Reimagining Recovery: Psychedelics, Substance Use, and the Future of Healing

 As psychedelics show promise for addressing substance use disorders (SUDs), they also challenge the dominant disease and abstinence-only models that have long shaped addiction treatment—with limited success. This panel brings together practitioners, researchers, and advocates rooted in harm reduction and lived experience to reimagine addiction care through the lens of psychedelic healing. Panelists will examine how medicines like ayahuasca, ibogaine, psilocybin, and ketamine interrupt addictive cycles while supporting personal agency, connection, and transformation.Through insights from clinical trials, peer-led integration programs, and non-profit psychedelic clinics serving Medicaid and sliding-scale clients, this session highlights scalable, inclusive, and culturally responsive alternatives. Panelists will explore the limitations and risks of pairing outdated addiction frameworks with psychedelic work, and instead offer community-driven, trauma-informed, and non-coercive approaches. Attendees will leave with tools to evaluate facilitators, understand harm reduction philosophy, and envision new models of recovery that honor complexity, dignity, and choice.