The psychedelic movement is at a gateway. The question is what we build on the other side.

On September 14, advocates, researchers, practitioners, patients, and community members came to the Washington, D.C. area for the FDA’s first-ever public hearing focused specifically on the potential future therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs.

When the hearing ended, SSDP brought the community together.

Nearly 150 people joined us at THE GATEWAY to talk about where psychedelics have been, where they’re going, and how we make sure the people most affected have a voice in what comes next.

The evening culminated in a live conversation between two generations of SSDP leadership: current Executive Director Kat Murti and former SSDP Executive Director and current Advisory Council member Betty Aldworth, moderated by Joe Moore of Psychedelics Today and Anne Philippi of The New Health Club.

Betty went on from SSDP to help lead the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), one of the organizations that helped build the modern psychedelic movement and spent decades advancing psychedelic research and bringing psychedelic-assisted therapy into serious scientific, medical, and federal policy conversations. Today, she serves as MAPS’ Co-Executive Director alongside Ismail Ali, a former Chair of SSDP’s youth-led Board of Directors — another reminder of the role SSDPers have played, and continue to play, in shaping the psychedelic movement.

That history made this conversation particularly fitting on the night of the FDA hearing. SSDP has always believed that the people most affected by drug policy should have a role in changing it — and that science, compassion, human rights, and human autonomy should matter more than fear and stigma.

THE GATEWAY also brought together voices from across the psychedelic ecosystem, including Meredith Thomas of Thank You Life, Simeon Schnapper of JLS Fund, Brigitte Gordon of Journey Clinical, and veteran Samantha Juan, with Marissa Feinberg of Triple Bottom Why co-hosting alongside Joe Moore and Anne Philippi.

But THE GATEWAY wasn’t just about celebrating how far the psychedelic movement has come.

It was about what we do next.

The following day, SSDPers took that energy to Capitol Hill. Since the hearing, our network has educated more than 200 congressional offices, including 17 in-person meetings and several virtual meetings, bringing the perspectives of young people, scientists, patients, advocates, and directly impacted communities to federal policymakers.

Because psychedelic policy is being shaped right now — and the people who will live with those decisions belong in the rooms where they are made.

Make your voice heard

The federal government is accepting public input on the future of psychedelic therapies. This is an opportunity to call for an approach grounded in patient safety, meaningful access, informed consent, cultural competency, and human dignity.

Submit your comment using SSDP’s federal comment tool

And don’t stop with a comment.

Apply to join SSDP’s Psychedelic Committee and work alongside SSDPers shaping psychedelic policy, research, education, harm reduction, and advocacy.

Donate to SSDP to help us train and mobilize the next generation of drug policy leaders, bring young people and directly impacted communities into the rooms where decisions are being made, and keep pushing psychedelic policy beyond prohibition and toward something that actually makes sense.

SSDPers have spent nearly three decades challenging the War on Drugs and proving that young people can change drug policy.

The gateway is open. Come through it with us.