We’re excited to announce that our Top 100 Emerging Thought Leaders & Content Creators is going to be officially published on Tuesday, April 15th!

This is the most extensive list we’ve compiled thus far and will get you a front row seat to the leaders in this quickly expanding field of psychedelics.

🌐 Follow us on social media to stay connected and explore more and stay tuned:

👉 Webdelics Linktree

At Webdelics, our mission is to educate, inspire, and connect the global community interested in the transformative power of psychedelics.

By celebrating these pioneers, we’re moving one step closer to greater awareness, acceptance, and understanding of this vital field.

We invite you to join us in honoring the leaders who are shaping the future of psychedelics—and thank you for being part of this journey with us…

Welcome to the journey!

🧠 The Webdelics Team

📔 Psychedelics 101: Terms Everyone Should Know

Neuroplastic Window 🧠

The neuroplastic window is the period after a psychedelic experience when your brain is especially open to change, growth, and solidifying new connections.

During this time—often lasting days to weeks depending on the psychedelic—new neural pathways are more easily formed, making it a prime opportunity to rewire habits, shift thought patterns, and integrate insights into lasting growth.

It’s like your brain hits “save mode” on new ideas…

Why it matters: Psychedelics don’t just create temporary breakthroughs—they can open a window where those breakthroughs stick…But only if you’re intentional.

What you practice, focus on, or repeat during this time can shape how those insights take root.

🛠️ Pro Tip: Use the neuroplastic window wisely—establish healthy morning rituals, start journaling, commit to a new habit, or have that honest conversation you’ve been avoiding.

You’re rewiring—on purpose!

🎧️ The Webdelics Podcast

📜 Top Article

CIA Brothels, Cary Grant Trips & Church Mysticism - The Top 10 Wild Truths from Psychedelic History

By Steve Elfrink, OmTerra Therapist & Webdelics Subject Matter Expert

Long before psychedelics were part of wellness retreats and decriminalization campaigns, they were reshaping science, therapy—and national security policy (yes, seriously!).

The early era of psychedelic research, spanning the 1950s–1960s, was a strange and brilliant time of high hopes, radical experiments, and some very questionable ethics.

In this month’s newsletter, Steve Elfrink rewinds the reel to highlight 10 of the most jaw-dropping true stories from the roots of psychedelic medicine.

You won’t believe how weird—and wonderful—the origin story of psychedelics really is…

✍️ 1. The Word “Psychedelic” Was Invented in a Poem

When psychiatrist Humphry Osmond introduced writer Aldous Huxley to mescaline in the 1950s, it sparked both a book (The Doors of Perception) and a language debate.

Huxley jokingly proposed the term phanerothyme. Osmond replied with the now-famous rhyme:

🕵️ 2. The CIA Secretly Dosed Americans with LSD

In the 1950s, the CIA launched Project MK-ULTRA, secretly drugging unsuspecting citizens to test LSD’s potential for mind control.

One scientist was dosed and later fell (or was pushed?) from a hotel window…

Meanwhile, in Operation Midnight Climax, agents set up brothels to secretly watch tripped-out clients through one-way mirrors.

It sounds like sci-fi—but it’s real…

🍄 3. Life Magazine Coined “Magic Mushroom”

In 1957, Life published “Seeking the Magic Mushroom,” where banker-turned-ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson described his mushroom ceremony with Mazatec healer María Sabina.

The term stuck, and psilocybin hit the Western mainstream—eventually inspiring a Harvard psychologist named Timothy Leary to head south for his first trip…

🍷 4. AA’s Co-Founder Believed LSD Could Treat Alcoholism

Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, tried LSD under supervision in 1956—and found it profoundly healing.

He believed it could trigger spiritual insight for alcoholics…

While AA leadership disagreed, Wilson quietly continued exploring psychedelics as a tool for recovery—decades before science caught up.

🎬 5. Cary Grant Did 100 LSD Therapy Sessions (and Told Everyone)

Before hippies claimed LSD, Cary Grant was already using it to unpack childhood trauma and anxiety.

Between 1958–61, he underwent nearly 100 guided psychedelic sessions and publicly praised the results in major magazines.

His glowing reviews helped normalize psychedelic therapy—long before the public and governmental backlash started…

🎓 6. Harvard Professors Got Fired for Giving Students Mushrooms

In the early ‘60s, Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) ran the Harvard Psilocybin Project.

They gave students and faculty psilocybin in supervised sessions—until ethics concerns, media scandals, and unsanctioned dosing led to their dismissal.

It was the first major psychedelic controversy in academia—and as you can assume, it wouldn’t be the last…

✝️ 7. The Good Friday Experiment Mixed Mushrooms with Church Service

In 1962, theology students at Boston University attended a Good Friday sermon—half on psilocybin, half on placebo.

The result?

The trippers reported mystical unity, divine presence, and life-changing insights…

The study became legendary for showing psychedelics could induce authentic spiritual experiences under the right conditions.

📚 8. Aldous Huxley Took LSD on His Deathbed

Author Aldous Huxley, an early psychedelic advocate, requested LSD as he lay dying of cancer in 1963.

His wife administered two injections, and Huxley passed peacefully, in what she described as “the most beautiful death.”

That same day, JFK was assassinated… History rarely gets more poetic than this.

🇬🇧 9. British Soldiers Tripped in Combat Drills

The UK military tested LSD on Royal Marines during a 1964 field exercise.

Soldiers quickly collapsed into laughter, wandered off-mission, and climbed trees to feed imaginary birds…

It was all caught on film—and convinced the British Army that LSD was not exactly battlefield material…

…It’s probably safe to say that high-doses of LSD won’t be actively used in battle anytime soon.

🚌 10. Ken Kesey Took Government Acid—and Started a Counterculture

Believe it or not, novelist Ken Kesey was first introduced to LSD through a CIA-funded experiment.

He later founded the Merry Pranksters, threw wild Acid Test parties, and helped launch the psychedelic ‘60s…

Ironically, a government mind-control test helped spark a generation’s awakening…

Pretty wild stuff, right?

It’s evident that the psychedelic space is rife with drama, controversial decisions, and government funded programs…

The next decade of research, political changes, and public action is going to be one for the history books!

🎉 Top Weekly Blog!

Our Top Psychedelic and Plant Medicine Blog from Webdelics

The Webdelics website has over 160+ evidence-based, research-backed blogs that were intentionally written to give you the facts, not just our opinions. 

📚️ Here is this week’s top blog on our site, rated by our readers:

• How To Take MDMA

👉️ We’ve gotten A TON of great feedback about this one, so check it out and let us know what you think!

💬 We will leave you with this…

As Albert Einstein infamously noted, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”

Challenging our beliefs and knowledge is essential for finding the truth, especially in a crowded space like plant medicine and psychedelics.

Until next time…

🧠 The Guide - by Webdelics

Disclaimer: Webdelics does not support or promote any illegal activities, including the use of substances that may be mentioned in this newsletter. We encourage all readers to familiarize themselves with and adhere to the laws in their region. Please note that Webdelics does not offer mental health, medical, or clinical services and should not be used as a replacement for professional medical, psychological, or psychiatric care, diagnosis, or treatment.