Gwella: raising acceptance of psychedelics through education

Peter Reitano, CEO of Gwella, speaks to Psychedelic Health about the company’s mission to provide education on psychedelics and raise acceptance of the compounds beyond mental health applications.

Reitano co-founded Gwella, which is dedicated to advocating for access to diverse plant medicines, after working for a number of years in the cannabis industry.

The company has evolved into a platform that provides a variety of tools, products and educational content to help people use psychedelic substances in a safe, effective and responsible way outside of the pharmaceutical system.

Reitano commented: “It’s our belief that there’s a lot more to these substances than helping sick people. We think there are a lot of use cases for people wanting to improve their lives or have profound, life-changing experiences or enhance their creativity.

“Our mission has always been to normalise the usage for personal wellness or for fun – there’s a lot of people who use these things instead of drinking for example. Sometimes it’s okay to have fun with these natural, very low-risk substances.

“People are already using them, so how do we improve the outcomes? We want to help people have better experiences.”

Scientifically formulated products

Gwella has generated over CAD$1 million in revenue in its first year and has received financial backing from the likes of the Palo Santo fund, the Conscious Fund and Vine Ventures, amongst others.

So far, the company has launched two products – its scientifically formulated ‘Mojo’ gummies and a set of intention cards to support people with integration of their experiences.

“With Mojo we aimed to replicate the effects of a low or microdose of psilocybin without any psilocybin,” said Reitano. “So, we are legally producing the same results using other plants and botanicals.

“We spent two years with our science team making it, testing and trying it out. We started selling it in October last year, and have now sold over 500,000 gummies.

“There is a lot of interest in and traction for a product like this that essentially helps people improve their mood, productivity and flow, and provides a bit more energy and focus without any toxic side effects that things like energy drinks have.”

The product, formulated by Gwella’s Chief Scientific Officer, Daniel Sanders, an expert in genetics and biotechnology, uses a stack of over 12 different bioactives that Reitano says work together synergistically, including natural stimulants and natural caffeine, mood stabilisers and nootropics.

“Sanders came up with the formulation ten years ago,” explained Reitano. “We use a very powerful, very specific strain of mushroom called Cordyceps sinensis (CS-4) – the most potent form of cordyceps on the market – which is the primary stimulant. We also use ingredients such as ginger to settle the stomach and Lion’s Mane to help with the brain and cognitive function.

“So, we use a variety of natural herbs, roots and botanicals stacked together.”

The right to consciousness

Reitano believes that the psychedelic wellness market will grow in the years to come, and Gwella’s aim is to sell real microdoses underneath the same brand.

Highlighting that scaling psychedelics as a medicine into healthcare systems will come with costs, Reitano says that people may benefit from these substances outside of this setting.

“The wellness market is going to be much bigger, because that is generally how people have historically encountered these substances,” said Reitano.

“I do think psychedelics as medicine will become increasingly important and will serve a very important role. However, I’m not sure that within the next 10 years we will see an enormous market in the UK, for example.

“These substances can be used on either side and there’s value to either one. I hope people can respect people’s decision if they want to go either route. I think the thing that underscores all of this is that we should have the right to experiment with our own consciousness as an adult, and nobody has the right to tell me that I can’t take a natural substance and have an experience.

“This is part of human history. We’ve been using these substances for a long time – the ancient Greeks in Eleusis, for example. This is part of our inheritance.”

Gwella CEO, Peter Reitano