This week’s Psychedelic Titan is Erin Cochrane, Co-founder & Director of Product of Gwella. Gwella is a modern alternative wellness platform, focused on building the most accessible and effective portfolio of over-the-counter mushroom and psychedelic products.
What’s this article series about? Psychedelic Titans is a get-to-know-you-style blog series interviewing some of the psychedelic industry’s most influential and impactful individuals.
When did you first become involved in the psychedelic industry and why?
I have officially been involved in the psychedelics industry, with Gwella, for a year. But I have been exploring psychedelic use and applications across various settings for a decade. My relationship with psychedelics has deepened substantially over these years to understand and practice intentional usage, and I have been grateful to have undergone a great deal of healing and transformations of mind and perception through them. I joined the psychedelic industry to help further the safe access and holistic support of integration of these tools into mainstream health and wellness.
Do you, or have you taken, psychedelic substances?
I have taken psychedelic substances for some time. My use began as recreational but has become a profound and playful relationship. I use psychedelics now as a way to deepen connections and understandings of myself and all my relationships in the world around me, and for joy and play. As these feelings and states of being and wonder are medicine in themselves.
What’s your favourite psychedelic compound?
I have not experienced all of them, but so far, I truly enjoy the compounds of psilocybin and LSD. They serve as different tools of exploration for me. Where mushrooms, I find I enjoy and get more working with them for inner work, LSD is more for play and joy.
Do your parents/family members know what you’re doing?
For the most part, my family knows. I have always been a seeker and immensely curious and experienced the loss of a parent at a young age. It was not surprising then to my family or other parent that I took a road less traveled and have explored the realms of the mind and what it means to be alive. Now, as I co-founded a company working in the psychedelic space, they certainly all know!
Have you had an experience with mental health/chronic pain?
I have experienced mental health challenges. I struggled for a very long time in different ways after the loss of my mom. It shaped how I defined myself in relation to this loss and young traumatic experience. I have spent a lot of time exploring and practicing various modalities, in search of what I now experience as peace of mind and heart.
What’s your vision of the industry in 20 years?
My vision of the industry in 20 years is quite hopeful! There will for sure be bumps and hurdles along the way as with any “new technology” being introduced to the masses and validated. Especially one such as this. However, my hope is that the multidisciplinary fields aligning and coming together right now, will support the integration of these tools and medicines into mainstream medicine. Ideally there will be a foundation of intentional and sustainable supply, manufacturing, production and distribution, as well as holistically guided education and support for anyone who wishes to use these medicines in their lives. I see exponentially increasing evolutions of global consciousness and healing 20 years from now.
What are your biggest worries for the industry?
My biggest worries are that greed will overpower the will of transformation and healing. The potential for this industry and these medicines to completely change the world over the next 50 years, is incomprehensible. I just hope that there is no monopoly of supply or domination from a few well-off players. This medicine belongs in the hands of the communities that have been working alongside their people for millennia. In the hands of healers and guides. In the hands of the well-led and holistically supported masses.
Who are your heroes?
My heroes are the indigenous peoples around the world who have championed and stewarded plant medicine for their lives and the many lives that have come before them. Even in the face of ethnic cleansing, incarceration, displacement, and many horrid events. These people are the original seekers, healers, and guides. I have been blessed enough to experience a few ceremonies lead by indigenous people, and their relationship and understanding of these tools are so powerful.
If you could create a psychedelic to do anything you wanted, what would it do?
I think psychedelics do exactly what they should =). It is up to us to listen to the message they are going to share with each of us.
We’d like to thank Erin for being a part of the Psychedelic Titans series. Stay tuned for more profiles on leaders in the psychedelic industry.
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