Dear Community:

The Heartbreaking News: We regret to inform you that after seven months of relentless dedication to bringing the Psychedelic INSIGHTS Symposium to life, it is with a heavy heart that we must announce the cancellation of our event, originally set for October 19-20, along with the workshops scheduled for October 18, 2024. 

We know this is disappointing news, and please believe me when I tell you that no one is more heartbroken than my team and I. We had poured so much love, sweat, tears, and money into creating this conference, juggling all of the constantly-moving parts, and believing wholeheartedly in the magic that such a gathering was certain to bring us individually as well as to the community.  Every iceberg that we had hit only fueled us to learn, make repairs, implement course corrections, and bravely keep going. However, the iceberg that we struck this week rendered our ship irreparable, and we have finally admitted defeat.

The Good News!: We are still determined not to give up as we pivot the Psychedelic INSIGHTS Symposium to an online format and are inviting all of the speakers to join us as we take this show on the virtual road!  This way, you can participate in the roundtable panels from the comfort of your own homes while still sharing the space with us and online attendees.

We’re currently exploring options for running the eight planned panels and workshops spacing them out over time. We will follow up with further details within the next week or so and invite your ideas on how to shape this virtual experience. 

The Message: I think we can all sense some major shifts within the psychedelic community.  Many similar conferences have either taken huge financial losses or similarly canceled because of low attendance and extremely high event costs.  During an election year when global tensions are at an all time high, the cost of living has skyrocketed for many, and we have yet to recover or reunite after an insane pandemic lockdown, it is no surprise that what resonated then is no longer resonating now. 

Although this realization has come to me at such a high personal financial cost, I am only further emboldened to make the best of it by hearing the call to ask the questions: 

What do we need in order to effectively support humanity's healing on both individual and collective levels? How can we safeguard and nurture this movement to avoid the pitfalls of the late 1960s and ensure that psychedelic therapies reach those in need?

From this experience, one thing we have learned for sure is that expensive huge events in fancy places are waning in interest, and perhaps we all need to rethink our approaches to find what does help people find their path to wellness and community.  The hype and the hoopla have clearly lost their luster.

The most critical message that we wish to convey is this: we need each other to survive the hard days and to thrive far beyond them. The LAMPS team and I wish to acknowledge and thank our tribe of incredible speakers, volunteers, and you - our very own LAMPS community - for your unwavering support as we pause to catch our breath and recharge.  But rest assured, this is just a brief interlude. We’ll be back stronger and wiser, ready to co-create and share inspiring and important content that is relevant and badly needed. 

The Invitation: We wholeheartedly welcome your thoughts, your unique ideas, and open conversations about how LAMPS can better meet the needs of our beloved community. Email us at: contact@lampss.org.

Together, let’s light the way forward!

In gratitude,

Brad Adams, Ph.D.

Founder and CEO

The Los Angeles Medicinal Psychedelics Society (LAMPS)