Kris Michelle

Drawing on survey and Bureau of Justice figures and one person's life story, the post ends by asking readers to petition for changes to the law rather than debate pharmacology.

Covering the third Aspen Psychedelic Symposium, the post focuses on William Leonard Pickard, described as an 80-year-old who served 20 years in federal prison as the alleged LSD chemist the DEA says produced most of the US supply, and who wrote The Rose of Paracelsus in prison.

• It cites estimates that about 28% of American adults have used a psychedelic at least once, 61% support a regulated legal framework, LSD and MDMA account for roughly 3% of federal drug offenders, and more than 2,000 people are serving life sentences for non-violent drug offences.
• Pickard is quoted as saying the prohibition, rather than the pharmacology, kills people.

Read original

The case draws on librarianship's stated values: access to information, lifelong learning, democracy and intellectual freedom. The aim is to normalise cannabis education through credible civic settings, not promote it to existing enthusiasts.

A post describes taking part in the Cannabis Education Quest at the Rawlings Library in Pueblo, Colorado, in April 2016, as one of four cannabis authors on a panel.

• It notes that Callie Cannabis, their first book, was published with co-authors, and that the programme ran through the library's Idea Factory makerspace.
• The post argues that a decade later cannabis literacy has moved closer to the mainstream.
• A companion post traces plant medicine from traditional herbalism through Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda to industrial pharmaceuticals, making the case for older, plant-based practice.

Read original · Original 2

It attributes the medical claims to the practitioner, not to Kris Michelle—a distinction to preserve when reusing them.

Reporting on Infinite Healing, the post quotes Shannon Tor, the company's vice president of research and development, saying she brings back pre-allopathic plant medicines and does no synthesis.

• She says the business serves only people over 21 and the average client is 60 to 75 years old, with some as old as 90.
• The post credits Tor with claims that DMT can treat pain, PTSD, depression, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
• It explains that DMT occurs naturally in plants and animals and is often called the spirit molecule, and links to a Colorado report on the shop.

Read original

The criticism targets data handling, not the substance; the post treats an uncomfortable psychedelic experience as an acceptable risk. This is the clearest counterweight to the legalisation-forward posts: it highlights the stakes when a psychedelics-adjacent business asks for something irreversible.

The post opens with the 23andMe breach, saying the privacy of almost 15 million people who trusted the company with their biology was compromised and sold.

• It examines EntheoDNA, a cheek-swab kit that reports on genetic sensitivity to MDMA, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline, LSD and cannabis—all of which it notes remain Schedule I—as well as ibogaine and salvia.
• It raises two concerns: customers using a federally illegal substance would disclose that to a database, and direct-to-consumer genetic data is not treated as protected health information under HIPAA.
• The post also notes that the seller is a California 508(c)(1)(a) religious organisation exempt from certain filings, and that the analysing lab is described as HIPAA compliant but not FDA approved.
• It closes with a stated preference to risk a bad trip rather than expose genetic data.

Read original

The first says reading trains empathy, memory, reasoning and focus, while constant scrolling works against those capacities.

• The second traces Labour Day and the eight-hour day through hybrid work and AI-driven efficiency, asking whether machines that need no health insurance or safety standards will replace human workers.
• Both criticise incentives rather than naming specific companies.

The library post says a recent survey found half of adults read no book in the past year, neuroscience shows deep reading activates brain regions tied to empathy and reasoning, and Big Tech is designed to prevent sustained focus.

• It closes by urging readers to visit a local library.
• The Labour Day post recalls the 1882 union parade in New York and the 1916 eight-hour-day law, then asks whether machines that need no days off will replace human capital.
• It notes that job security has weakened across industries.

Read original · Original 2

The statistics make the case; the dinner is the call to action. The named contacts are foundation ambassadors, not clients or sponsors.

The post promotes the Hats and Chats Tour dinner at Del Frisco's Grille in Cherry Creek, hosted by The Real Mental Health Foundation.

• It directs RSVPs to named ambassadors and notes that hats are encouraged but not required.
• The post lists ten statistics, including that nearly one in five men experience a mental health disorder in a given year, more than six million experience depression, 65% are hesitant to seek professional help, and 15% of men report having no close friends.

Read original

This is their clearest statement of the education position a cannabis brand would be partnering with.

Kris Michelle describes taking part in the Cannabis Education Quest at the Rawlings Library in Pueblo, Colorado, in April 2016, as one of four cannabis authors on a panel, with their newly published first book, Callie Cannabis.

• They argue that libraries, as community information hubs, should carry cannabis material in a state where it has been decriminalized, linking that position to librarianship values of access to information, lifelong learning and intellectual freedom.
• The post then turns to reading: it says a recent survey found half of adults read no book in the past year, cites a claim that deep reading activates brain regions tied to empathy, memory, reasoning and focus, and argues that constant scrolling rewires attention.
• It closes with a direct appeal to visit a local library.

For brands planning a campaign

For a cannabis education partnership, this is the strongest proof that Kris Michelle can place cannabis content in credible civic and educational settings, framing it as literacy rather than promotion.

• A brief focused on stigma reduction, library or community programming, or long-form education fits this voice.
• The emphasis on reading and attention also offers a bridge to partners in media literacy or education.

Buyers considering a cannabis or psychedelic collaboration can assess this reporting style here.

The post traces plant medicine from traditional herbalism through Chinese and Indian systems to industrial pharmaceuticals, then turns to Colorado, where it says seniors and others are using fungi and entheogenic substances for trauma, mental health and other conditions.

• It quotes Shannon Tor, vice president of research and development for Infinite Healing, saying the work is bringing back pre-allopathic plant medicines, the business serves only people over 21, and the average client is 60 to 75 years old, with some as old as 90.
• Tor says DMT can treat pain, PTSD, depression, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
• The post notes that DMT occurs naturally in plants and animals and is called the spirit molecule, and links to a Colorado report.

For brands planning a campaign

Useful for a partner seeking an educational piece about plant-based medicine and older audiences in Colorado.

• The medical-efficacy claims are attributed to a named practitioner, not studies; a brand should corroborate them or keep them as attributed quotes.
• The piece also shows that Kris Michelle treats commercial operators as sources rather than clients.

It shows the advocacy voice a brand would be working with.

Writing about the third Aspen Psychedelic Symposium, Kris Michelle highlights speaker William Leonard Pickard, describing him as an 80-year-old who served 20 years in federal prison as the alleged LSD chemist the DEA says produced most of the US supply, and who was released in 2020.

• The post cites a survey estimate that about 28% of American adults have used a psychedelic at least once and that 61% support a regulated legal framework.
• It also cites Bureau of Justice statistics that about 20% of incarcerated people are held for psychedelic drug offenses and that LSD and MDMA account for about 3% of federal drug offenders, alongside roughly a million drug arrests a year and more than 2,000 people serving life sentences for non-violent drug offenses.
• The post describes Pickard's 656-page book The Rose of Paracelsus and his post-release roles as an advisor to the Fireside Project, a speaker, science officer at JLS Fund NYC and an affiliated researcher at Harvard Law School, then closes on decriminalization in Colorado and Oregon.

For brands planning a campaign

Shows how Kris Michelle turns an event into a sourced policy narrative, suited to advocacy campaigns, documentary-style content and commentary around reform milestones. Expect a War on Drugs framing and direct quotes rather than neutral event coverage; review the cited figures before reuse.

The post opens with the 23andMe breach, saying the privacy of almost 15 million people who trusted the company with their biology was compromised and sold.

• It examines EntheoDNA by Dynamic Labs, a cheek-swab kit that reports on genetic sensitivity to MDMA, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline, LSD and cannabis — substances it notes remain Schedule I — plus ibogaine and salvia.
• Kris Michelle raises two concerns: customers must disclose their use of a federally illegal substance to a database, and direct-to-consumer genetic data is not treated as protected health information under HIPAA.
• The post notes that the seller is a California 508(c)(1)(a) religious organization exempt from certain filings, and that the analyzing lab is described as HIPAA compliant but not FDA approved.
• It closes with a stated preference to risk an uncomfortable experience rather than expose genetic data.

For brands planning a campaign

A warning for any partner whose product collects user data.

• Kris Michelle reads the terms and questions where data goes, so a brief involving testing, apps or personalization should include a clear answer on data handling.
• For a consumer-protection or privacy angle, this offers a ready-made editorial direction.

It complements the policy and education posts with a service angle.

Kris Michelle promotes the Hats and Chats Tour dinner at Del Frisco's Grille in Cherry Creek, hosted by THE REAL Mental Health Foundation, and lists the foundation's ambassadors as contacts for RSVPs, noting that hats are encouraged but not required. The post marks the end of Men's Mental Health Month in June while arguing the conversation should continue, and lists ten statistics: about one in five men experience a mental health disorder in a given year, more than six million experience depression, 65% are hesitant to seek professional help, 83% report recent stress, 60% of men who died by suicide had no documented mental health condition, and 15% of men report having no close friends.

For brands planning a campaign

Shows how Kris Michelle carries a mental health message from awareness statistics to a concrete local action, making it relevant to event promotion, community partnerships and campaigns that need a mental-health frame rather than a product frame. The ambassadors named in the post also point to contacts in the foundation network.

Covering the Aspen Psychedelic Symposium, Kris Michelle devotes most of the post to William Leonard Pickard, an 80-year-old who served 20 years in federal prison on alleged LSD manufacturing charges and wrote The Rose of Paracelsus behind bars.

• The story is paired with numbers: about 28% of American adults report lifetime use of a psychedelic, 61% support a regulated framework for therapeutic use, LSD and MDMA account for roughly 3% of federal drug offenders, and more than 2,000 people are serving life sentences for non-violent drug offenses.
• They call medicalization inevitable, describe the War on Drugs as a war on people who use drugs, and point to Colorado and Oregon as places where enforcement is now the lowest priority.
• A separate post reports on a Colorado shop offering DMT microdosing sessions, whose typical client is 60 to 75 years old.

They build arguments from statistics, direct quotes from named people, and first-person event reporting, representing only the legalization side of the policy debate.

The advocacy is not blanket approval of the psychedelics industry: in another post, they reject a consumer psychedelic product over its handling of customer data.

For brands planning a campaign

A cannabis or psychedelic policy partner gets an advocate’s frame, not neutral education. Expect legalization-forward messaging backed by statistics that treats medical access as a public-health question.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3

A post describes their participation in the 2016 Cannabis Education Quest at the Rawlings Library in Pueblo, Colorado, one of four programs featuring cannabis authors, and refers to their first book, Callie Cannabis, published with a group of co-authors.

• They argue that libraries in decriminalized states should stock and program cannabis material, grounding the case in librarianship’s stated values of access to information and intellectual freedom.
• A related post traces herbalism and plant medicine through Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda to argue that plant-based healing predates and complements pharmaceuticals, and cites a Colorado practitioner whose clients range from lawyers and correctional officers to grandmothers.

For brands planning a campaign

For a cannabis education brand, this is direct evidence of institutional programming experience—library panels, authorship, and a normalizing frame aimed at general and older audiences rather than existing enthusiasts. They can speak to community venues and cautious readers.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

The post uses the 23andMe breach as context and flags consent clauses that permit selling or transferring customer data. Its first-person framing is self-critical, including an admission of clicking 'I agree' without reading the terms.

They break down a product’s company structure, regulatory category, and terms of service, then give a personal conclusion.

Their skepticism targets data handling rather than the substance; the same post treats the possibility of a difficult psychedelic experience as acceptable, not as a reason to avoid one.

For brands planning a campaign

They are well suited to privacy, consent, and consumer-protection angles in wellness. They scrutinize terms and business structures and publicly question a product’s data practices—valuable for a brand seeking a critical reviewer, but risky for one seeking straightforward promotion.

Examples: Source 1

The post names foundation ambassadors as RSVP contacts and includes the venue and time.

For brands planning a campaign

The post shows a working relationship with a mental health nonprofit and a willingness to promote live events with logistics, contacts, and statistics. A brand can join existing community gatherings; the tone is personal and inclusive.

Examples: Source 1

The post includes exhibit dates, opening hours, free admission, and the artist's website.

For brands planning a campaign

Their coverage extends beyond cannabis and psychedelics into Denver arts and culture, with practical visitor information that suits lifestyle or local-market campaigns.

Examples: Source 1

One says Big Tech is designed to prevent sustained focus, half of adults read no book in a year, and deep reading is now counterculture because it trains empathy, memory, reasoning and focus; it ends by urging readers to visit a library.

• The other traces Labor Day from an 1882 union parade and the 1916 eight-hour-day law to hybrid work and automation, asking whether machines that need no health insurance or safety standards will replace human workers, and noting the loss of job security in a digital economy.
• Both criticize speed- and efficiency-driven incentives rather than specific companies.

They use a historical arc from past to present, followed by either a direct instruction to readers or an open question.

For brands planning a campaign

Their work fits literacy, workplace, and education campaigns. Expect a skeptical tone toward automation and algorithmic efficiency, with claims grounded in historical and survey references as well as personal anecdote.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

A typical post opens with a hook line ('The old ways are new again...and your Grandmother was right!'), then offers a short history or set of statistics, quotes named people, adds a personal reflection, and closes with a call or question.

• Hashtags span the subjects covered—#aspen, #DMT, #books, #laborday, #DNA, #westernart, #mensmentalhealth—showing breadth well beyond a single vertical.
• Event and exhibit promotions include dates, addresses, and contact instructions.

For brands planning a campaign

Partners can commission an advocacy essay, statistic-led education post, event promotion, or profile feature. The range of topics means a campaign need not be limited to cannabis to suit the writing.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3 · Source 4 · Source 5 · Source 6 · Source 7

Ask whether the post involved a business relationship.

View example

Ask whether they had a business relationship.

View example

Ask whether they had a formal relationship with the foundation.

View example

Both also frame their writing around community organisations they work with, whether a workforce development board or a library programme, rather than writing as detached commentators.

Hancock's posts focus on Colorado's aerospace and workforce pipeline and the boards they chair, largely promoting programmes and partners. Kris Michelle's posts argue a contested policy position and, in one case, criticise a commercial product, making the writing more adversarial even when the format is similar.

Read original · Original 2

They use the same persuasive approach: state the gap in the figures, explain why the common assumption is out of date, and end with a practical implication rather than a general observation.

Hemlani writes about sovereign capital, venture funding and biotech investment in the UAE for a business and investor audience.

• Kris Michelle writes about drug policy, plant medicine and public institutions from Colorado.
• Their posts combine personal reflection, local events and a stated personal position, unlike Hemlani's market analysis.

Read original · Original 2

Kris Michelle's writing about people in their sixties to nineties—in a plant medicine shop, at a Colorado art exhibit and at a Denver mental health dinner—uses one person's story to carry a wider argument. Like Bergman, they treat conversation as the point, not the decoration.

Bergman focuses on aging, ageism and intergenerational connection through a documentary-style storytelling project with a take-action funnel. Kris Michelle's writing on older adults appears within regulatory, data and policy arguments; the focus is on institutions and rules, not the relationships themselves.

Read original · Original 2

The two posts are written for that audience: they come from the Lives Well Lived: GENERATIONS project, make the case for sharing life across generations and end with a direct invitation to act, linking readers to a participation page.

• For an event or short series judged on attendance and conversation among readers over 60, Bergman already has that audience and an aging-affirming frame that keeps cannabis from reading as a youth or counterculture topic.
• The brand would supply the cannabis facts; Bergman would make the stigma-reduction argument that people of any age are allowed to be curious.

The posts do not address cannabis, plant medicine or Colorado regulation, and offer no consumer-education example.

• For a campaign about cannabis decriminalisation and sessions, the brand would need to supply and verify every factual detail, from decriminalisation status to session logistics.
• A risk-reduction message also sits awkwardly in a voice centred on longevity and belonging.
• Choosing Bergman means trading subject-matter authority and a history of library and cannabis education for older-audience reach.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

The posts show Hancock chairing a Colorado workforce-development board, convening partners at named facilities, thanking hosts and partner organisations by name, and addressing an economic-development audience on talent pipelines and community collaboration. If the brand's route to non-users is an employer session, a library or civic board, or a Colorado partnership event where a stigma-reduction message can reach older professionals in a business setting, Hancock can assemble the room and speak to it credibly.

The posts cover aerospace and workforce development: industry profiles, board leadership, apprenticeships and talent strategy.

• They say nothing about health, aging or cannabis, offer no consumer education, and address a professional and economic-development audience rather than people deciding whether to attend a session.
• Cannabis content would sit inside someone else's frame, and the corporate register is far from the library-and-herbalism voice that makes Kris Michelle's work a fit.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

The posts explain UAE sovereign wealth, foreign-investment gaps and the country's coordinated push into biotech and drug discovery for an investor audience, using concrete figures, a numbered argument and a clear conclusion. If a client wants the plant-medicine or cannabis sector covered as a market-structure or investment story for funders or operators rather than first-time users, this register is the better fit, and the biotech-capital link to therapeutic development is genuine.

The posts say nothing about cannabis, consumer health choices, older adults or Colorado, and offer no consumer-education example.

• For a stigma-reduction campaign aimed at people who do not use cannabis, Hemlani is not a substitute for Kris Michelle or Bergman.
• Choosing this route means changing the campaign's audience and promise and giving up the Colorado community and library evidence entirely.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2