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Explore the World of Plant Medicine and Psychedelics. A Weekly Digest of Exclusive Stories, Insights, and Research.
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Guide ⚡
Today’s newsletter takes about 5 minutes to read—so if you’ve only got 60 seconds, here’s what you need to know:
OCD treatment has a real gap. SSRIs and CBT/ERP help many people, but responses can be slow (and nearly 40% of OCD patients don’t respond to traditional treatments…), incomplete, and relapse is common, leaving a lot of folks still searching for relief…
Psilocybin is showing early promise, but the evidence is still early. Case reports and small clinical trials have reported rapid drops in OCD symptoms (measured with Y-BOCS), sometimes after a single supported session…
We’re not at “standard treatment” territory yet. Bigger, randomized, controlled studies are still needed to confirm safety, durability, and what clinical protocols actually work best…
🎙️ This week on the pod: We sat down with Cesar Marin to talk about how psychedelics helped reshape his relationship to his past and sparked the creation of his new apparel brand, Cultivating Wisdom.
👉 We’re going to be taking a deep dive into psilocybin over these next few weeks to really investigate where the literature and research are at.
Stick with us, keep asking questions, and feel free to share your comments!
🧠 The Webdelics Team
👋 New here? We do this every week… Join Us!
🎙️ Psychedelics Made Me an Entrepreneur — with Cesar Marin
🌱 In this episode, we sat down with entrepreneur Cesar Marin to unpack how psychedelic journeys pushed him from the comfort of corporate life into founding Cultivating Wisdom, an apparel line rooted in mindful living.
👕 Cesar gets granular in this discussion by translating his plant-medicine-induced epiphanies into business plans, designing conversation-starting graphics, sourcing ethical fabrics, and channeling profits into community micro-grants.
🎧 Whether you’re at a career crossroads, craving a mission-aligned venture, or simply curious how altered states can spark concrete action, this candid conversation offers a roadmap for turning inner insight into outer impact.
The Cozy Winter Ritual Behind My Energy and Glow ✨
Winter calls for rituals that actually make you feel amazing—and Pique’s Sun Goddess Matcha is mine. It delivers clean, focused energy with zero jitters, supports glowing skin and gentle detox, and feels deeply grounding on cold mornings. Smooth, ceremonial-grade, and crave-worthy, it’s the easiest way to start winter days clear, energized, and glowing from the inside out
📜 The “Must Read” For The Week
🍄 Could Psilocybin Mushrooms Potentially Treat OCD?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurring, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive actions (compulsions) to ease anxiety and internally perceived stress.
While SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) can help, they don’t work for everyone.
In fact, the treatment numbers don’t look very good overall… as up to 40% of patients with OCD do not respond to traditional forms of treatment and care.
Treatment can take weeks and months (sometimes even years…) to show results, and many people still struggle with debilitating symptoms or relapse when treatment ends.
This persistent treatment gap has spurred interest in exploring faster, more effective solutions, but we’ve failed on most fronts in finding medications that can move the needle.
🛣 Psilocybin as a Potential Game Changer
Enter psilocybin—the active compound in “magic mushrooms”— which has emerged as a promising option for treatment in the crowded mental health space.
Early anecdotal evidence and clinical case studies suggest that psilocybin-assisted therapy (performed with a trained and qualified therapist) may provide rapid and lasting relief from OCD symptoms.
Is it that easy? No, but the results and early case studies are promising…
Participants in various case reports and small-scale studies have experienced dramatic reductions in obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, sometimes within hours of a single dose.
And while those results are encouraging, we still need much more research to truly understand who (and at what dose) will benefit from these emerging therapies.
Luckily for you, we’ve done the work to put together the most compelling cases to consider when discussing OCD and psilocybin therapy…
📔 Compelling Case Reports
Teen with Severe OCD (1987)
A 17-year-old who struggled with intricate rituals and obsessive thoughts found that using LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline sometimes led to hours-long breaks from OCD symptoms.
LSD initially worsened obsessions briefly but then eliminated them for 4–5 hours.
“Mr. A” (1997)
This patient began using psilocybin mushrooms twice a week to manage contamination fears and ritualistic counting.
He experienced 4–5 days of relief after each dose, even after building tolerance to psychedelic effects.
Chronic Anxiety and OCD (2014)
A 38-year-old man with lifelong anxiety and compulsions found no relief from multiple medications.
Ingesting home-grown psilocybin mushrooms once resulted in a dramatic decrease in intrusive thoughts the following day.
“Mr. J.C.” (2020)
This patient tried nearly every conventional medication, including SSRIs and intranasal ketamine, with little success.
After taking 2 grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms every two weeks, his Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score dropped from 35 (extreme OCD) to 13 (mild OCD).
“Daniel” (2022)
He was part of a clinical trial exploring a single dose of psilocybin for treatment-resistant OCD.
Reported a profound shift in how he related to his obsessions, with his Y-BOCS score falling from severe (24) to nearly zero at the 12-week follow-up.
🏥 Clinical Trial Insights & Learnings So Far
In one of the first clinical trials published back in 2006, nine participants each received four single doses of psilocybin under supportive psychedelic-assisted therapy conditions.
All experienced significant reductions in OCD symptoms at various points (a 23% to 100% decrease in Y-BOCS scores), and one participant maintained complete remission for six months… And aside from a brief episode of elevated blood pressure in one participant, there were no major adverse effects.
Interestingly, another study published in October 2025 also found that a single 10 mg dose of psilocybin produced a rapid-onset, moderate to large effect on OCD symptoms, lasting up to one week in duration after the initial dosing.
The biggest improvements came in the compulsive patterns of these individuals struggling with OCD.
🧠 How Psilocybin (Is Assumed To Make) Changes The Brain
It’s an exciting time to be in the plant medicine and psychedelic research space because there are still a ton of questions that we don’t have answers to…
Luckily, some early data have provided insights into how psilocybin changes the brain. Researchers have proposed several explanations for psilocybin’s therapeutic impact on OCD:
Profound or “transcendental” experiences that change how individuals perceive their intrusive thoughts.
Enhanced cognitive processes, such as improved working memory and attention, which may help break obsessive–compulsive cycles.
Serotonin receptor changes, including rapid receptor down-regulation, that could alter mood and compulsive behaviors commonly seen in OCD.
💭 What’s Next?
Although psilocybin’s potential is exciting, it isn’t yet a standard OCD treatment.
Further large-scale, randomized, and controlled studies are needed to clarify its safety, optimal dosing, and long-term effects.
Still, the evidence so far points to psilocybin as a potentially transformative option for those who struggle with persistent, debilitating OCD—offering renewed hope for faster relief and a better quality of life.
And with that said, if you or someone you know is interested in exploring these options, always consult with qualified mental health professionals and trained therapists before pursuing these types of exploratory treatments.
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💬 Always Remember You’re in The Driver’s Seat…
As Hippocrates so elegantly stated, “There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.”
Challenging our beliefs and knowledge is essential for finding the truth, especially in a crowded space like plant medicine and psychedelics…
And it’s up to YOU and only YOU to educate and inform yourself about the world around you.
🧠 If this week’s newsletter tickled your cortex, here’s what you can do to keep expanding your knowledge:
📖 Find A Study Buddy: We’re getting closer to releasing a new guide, but there’s still time to grab our Beginner’s Guide to MDMA to make sure you understand the Do’s and Don’t’s of MDMA.
🧭 Spread The Good Word!: We’re growing, but with your help, we can grow even faster… Share this with someone who
📩 Looking For More Psychedelic News?: If you aren’t already following Psychedelic Alpha, you need to be! They’re always putting out great content on industry trends and insights. We’re huge fans of theirs… ❤
At Webdelics, we’re here to make plant-medicine and psychedelic education clear, evidence-based, and actionable, so you can make informed choices with fewer regrets…
📩 If this helped, forward it to someone who needs hope and structure.
💬 Questions, corrections, or topics to cover next? Hit reply.
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🧠 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.
