🌐The Creation of the GPS Network

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, leaving people feeling isolated and without purpose. Mike Margolies, a global community builder, recognized the need to connect societies around the world and initiated weekly calls with leaders to check-in on how they were managing the onslaught of the pandemic.

As time went on, these calls helped keep many people moving forward amidst the isolation and disillusionment of the pandemic. In 2021, Christopher Gunlock, the former Executive Director of the Psychedelic Society of Minnesota, took over stewarding the monthly GPS calls. He chose a topic for each meeting and invited speakers to discuss particular issues related to running a psychedelic society.

In April of 2022, Jessica 'Jaz' Cadoch, a Cultural and Medical Anthropologist and former Executive Director of the Montreal Psychedelic Society, became the steward of the Global Psychedelic Society. One of her first tasks was to harness the core, mutually held values of the members of the GPS network. Through a decentralized method of collaboration, the GPS network's mission and values were born.

The GPS network's core values include:

Inclusive Community: The emphasis on inclusive community-building provides a welcoming space for societies around the world to come together and grow while enhancing their communities.

Regenerative Stewardship: The collaborative and regenerative process ensures that everyone can contribute to the growth and development of the GPS network without being exploited.

Accountable Leadership: This promotes accountable leadership, where the leaders of the GPS network serve the psychedelic societies worldwide in a way that aligns with the shared values of the network.

As leaders, the GPS network is committed to serving the Psychedelic societies of the world in a way that inspires people to generate and actualize their ideal psychedelic community. Around the world, hundreds of Psychedelic Societies meet regularly to provide peer education around psychedelics. We empower these organizers with the resources to build and support their local communities with an inclusive, risk-reducing, and benefit-maximizing approach to advocacy, integration, and information.

As GPS continued to evolve and grow, it became clear that the next crucial step in empowering the global psychedelic community was to tap into the invaluable insights and knowledge possessed by the leaders of individual societies. With this in mind, the GPS team set out to create a comprehensive starter kit that would enable anyone, anywhere, to start their own society with confidence and a tool belt full of valuable resources.

What emerged was a rich collection of first-hand experiences, tips, and best practices from leaders who had already navigated the challenges and triumphs of building successful psychedelic communities in their respective regions. This starter kit represents a true collaboration among the GPS network, reflecting our shared values of Inclusive Community, Regenerative Stewardship, and Accountable Leadership.

Whether you're looking to start a society from scratch, or simply seeking to enhance and grow an existing community, the GPS starter kit is your indispensable guide to success in the dynamic and constantly-evolving world of psychedelic advocacy and education. So dive in, explore, and join us in building a brighter future for the global psychedelic movement.