CalMatters: Psychedelics are having a moment. A nationwide push to bring magic mushrooms and other psychedelics into the mainstream is gaining traction, and some Californians want in.

Many longtime advocates believe all weed use has a medical purpose and consider it immoral that high taxes and a lack of dispensaries have made it inaccessible to many patients.

Julie Phillips had a good idea early on where her interests lie. After growing up in Roseville, she attended UC Davis as a political science major and got strongly involved with the Greek community there. She wasn’t interested in pursuing politics; public policy fascinated her instead. 

For Nathan Langley, entrepreneurship has meant integrating his drive to save lives with his passion for innovation and sales, and the synthesis has helped him succeed. “Everybody is different, and their experiences are different, but I would find it much more difficult to have overcome some of the challenges that we’ve faced over the years if it wasn’t something I believed in,” he says. 

Founded in 2020, Biosense is based on technology with development led by Luis Bojorquez, founder and CSO. Bojorquez specializes in combining tiny natural substances (e.g. proteins) with inorganic materials to develop novel biosensing technologies.

Newsom announced his intent in March to divert nearly one-third of the state’s Mental Health Services Act money  — roughly $1 billion — to housing homeless individuals with severe mental illness or drug addiction. 

The nonprofit Sacramento Juneteenth promotes health and wellness through educational programs at local schools. One of its current focuses is mental health care, especially for the Capital Region’s Black community. It’s one of several local nonprofits picking up the slack for Black mental health care.