PSA Media Partner4 min read

PSA's Psychedelic State(s) of The Union #3

Psychedelic State(s) of the Union: November 10th, 2025

By PSA Media Team

PSA's Psychedelic State(s) of The Union #3

This is… Psychedelic State(s) of America

Welcome to the new PSA

The Rundown

  1. PSA's Capitol City Plant Medicine Showcase Recap
  2. Excerpt: Cognitive Liberty 101 by Neil Gehani
  3. Yes on 4 Campaign Whistleblower Graham Moore Tells All
  4. PSA Media NewsWire Highlights
  5. How to Support PSA

Psychedelic State(s) of America x Global Psychedelic Week 2025

Recap: The Inaugural Capitol City Plant Medicine Showcase

The Inaugural Capitol City Plant Medicine Showcase proved to be an intimate, engaging, and informative affair — with panelists sharing their broad and unique insights into both the ancient and modern influences that are shaping the evolving psychedelic renaissance of today and tomorrow.

Thanks to Karina Bashir, Sabba Nazhand, Neşe Devenot, and Dr. Paul Ryder for sharing their wisdom, insights, and expertise!

Learn More at JoinSafar.Com

Learn more at JoinSafar.com

Stay tuned for the details of next month’s PSA showcase featuring Joe Dolce, author of Modern Psychedelics!

Cognitive Liberty 101-Right to Consciousness

By Neil Gehani

“The right to self-discovery and exploration of our own consciousness.
It’s time we recognized it as the fundamental human right it is.”

This essay is published in its original form without editorial input.

We accept, without question, that we have the right to our thoughts. We recognize freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of conscience as fundamental human rights enshrined in our constitution and international law.

Yet somehow, we’ve normalized the idea that the state can dictate what we do with our own consciousness—the very substrate of our thoughts, beliefs, and experiences.

This is the paradox at the heart of drug policy. We claim to protect freedom of thought while criminalizing the tools people use to explore, understand, and transform their own minds.

This is a question of cognitive liberty—the right to self-discovery and exploration of our own consciousness. It’s time we recognized it as the fundamental human right it is.

The UN is actively expanding the rights to mental privacy and mental integrity - the underlying concept is “cognitive liberty.”

What is Cognitive Liberty

Cognitive liberty refers to the right of individuals to have sovereignty over their own consciousness, cognition, and mental processes. The term was championed by legal scholar Richard Glen Boire, who founded the Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics, and has been explored by neuroethicists like Dr. Brian D. Earp at Oxford University’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. Legal scholars like JC Bublitz frame cognitive liberty as a fundamental legal right that should be protected under existing human rights frameworks—an extension of rights to bodily integrity and mental privacy.

At its core, cognitive liberty encompasses:

  • The freedom to alter one’s own consciousness through various means
  • The right to mental privacy and freedom of thought
  • Protection from coerced mental manipulation or forced treatment
  • Autonomy in choosing tools for cognitive enhancement, exploration, or healing

Read the Full Article Here

Neil Gehani is the founder of Mind Lumen, a 501(c)3 focused on ethics: harm reduction policy, governance, adjudication models, research, along with education, advocacy, support for open source, open science, open nature models in stakeholder capitalism and stewardship. Mind Lumen also acts as an independent ethics audit and accounting watchdog for the psychedelics-focused mental health industry.

About the Author

Psychedelic State(s) of America

Deconstructing the politics of the Psychedelic Renaissance across the United States… and abroad

www.youtube.com/@PsychedelicStatesofAmerica

New on PsychedelicAmericas.org

Question 4 Whistleblower Graham Moore Tells All

Question 4 Whistleblower Graham Moore’s Tell-All Series about the 2024 Massachusetts psychedelics campaign and its fallout


Dive into Yes on 4 campaign Whistleblower Graham Moore’s ongoing tell-all series - exclusively syndicated here at Psychedelic State(s) of America for the last few weeks.

After sounding the alarm on a hefty number of alleged campaign finance violations surrounding the campaign, Moore has once again opened up the campaign’s archives for unique deep-dive into the inner workings and strategic decision making that should serve as a blueprint and a warning to grassroots advocates across the United States.

READ THE FULL SERIES HERE

PSA Media NewsWire Highlights

Psychedelic Vantage

Check out to Psychedelic Vantage’s latest episode, “Advancing Innovation in Mental Health” featuring Compass Pathways CEO Kabir Nath

Catch the Full Episode Here

Psychedelic Brain Science

Listen to Psychedelic Brain Science Podcast Founder Dr. Alaina Jaster’s recent interview with Michigan Psychedelic Society Founder Julie Barron and Michigan State Rep. Mike McFall

Listen on Spotify

Lucid News

Lucid News provides informed, honest and transparent journalism that covers the growing integration of psychedelics into society and their broad implications for human wellness.

Learn More

The Secret Wilderness Podcast

Hosted by Alex Determing, Founder of The Parable Foundation, The Secret Wilderness Podcast features in-depth anonymous, remarkably honest accounts of psychedelic therapy.

Listen on Spotify

Support Psychedelic State(s) of America

Want to know how you can support the new standard for independent psychedelic journalism? Read below for how you can support and/or get involved.

Donate Here

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Psychedelic State(s) of America

Deconstructing the politics of the Psychedelic Renaissance across the United States… and abroad

www.youtube.com/@PsychedelicStatesofAmerica

Support independent journalism

The PSA Media Fund

Psychedelic State(s) of America isn’t another news outlet — it’s a vessel to help the fantastic independent psychedelic and cannabis media organizations that already exist do more of what they do best. Our coverage is reader-funded, and your support keeps news, commentary, and education on psychedelic policy free for everyone.

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Until next time,
The Psychedelic State(s) of America Team

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