Matt Zemon is the CEO of HAPPYY, a mental wellness company that specializes in psychedelic-assisted oral ketamine therapy that promotes science-backed, life-transforming outcomes, as well as the author of the international bestselling book Psychedelics For Everyone.
Recent studies show that there is new hope in the treatment of depression and anxiety that is more effective than antidepressants. Scientists are finding increasing evidence for the benefits of mind-altering drugs such as ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin mushrooms. A recent study found that psilocybin was more effective than a popular antidepressant drug. Nowhere is there a definitive book or reliable science-backed resource to educate consumers (and clinicians) on the myths, facts, real experiences, and legalities of psychedelic drugs for mental health until now. Psychedelics entrepreneur Matt Zemon MSc, who holds a Master of Science in psychology and neuroscience of mental health wrote Psychedelics for Everyone as a reference guide for individuals with a non-science background who are searching for a reliable source of unbiased, science-backed insights and practical guidance.
We are so excited to share what Matt had to say about his book and the future of psychotherapy for depression, anxiety, depression and addiction.
Suddenly, I’m reading about psychedelics everywhere. Why is this happening now and what are the legalities that potential users need to know about?
We are in the midst of a psychedelic renaissance. There are over 300 colleges and universities either studying psychedelics or with psychedelic centers. After a 50-year prohibition on psychedelics researchers are demonstrating over and over how powerful these medicines can be for depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use disorder, OCD, eating disorders, as well as for human optimization.
Potential users need to know that first, besides for ketamine and use in clinical trials, all psychedelics are illegal in the United States. Second, these are powerful medicines and should be treated with respect. Third, the best outcomes occur when three S’s are considered: Source, set, and setting. Source refers to where the medicine comes from, ensuring its purity. Unfortunately, psychedelic medicines purchased in the underground market have contaminants. Set refers to the person’s mindset. Are they clear on their intentions? Have they been prepared for what to expect on their journey? Are they open to this experience? Setting refers to the physical environment. Is the participant in a safe place, surrounded by someone who cares for them, and in an area where they are free from distractions? When attention is paid to “source”, “set”, and “setting”, the probability of successful outcomes increases.
Finally, having an experienced guide, therapist, or facilitator can make a major impact on the duration of the impact. This role is important in the preparation phase, the journey itself, and the integration after.
As an entrepreneur in the psychedelics space, what strides do you hope your industry makes in the next five years? Also, what does your present company Happyy do?
Today the industry is working on multiple fronts: Research, educating the public, training facilitators, and selling what services we can (primarily ketamine). As more psychedelic technologies become legal in more jurisdictions, we need to bring on a new generation of psychedelic-assisted therapists and guides to support the millions of people who have been waiting to use these tools. With MDMA and psilocybin around the corner, the future is bright for the industry and, more importantly, for the people who need a new option.
HAPPŸŸ exists to fight the unhappiness epidemic that we are living in. HAPPŸŸ offers personalized psychedelic therapy programs that combine the power of clinician-prescribed ketamine with personal support and curated, evidence-backed exercises to help achieve breakthrough results for anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, addiction, OCD, and more. We believe people deserve to be happy and that ketamine can provide relief and results quickly and safely. We deliver our services via telehealth, which makes our solutions affordable and accessible to more people.
You recently attended Wonderland in Florida. What was the general buzz and what was the best takeaway from the event?
When it comes to psychedelic industry conferences, Wonderland in Florida was the place to be this year. As a “citizen” of the psychedelic community, the Wonderland conference gave me the opportunity to connect with old friends and make new friends. It is through our combined efforts that we continue to find ways to bring the power of these molecules to the people who need them. Knowing and supporting our industry “neighbors” is an important part of this journey.
As a psychedelic entrepreneur, I was able to share the challenges and opportunities that I am thinking about with other psychedelic entrepreneurs in a container of abundance. I found that the leaders of other organizations providing similar services were open and welcoming. It was also a unique opportunity to talk with the leaders or the Colorado ballet initiative to legalize psychedelics in advance of election day.
As a human on his own healing path, I enjoyed the time talking with academics from multiple institutions including John Hopkins, Yale, and King’s College London, and learning about what the latest research is showing. Industry legends like Pauls Stammets was generous with his time and I am excited to see what he will be making available to us in the not-too-distant future. Many of the people who attended this conference were willing to drop into deep conversations quickly, and I appreciated their support and candidness.
Regarding the legalization of psychedelics, I enjoyed being able to listen to the conversation between Heroic Hearts Project’s Jesse Gould, VETs founders Marcus & Amber Capone, and Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Medicine, as well as learning about the work that Jesse MacLachlan and his advocacy group Reason for Hope is doing.
Regarding the future of ketaminie, the work that Dina Burkitayeva and Freedom Biosciences is doing with Dr. John Krystal from Yale is interesting and exciting.
I feel like your book might be a little ahead of the curve. Why did you write Psychedelics for Everyone and what should the reader expect from your book?
My first experience with psychedelics completely changed the way I look at the world. In my first session I was able to reconnect with my mom who died when she was just 49 as well as receive a number of transformational insights. Almost immediately after this session I went back to school to pursue a master’s degree in psychology and neuroscience of mental health at King’s College London and did a deep dive into the psychedelic medicine research. What I wanted to do with this book is share some personal stories of transformation with the readers and then provide them with an overview of psychedelic medicine followed by a more detailed exploration into eight specific psychedelic medicines. All of this has been medically reviewed for accuracy. My goal was to provide a book that was written for people without a science background that they could trust. One that wasn’t too opinionated, too technical, or too woo-woo.
On your website there is a great video about the five myths and rumors of psychedelics. What do you think the most damaging myth has been?
All of us born after the controlled substances act of 1970 was passed have lived our entire lives under a psychedelic prohibition that many of us were not aware of. We were taught from a very early age that drugs are bad, that we should “just say no”, and that if we did drugs they would fry our brains and lead to all sorts of bad things. None of this information was based on science. Because of these decades of propaganda, the psychedelic industry and the research community has to spend an incredible amount of time debunking these myths, and for many people, their first reaction when they hear about psychedelic medicine is, “isn’t this dangerous.”
On the reverse, what are the best uses for psychedelics?
Ketamine is legal today and the FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation to MDMA and to psilocybin. For those who prefer not to go on traditional antidepressants or for those where the existing therapies has failed them, ketamine is a legal option they can turn to today. For people with depression and anxiety, this is a real game changer. The National Institute of Health said ketamine is “the most important breakthrough in antidepressant treatment in decades.” MDMA is widely expected to be legalized federally within the next two years and, in clinical trials, is having profound results on people with treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a recent phase three clinical trial, 67% of the participants no longer qualified as having PTSD after just three MDMA sessions. Incredible. Psilocybin is showing similarly strong results in treatment-resistant depression.
In NYC we have ketamine clinics that seem to be the rage lately. Why is ketamine a popular choice for therapeutic means?
Ketamine treatments have been proven effective for a better life for those suffering from anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, substance-use disorders, and more. It works quickly, with its restorative effects being perceived within an hour or two of treatment. This is revolutionary when you consider that antidepressants can take six to 14 weeks for the patient to feel the effects. Ketamine is also safe with low side effects. Less than 5% of ketamine-treated patients report mild side effects, the majority of which subside within an hour or two of treatment. Antidepressants have a tremendous amount of side effects for the majority of people that use them. Finally, cost. Telehealth companies like HAPPŸŸ.me, Nue.Life, and Mindbloom are putting pressure on the clinics to reduce their pricing and giving people more affordable options for treatment.
In your book you write about your personal experiences with psychedelics. Please explain how one of these experiences helped you and what would you recommend for others who are inspired by your journey?
One story I write about in my book was about inappropriate, intimate contact with an extended family member who was more than a decade older than me that took place when I was a young teenager. The last time it happened, I remember snapping into an awareness of how wrong this situation was and being mortified. It had been more than 25 years since I had last seen her when she came to me during a psychedelic experience. To be clear, this was not related to the intention I had set for this journey, nor was it something I had asked to be healed from. After all this time, it was an unexpected shock to find myself looking at her again, watching the experience unfold in front of me like I was an observer in someone else’s life. Watching this iteration, there was no shame or guilt. This time, when I looked at her, I saw something different than the misguided perpetrator I had constructed. This time I saw her as sad. Lonely. Helpless. Scared. Without condoning or forgiving her actions, I could see her as a human being that was hurt. Who had been effectively abandoned by her father. Who was not as pretty, smart, or talented as her sibling. A human who was having a hard time moderating her drug and alcohol use. A human who was looking anywhere and everywhere for love and not finding it. Without condoning or forgiving her actions, I had genuine empathy for her. And with genuine empathy firmly established, I felt my wounds close. At this moment, the psychedelic medicine allowed me to disassociate from myself, re-look at an experience that had haunted me for years, and release the anger, hatred, embarrassment, guilt, and shame that had weighed me down for decades without me even realizing it.
We all have “stuff” from our pasts that hold us back and weigh us down. Psychedelic medicine is a way to unload some of it.
For the NYC tristate area, is there any movement for legalizing psychedelics? How do you think this will impact psychotherapy?
A bill to legalize psychedelics has been filed by Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal that provides a regulatory framework for psychedelic medicine as well as the decriminalization of the “possession, use, cultivation, production, creation, analysis, gifting, exchange, or sharing” of some psychedelics for those 21 years and older. It would also allow for spiritual use and non-commercial exchange. A second bill has been proposed by Assemblyment Linda Rosenthal to create a psychedelic research institute to evalue the therapeutic use of psychedelic substances. Assemblymember Pat Burke is sponsoring a third bill that would legalize the medical use of psilocybin which, if passed, would allow medical professionals to use psilocybin as a treatment option.
What we have seen in 2020 in Oregon and this year in Colorado is that the public wants safe access to psychedelic medicine for a variety of reasons. For many, they have medical reasons and a medical framework would meet their goals. For others it is spiritual or based on human-optimization goals, and a decriminalization model or religious freedom model would largely achieve their goals. As more and more research comes out every day on the transformative power of psychedelic medicine, it seems like it is a just a matter of time before it is available for all of us.
What are the most import points that you want to share with readers who have struggled with anxiety, depression, trauma, or addiction? Could psychedelics be the answer for those people?
Antidepressants don’t work in approximately 40% of the people who use them and, even when they do work, they come with a high price tag in regard to side effects. Right now, you have another option with psychedelic medicine. There is significant research available from high-profile academic institutions to help ease your concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of these medicines. That being said, please make sure you do your research regarding which practitioner you work with and make sure that they have the experience to assist you with your individual journey.
