Cannabis pioneer, Andrew DeAngelo, joins Madison to discuss psychedelics, conscious capitalism and how ‘California sober’ is harm reduction.
Andrew DeAngelo is a unique leader who builds organizations from the ground up. He is the co-founder of Harborside Inc, a publicly traded cannabis company. He is the co-founder and current chair of the board of directors for the non-profit, Last Prisoner Project. And he is the co-founder of the trade organization, California Cannabis Industry Association. In addition, Andrew is one of the few people to have owned and operated cannabis companies in the legacy, medical, and adult-use markets on both coasts of the United States. As an activist for the last 35 years, Andrew helped legalize medical and adult-use cannabis in California and Washington, D.C – a true pioneer in the industry. For more info, please visit AndrewDeAngelo.com
“I think that the psychedelic and cannabis space needs to transform capitalism into conscious capitalism, compassionate capitalism.” – Andrew DeAngelo
Legalizing Cannabis // Conscious Capitalism
Welcoming cannabis pioneer and activist, Andrew DeAngelo, to Set & Setting, Madison invites him to share how he first found cannabis and plant medicines, and what inspired him to create a path for weed to become legalized and normalized in the United States. Next, he shares about creating Harborside—one of the first licensed cannabis dispensaries on planet earth—as well as the Last Prisoner Project—his nonprofit aimed at helping cannabis prisoners get released from their sentences.
“You can really listen to these plants—and my prayer is that us leaders, us in this community, us in this tribe, will listen to the plants, the message of the plants, and try to influence capitalism, build some bridges into that, find our own Trojan Horse to crawl our way into the belly of capitalism and turn it into conscious capitalism.” – Andrew DeAngelo
Abdullah Saeed joins Madison to discuss the psychedelic mainstream, on Ep. 6 of Set & Setting
California Sober is Harm Reduction (20:40)
After speaking brilliantly on cannabis and psychedelic law reform, conscious capitalism, and social justice—Madison asks Andrew to go into some of his personal psychedelic visionary experiences—on both organic and synthetic substances—which inspired him to pioneer such a trailblazing and compassionate life journey. From here, they compare the darkness of alcoholism and addiction to the healthier nuances of being ‘California sober.’
“I like the term ‘California Sober’ because it’s a little more operational than ‘harm reduction,’ it’s more appealing to people. We need to brand responsible intoxicant use in a fun way, and Cali Sober does that… I think this may present a little bit of a different operating system for sobriety that people can embrace.” – Andrew DeAngelo
Rick Doblin & Madison talk at the cutting edge of psychedelic harm reduction, on Ep. 3 of Set & Setting
How Psychedelics Inform Spirituality (44:20)
Speaking to the importance of having a diverse toolkit for traversing being human, Andrew shares about how altered states informed him to seek out community, health, and spirituality focused practices like yoga, meditation, therapy, and cannabis. Offering insight into a life-changing mescaline trip, he discusses how he was cracked open to realizing there is a divine intelligence in the universe. To close, they speak more on the cannabis industry and moving the world to a more conscious form of capitalism.
“Meditation for me is like a small acid or psilocybin trip. It’s like a trip without any intoxicants. I go very deeply inside myself. I believe the entire universe is contained within all of us, within every cell of our bodies, the universe lives there.” – Andrew DeAngelo