa, Co-Founder of the Psychedelic Pharmacists Association and David Babik, ESQ. — President of the Boston Mycological Club.

In the time since those two initial Q+A’s were published, Psychedelic State(s) of America has experienced tremendous growth — now reaching over half a million monthly viewers across PSA’s social media channels — in addition to a nearly 150% newsletter audience growth since PSA migrated to Beehiiv last September (149.749%, to be exact).

I’m also particularly proud to highlight that PSA was the first news outlet to interview the grassroots coalition that led the charge to pass the New Mexico Medical Psilocybin Act in April 2025, and the first to interview Texans For Greater Mental Health’s then-Executive Director Logan Davidson, following the historic passage of the Texas Ibogaine Initiative last May. Those two interviews kicked off the Psychedelic State(s) of America Advocacy Spotlight Initiative — a project that (unbeknownst to many) actually helped pave the way for the creation of the now-thriving Northeast Psychedelic Advocacy Alliance, and one that I am eager to revisit and revamp in the not-too-distant future, as PSA enters its next phase of organizational alignment (more on that soon).

As for the recent community feedback

I've heard a lot of feedback over the last few weeks. Some of it from colleagues and mentors who know the depth of my passion for and admiration of this psychedelic renaissance and how seriously I take the honor of covering this movement, while simultaneously holding it to account as a member of the fourth estate.

Some of it from readers, viewers, and followers old and new who might only see a public-facing error and subsequent acknowledgement as such without the broader context of who I actually am beyond my byline.

All of that to say: I hear you loud and clear. I recognize that I have room to grow, and I am committed to refining my craft and retooling the scope of my coverage to more effectively empower and uplift the voices of the psychedelic renaissance that we aren't hearing from nearly enough.

Next week, I'm taking the first impromptu vacation of my adult life but upon my return from absentia I am eager to hit the ground running on some exciting new projects that highlight the sunnier sides of modern psychedelia through a dynamic and community-centered lens.

More to come soon, but until then: thanks for reading this far and for subscribing to PSA.

With Gratitude,

Jack Gorsline