🍄The Initial Sprout

As the dearly loved and missed Daniel Jabbour, founder of the first Psychedelic Society, once said;

“as psychedelics reach into the mainstream, we need to create more safe spaces for dialogue and for integrating lessons learned during psychedelic experiences into our everyday life”.

In the early 2010s, Daniel Jabbour, a visionary with a passion for psychedelics, realized that people were longing for genuine connections and open conversations about the potential benefits of these substances and coming out of the psychedelic closet. His desire to create a safe and accepting community led him to establish the San Francisco Psychedelic Society in 2012. The organization grew quickly, attracting thousands of members eager to explore the possibilities of these powerful compounds.

Despite his success, Jabbour was struggling with his own demons. He was grappling with addiction, particularly opiates, and kept this a secret from the very community he had created. Sadly, in April 2014, Jabbour passed away from a heroin overdose, leaving behind a community he had helped nurture and grow. Yet, his legacy would live on, inspiring others to pick up the torch and continue the important work that he had started, and ultimately laying the groundwork for what would become a global movement.

One of those individuals was Irina Alexander, a devoted member of the Bay Area community who was determined to keep the San Francisco Psychedelic Society alive after Jabbour's passing. Along with other like-minded individuals, Irina was instrumental in ensuring that the organization remained a beacon of hope and support for those interested in exploring the transformative potential of psychedelics.

In 2015, Mike Margolies founded the first iteration of Psychedelic Seminars in Baltimore, which would later become the Baltimore Psychedelic Society, consisting of a series of discussions about the benefits of psychedelics. The success of the Baltimore group inspired others, and similar organizations began to spring up across the country and around the world. In Brooklyn, in Southern California, in Europe, and beyond, individuals who shared Jabbour's vision of a more connected and compassionate world began forming their own psychedelic societies, creating a network of like-minded individuals who could support and encourage each other on their journeys.

In 2016, leaders from the various psychedelic societies around the world gathered in person for the first time at Beyond Psychedelics in Prague, marking a pivotal moment in the movement's history. Here, they were able to share their experiences, collaborate on new ideas, and form lasting connections that would continue to propel the movement forward.

The following year, the leaders reconvened at Psychedelic Science 2017 in Oakland, CA, where they continued to build upon the bonds they had formed the previous year. These meetings were crucial in creating a sense of community among the psychedelic societies, as well as fostering a spirit of collaboration and innovation.

In 2018, the San Francisco Psychedelic Society was in need of support to get back on its feet. Margolies called a meeting, which brought together a group of passionate individuals who were eager to continue the important work that Jabbour had started. Among them was Danielle Negrin, who is now the Executive Director of the SFPS, which has grown into one of the largest psychedelic societies in the world.

Today, the SFPS offers a wide range of events and services, from integration circles to education on research and policy, serving as a vital hub for all things psychedelic in the Bay Area. With over 300 societies now accounted for around the world, the Psychedelic Society movement has spread far and wide, providing a safe and supportive space for people to explore the many facets of psychedelic experiences.

As we look to the future, we honor the legacy of those who came before us and continue to build upon their vision of a more connected and compassionate world. Through the efforts of Jabbour and his successors, the psychedelic society movement has become a global phenomenon, inspiring countless individuals to explore the transformative potential of psychedelics and build meaningful connections with like-minded individuals.