Episode 296
Tracy Townsend, M.D.
In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Dr. Tracy Townsend, a Harvard-trained physician who left orthopedic surgery to become a licensed psilocybin facilitator in Oregon. Dr. Townsend shares her journey from conventional medicine to psychedelic facilitation, describing how her own transformative experiences with plant medicines led her to question the limitations of Western healthcare. She discusses the Oregon psilocybin model, challenges within the current regulatory framework, and draws fascinating parallels between physical surgery and the "mind surgery" of psychedelic experiences. Dr. Townsend also explores emerging research on psychedelics for autoimmune conditions and shares her hopes for policy changes that could expand access to these powerful healing modalities.
Podcast Highlights
- From orthopedic surgery to psychedelics
- Finding psychedelics during medical training
- Being a legal psilocybin facilitator in Oregon
- Needed improvements to Oregon's psilocybin regulations
- Microdosing limitations within the legal framework
- Managing clients on psychiatric medications
- Psychedelics as mental surgery
- Psychedelics' potential for autoimmune conditions
- Researching psychedelics for physical healing
- Hope for psychedelic medicine under RFK Jr.
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