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Mike Sinyard
“Like many, a few very close to me got caught up in using substances to the point of losing what they valued most in life. After seeing these people struggle with opioid addiction and helping them access treatment, I began searching for answers to a problem affecting so many in our society. This was a very emotional journey that I learned a lot from others about addiction and myself. Having lived with attention deficit disorder (ADD) my entire life, I’ve come to understand how perceived limitations can be transformed into our greatest gifts. With the right approach, we are confident many will overcome addictive behaviors and be free to live out their highest calling.”
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Alli Feduccia, PhD
“Growing up in Louisiana in a culture of laissez les bon temps rouler (“let the good times roll”), I saw many close friends and family develop serious problems in their lives from uncontrolled use of alcohol and drugs. Lives were lost, dreams disappeared. Questioning why this happened and if it could be prevented, I found myself in a graduate neuropharmacology program researching the addicted brain and possible treatment options. New approaches are desperately needed, and I’m hopeful that evidence-based strategies will help people overcome addictions.”
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George Sarlo
“Guided encounters with psilocybin mushrooms and other transformational medicines helped me to settle more unresolved issues after surviving the Holocaust. They also brought me to the mystical, the spiritual, and to a renewed relationship with my Judaism. The process continues and the results continue to amaze. The world is a more welcoming place, despite the faults in us.”
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Brian Anderson, MD
"Participation in supportive, accepting communities has long been a powerful resource for people struggling with addictions. The scientific study of how best to help people find, create and sustain these healing forms of connection will hopefully have a large impact on how we help people with substance use problems in this country."
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Gabor Mate, MD
“Not all addictions are rooted in abuse or traumas, but I do believe they can all be traced to painful experience. It is present in the gambler, the Internet addict, the compulsive shopper and the workacholic. The wound may not be as deep and the ache not as excruciating, and it may even be entirely hidden – but it’s there…. the effects of early stress or adverse experiences directly shape both the psychology and the neurobiology of addiction in the brain. It is impossible to understand addiction without asking what relief the addict finds, or hopes to find, in the drug or the addictive behavior.”
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Tim Ferriss
“I grew up on Long Island, and I lost my best friend to a fentanyl overdose. I have treatment-resistant depression and bipolar disorder in my family. And addiction. It became clear to me that you can do a lot in this field with very little money. These psychedelic compounds may help treat intractable conditions affecting tens of millions of people, and they may help us better understand the nature of consciousness itself."
