Jeremy J

Western Australia is among the oldest landmasses on Earth, home to an extraordinary diversity of Acacia species, with over 700 recognised variants predominantly concentrated in the biologically rich southwest. These wattles are deeply woven into the landscape, shaping regional ecology through complex interactions and remarkable adaptations to ancient, nutrient-poor soils and harsh climatic conditions.

Kirt Mallie

This presentation will explore the integration of the newly legislated field of psychedelic-assisted therapies within an Indigenous framework, centering Indigenous healing practices and ways of knowing, being, and doing. By acknowledging the profound wisdom that has guided the use of plant medicines within Indigenous knowledge systems for millennia, IPAT has developed a culturally responsive therapeutic model that fosters community healing and resilience.

Daniel J. Siebert, discoverer of the hallucinogenic effects of salvinorin A, died in 2024. As one of the many researchers who built on his work, here I will pay tribute to his remarkable scientific discoveries. Siebert was a self-trained but rigorous scientist and a pioneering self-experimenter. He was one of the most significant figures in recent ethnopharmacology, and helped to spark the ongoing psychedelic renaissance.

Nigel Strauss

Can Psychedelics help us lead rich and meaningful lives? As a psychedelic researcher and therapist, Dr Nigel Strauss psychiatrist, has helped pioneer the current medicalisation of psychiatric substances in Australia for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. But he has also written extensively about the shadow side of this development.

Brooke Walters

For more than a decade, ConsciousNest has been at the forefront of community-led harm reduction and psychedelic care within Queensland’s music-event landscape. Established in 2014 and sustained without government funding, ConsciousNest has evolved into one of Australia’s most recognised grassroots models for creating compassionate, safe, and evidence-informed care spaces at festivals and nightlife events.

Petra Skeffington and Dr Stephen Bright

This presentation will explore what we have learned through the lived experiences of individuals undergoing Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy about the suitability of these treatments in a range of different clinical and non-clinical settings. Our aim is not to advocate for one approach over the other, but to clarify the different roles that these therapies can play in healing, depending on the individual and their circumstances.

Jeremy J, Torsten Weidemann and Dr Adam J. Carroll

From alchemical elixirs to modern psychedelics, the pursuit of consciousness-altering substances has long followed the fragrant trail of the plant kingdom. This presentation explores the historical and biochemical lineage connecting alchemy, the distillation of botanical essences, and the development of psychedelic phenethylamine analogues based on the prototypical compound mescaline.

Vince Polito

There are currently roughly 100 new scientific papers published on psychedelics and other altered states of consciousness each week. There is broad agreement that these kinds of interventions can have considerable positive impacts on a broad range of mental and physical health conditions. And so a lot of these papers are focused on exploring these clinical outcomes – for example we see many graphs showing that levels of depression and anxiety drop after psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. However, across this booming scientific literature, there is surprisingly little information about what actually happens to participants’ state of consciousness during these interventions.

Caine Barlow

The past decade has seen a significant turnaround in our understanding of the genus Psilocybe in Australia, with passionate citizen scientists contributing to a deepening understanding of ecology and distribution of many species.

This talk examines both well known species of Psilocybe, reviewing what we know, and discussing new species being found which have contributed to a dynamic picture of species over space and time.

Martin Williams

Psilocybin is a Schedule 1 Prohibited Substance in most parts of the world, but various jurisdictions are enabling access to psilocybin by one (or both) of two pathways: decriminalisation and legalisation. This talk will provide an overview of the current legal status and models of access to psilocybin in various countries, and the way forward in medical and non-clinical contexts.

Nen

This talk will look at some of the lesser-known but fairly common medicinal and psychoactive compounds in Acacia sensu lato (worldwide) which have important applications, barely yet explored by the scientific world. Also, we will look at the profound cultural/spiritual significance of these trees, which sets them apart from other kinds of healing or sacred plants.

Liam Engel

This lecture examines the cultural, legal, pharmacological, and conservation dimensions of mescaline-containing cacti, emphasising San Pedro (Trichocereus spp.), Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) and their chemical analysis using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Samuel Douglas

What happens after the dream dies? After it’s co-opted, diluted, and sold back to us in government-approved doses for those who can afford it, while those who can’t risk their freedom for a glimpse of transcendence? This talk is for those sitting with the weight of these questions.

Caine Barlow and Dr Simon Beck

Caine Barlow and Dr Simon Beck ran a citizen-science survey aiming to provide the first systematic description of the “wood-lover paralysis” phenomenon and try to identify any clear factors that might predict or explain the seemingly random nature of its occurrence. Join them to learn about the findings, their thoughts on several theories about the phenomenon, their experience of trying to undertake the research, observations on the spread of (mis)information and their harm reduction advice.

Mohammad Reza Mirzadeh

Psilocin, psilocybin and the associated tryptamines are psychoactive alkaloids which are naturally synthesised by Psilocybe (Fr.) P.Kumm. fungi, commonly referred to as magic mushrooms. These psychoactive fungi were and may still be used in traditional healing rituals, particularly by certain ethnic groups for mental healing, influencing modern psychedelic studies. Since these substances are intermittently determined in analytical laboratories, validated methods for fast, accurate and reliable analysis are in demand.

Jef Baker

This presentation will explore the unique features of Changa, its advantages as a method of DMT consumption and its justified moniker as ‘smokeable ayahuasca’. Utilising what existing academic literature there is, recent books, online articles and anecdotal reports from internet forums, the aim here is to present the multifaceted nature of Changa. I intend to draw on evidence to highlight the versatility, integrate-ability, navigate ability and experiential qualities of Changa that make it uniquely suited for entheogenic exploration and a novel development in the pantheon of ethnobotanical techniques.

Martin Williams and Rich Haridy

A scientist and a journalist sit down for an informal chat about psychedelics, science, modern medicine and everything in between. Martin Williams has been immersed in the world of pharmacological research for decades, working most recently on several psychedelic clinical trials in Australia. Rich Haridy has been reporting on the world of psychedelic science for nearly ten years.

This presentation reflects on Fahim’s journeys through Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina in search of new and exceptional Trichocereus varieties, particularly T. peruvianus, T. pachanoi, T. bridgesii, and T. terscheckii. Trekking across the Andes Mountains, Fahim documented striking wild specimens growing in their native habitats, capturing their ecological diversity, form, and resilience in situ.

Nick Sun

As you may have noticed, reality has become an exponential shitshow in the last five years with all manner of destabilising events and influences that have made many of us question the very fabric of a once shared consensus reality. Never before have we faced such a number of varied and largely man-made existential threats to our survival as a species. Climate change, AI, political corruption,  economic instability, pandemics, the sixth mass extinction, social media, information warfare, nuclear arms threat, the list goes on.

Snu Voogelbreinder

The region known today as the Middle East has a rich history, birthing streams of culture, religion and civilization that have helped form the modern world, and psychoactive plants have played a large role in the background.

Discussions around the use of psychoactive plants in the region are usually historical and focused mainly on their relation to Judaeo-Christian scriptures and traditions. In this presentation we will go further and explore other uses of plants and fungi amongst the diverse cultures of the region, both historic and contemporary.

As psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) moves from the fringes to the centre of clinical practice, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in shaping the future of this field. While the adoption of PAT into conventional healthcare settings brings welcome legitimacy, it also raises important questions about how we measure outcomes and define therapeutic success.

Prashanth Puspanathan

Despite promising evidence for psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) in treating mental health conditions, its accessibility remains severely limited. Current delivery models are constrained by high costs, siloed clinics, and inefficiencies that limit scalability. This talk will outline the evolution of psychedelic therapy to date, its current limitations, and present a possible solution that is currently being explored in a clinical trial at Monash University.

We take a closer look at one key barrier: cost. Delivering PAT in specialist clinics with intensive therapist time results in a prohibitive cost structure, often overlooked in discussions about feasibility. Through financial analysis, we will highlight why addressing this structural inefficiency is critical for making PAT accessible.

Thomas Forrest

An overview of the current medicinal cannabis agricultural landscape, covering nursery (propagation) through to patient access. This talk will explore my experiences setting up a legal farm, developing our own genetics and supplying cannabis medicines into the worldwide market.

This talk will explore the different approaches to cannabis agricultural science, regulations, environmental impact and potential evolution in the AU/NZ cannabis sector.