Breaking Convention is returning in 2023 to explore the latest groundbreaking psychedelic research and provide insights into law, politics, art, history and philosophy.
Breaking Convention 2023 will feature talks from more than 200 leading minds in the fields of psychedelic research, philosophy, mycology and more.
Speakers include Rick Doblin, Amanda Feilding, Paul Stamets, Carl Hart, Deborah Mash, Ben Sessa, Celia Morgan, Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes and Graham Hancock, among others.
The three-day conference will feature workshops, awards, a museum, an art exhibition, installation and cinema programmes, as well as a blotter art auction and after parties.
Exploring psychedelics
A Breaking Convention 2022 panel discussion, ‘Clinics and Churches’, explored the use of psychedelics in both clinical and traditional settings – emphasising the need to protect the use of the compounds outside of medical settings.
Julian Vayne, ceremony holder and psychedelic advocate, joined the panel where thought leaders discussed the tension between researching psychedelics in a clinical setting and how to test indigenous or traditional knowledge.
“Just because something is traditional knowledge, indigenous, or just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s accurate,” said Vayne.
“Clinics might mean medical clinics or research environments, and churches may mean in a ceremonial or religious context. A lot of what is problematised when we talk about clinics, however, is not the clinics themselves, but the wider capitalist situation in which we find ourselves which applies to psychedelics, but frankly, applies to pens, books, clothing and everything else.
“We explored the way that capitalism is responding to the psychedelic story, and the clinics are a link to that because they’re within the licensed setting. In the clinical environment, it’s really the researchers who are in charge of the way everything is set up. By and large, they seem to do it very well.
“Do we want doctors, nurses, clinicians to have access to these valuable medicines? Yes.”
Vayne highlights that the current model being developed in Oregon will enable people with training in psychedelic therapy to become licensed sitters, whether they are qualified psychiatrists or not.
“I’m working with organisations to author curricula that will meet the proposed criteria for people who are going to work as sitters in the state of Oregon, where, to some extent, if you have a licence, you will be able to provide that medicine for others either in the context of ceremony or clinical work,” said Vayne, who has been working with psilocybin for 30 years.
“The ability to be able to come into the Oregon protocol without being a clinician is one of the interesting things about it. I would be able to, without clinical background, sign up for a programme that takes me through all the criteria and then be able to utilise this medicine and get insurance.
“It ensures that the medicine doesn’t become purely owned by the medical profession as many medicines are – the struggle over ownership of medicine is really interesting. I think that the process in Oregon and the process of allowing thoughtful and intelligent access to these medicines for groups of people, which is not limited purely to either scientific researchers or medical practitioners, is really essential.
“When it comes to clinicians and researchers, I would be very pleased to hear them articulate that they were interested in having wider access to these substances, both for research purposes and for other purposes, too.”
Panel member, Natasja Pelgrom, Founder of Awaken The Medicine Within, added: “I do think there is an opportunity here. Psychedelic integration coaching is huge now. When I started it, there were maybe two people with articles on this. I had to scrape for information and figure it all out by myself.
“I do believe that the art of space holding is something that is important – sacred circles or community where information is shared. I think those aspects are coming more and more back into our society.”
To find out more about this year’s discussions or to book your tickets, please visit: www.breakingconvention.co.uk
Breaking Convention 2023 will take place on Thursday 20 – Saturday 22 April, 2023 at the University of Exeter.
