Trump’s New Surgeon General Pick Had ‘Meaningful Experiences’ With Psychedelics, But Said Marijuana Harms The Ability To ‘Make Good Energy’
From toxifillers.com with love
President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next U.S. surgeon general is a proponent of psychedelic medicine—and she’s been public about her own experience benefiting from psilocybin. But she also evidently believes marijuana is harmful and should be avoided.
Casey Means, a doctor and author, has been selected to serve as surgeon general after Trump’s prior pick, Janette Nesheiwat, was withdrawn from consideration.
As top officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are working to advance psychedelic therapy, the president’s latest selection to be the nation’s top doctor has made clear she’s on board—including writing about her own journey with psilocybin in a book she published last year.
One week prior to learning about her mother’s terminal diagnosis, Means said she used so-called magic mushrooms “on the ground in the desert as the sun was going down.”
“At the time, I didn’t know consciously what I was preparing for, but as I basked in the moon’s bright rays, I experienced the embodiment of being one with the moon, every star, every atom in the grains of sand I was sitting on, and my mother in an inextricable and unbreakable chain of universal connectedness for which the human concept of ‘death’ was no match,” she said in her 2024 book “Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.”
“In that moment I was certain there was no separation between any of it,” she said. “I felt myself as part of an infinite and unbroken series of cosmic nesting dolls of millions of mothers and babies before me from the beginning of life.”
“If you feel called, I also encourage you to explore intentional, guided psilocybin therapy. Strong scientific evidence suggests that this psychedelic therapy can be one of the most meaningful experiences of life for some people, as they have been for me.
If the word psychedelics makes you cringe, I used to be in your position. I spent my childhood and young adult life being extremely judgmental about the use of any type of drug. But I became interested in plant medicine and psychedelics after learning more about their extensive traditional use, analyzing the groundbreaking research… Our brains are profoundly suffering in modern society right now, and I believe that anything that can safely increase neuroplasticity and ground us in more gratitude, awe, connection, and a sense of cosmic safety should be taken very seriously.”
In several blog posts on her website, Means talked about “plant medicine,” specifically psilocybin, as one of “the modalities I’ve gone deepest in,” in addition to therapy, reading, writing, yoga and more.
In one post she describes “a two-year journey of therapy, spiritual inquiry, plant medicine, and exploration of my femininity which would enable me to turn over every possible stone of my life—from birth until present—and work to structure a new relationship with each ‘trigger’ and maladaptive pattern in my life.”
“I did plant medicine experiences with trusted guides and wrote extensively about my experience and insights.
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In another post Means says that “some of the childhood wounds I worked through in therapy and with plant medicine revolved around a past need to prove my loveability through achievement and impact—a common theme for many. In healing those wounds through hard work and re-integration of past experiences, the need for proof of impact has lessened.”
The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Means’s brother, Calley, “had a vision of dedicating his life to reforming healthcare after a high dose of the psychedelic drug psilocybin.”
Despite her advocacy for psychedelic medicine, however, the prospective surgeon general has expressed opposition to marijuana, saying in her book that people who use cannabis, as well as tobacco products, should “stop these completely.”
“They will hurt your mitochondria and vastly diminish your ability to make Good Energy,” she said.
“There has always been suffering in the world, but now we can see exponentially more of it than ever, all at once, on screens we hold in our beds and at the dinner table. In response, modern humans have looked for salvation and coping anywhere we can get a hit of dopamine-fueled ‘pleasure’ and distraction: things like processed sugar, alcohol, soda, refined carbs, vapes, cigarettes, weed, porn, dating apps, email, texts, casual sex, online gambling, video games, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and the relentless novelty of experiences.”
“The impact of our modern psychological reality—and the unhealthy coping mechanisms—is that our cells’ ability to produce Good Energy is dimmed, creating a vicious cycle that robs us of the full potential of our human experience,” she continued.
A post about having a healthy holiday season passes along advice to “reduce or eliminate alcohol and cannabis consumption,” quoting another author who says that “my willpower becomes zero otherwise.”
In another blog post, she reiterated her position that marijuana is among the addictions she views as reflecting “our spiritual emptiness,” preventing people from “being able to go within, connect with God, and experience the bliss that come from this.”
“The dopamine cycles we’re addicted to are a reflection of our spiritual emptiness. We are untethered to meaning; looking for pleasure, forgetting that we are miracles who can access bliss at any moment by connecting with God. The sugar, alcohol, soda, refined carbs, vapes, cigarettes, weed, porn, dating apps, email, texts, casual sex, online gambling, video games, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and the relentless novelty of experiences are a reflection of not being able to go within, connect with God, and experience the bliss that come from this. [Tens] of thousands of scientists and marketing experts spend their lives and their gifts figuring out how to addict us to dopamine-releasing foods and experiences. It is astoundingly cynical. It crushes our Good Energy.”
Means apparently doesn’t view the cannabis plant as all bad, however, as she described hemp in her book as among the “best plant-based sources” of nutrition—including protein, omega-3, antioxidants and fiber. She also shared recipes featuring hemp seed, including a “Southwestern Tofu Scramble” and “Creamy Cauliflower and Celery Root Puree.”
In a post about a seafood company, she said some of the business’s parter farms “even grow cannabis, duckweed or watercress as part of their filtration matrix,” which she described as “functional plants doubling as habitat, medicine or food.”
Means’s advocacy for psychedelics is part of something of a theme of the Trump administration, with various key officials and aligned Republican lawmakers pushing for psychedelics reform as cannabis seems to take a backseat—despite the president’s endorsement of rescheduling and industry banking access on the campaign trail.
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers on Wednesday asked Trump’s head of VA to meet with them to discuss ways to provide access to psychedelic medicine for military veterans.
VA Secretary Doug Collins, a former GOP congressman, has been vocal about his interest in exploring psychedelics therapy—including in a recent Cabinet meeting with Trump.
Collins has previously said he had an “eye-opening” talk with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about psychedelics issues and intended to press Congress to act.
Kennedy himself recently spoke about a “wonderful experience” he had tripping on LSD as a teen.
Meanwhile, Trump’s former nominee for surgeon general—physician and Fox News correspondent Janette Nesheiwat—has said that she’s “all for” the use of medical cannabis for certain conditions.
While Nesheiwat’s stance on broader reform was unclear, her social media posts and media appearances signaled that she was at least supportive of allowing access to medical marijuana for patients with conditions like seizure disorders or cancer. However, she also promoted research linking cannabis smoking to cardiovascular issues.
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Photo courtesy of Dick Culbert.
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