14 April 17-April 23, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | TRIP ON OVER Cannadelic Expo courts Miami’s psychedelic- and cannabis-curious. BY CAROLINE VAL M iami’s about to get a whole lot higher, and we’re not talking about a new rooftop bar or top-of-the-line luxury sky- scraper. Cannadelic Miami 2025, a weed and psychedelics expo, is coming to the Mi- ami Airport Convention Center on Friday and Sat- urday, May 23-24. But this summit isn’t just another glossy convention with over- priced tinctures and mush- room merch. It’s a full-on collision of science, culture, policy, and counterculture — an unfiltered look at the substances changing how we treat trauma, process consciousness, and challenge the boundaries of medicine itself. Cannadelic, deemed ‘The World’s Largest Cannabis & Psychedelics Conference & Expo,’ is known for bringing together experts — psychedelic scientists, cannabis entrepre- neurs, and spiritual seekers — who study how psychoactive substances and cannabis inter- sect. For the merely curious, the convention will also feature two full days of immersive workshops and keynote speakers. Among this year’s guests are former Miami Dolphin and cannabis advocate Ricky Williams and Dr. Angela Fisher of St. Pete’s groundbreak- ing holistic mental health clinic Bionic Bloom. The practitioner will participate in an onstage Bufo immersion, during which she’ll administer psychedelic toad venom to a pa- tient in front of an audience. One of the conference speakers is Dr. Jo- seph Lichter, dubbed the ‘Psychedelic Profes- sor’ of Florida International University. He says he never imagined his pursuit of the sci- ences would lead him down this career path. “I didn’t have real training in psychedelics when I was starting out,” he admits to New Times. “I’m a chemist by background. But around the very start of the pandemic in 2020, I went deep — events in Amsterdam, webinars during lockdown, just soaking it all in. And I realized we need more than just an- ecdotes [about psychedelics]. We need sci- ence, objectivity, and a willingness to confront our own biases.” Since launching a psychedelic studies course at FIU’s Honor College, Dr. Lichter has drawn students from across disciplines looking to learn more about new research around these sometimes taboo substances. He says recent destigmatization has piqued students’ interests. New research and docu- mentaries like Netflix’s How to Change Your Mind support claims that these substances could help with the treatment or manage- ment of mental illnesses, including through the practice of microdosing. “People come in thinking psychedelics are either miracle cures or dangerous party drugs,” he says. “The truth is somewhere in between — and way more interesting.” Cannadelic itself is a microcosm of that complexity. While it emerged from Florida’s cannabis movement (which contends with significant pushback from the state), the summit has evolved into one of the country’s most important gatherings for the psyche- delic and plant medicine community. This year’s edition, presented by the aforementioned Bionic Bloom — the first legal plant medicine therapy center in the U.S. — promises more than 100 curated exhibitors and panels on topics ranging from trauma re- covery to neurodivergence to policy activ- ism and Indigenous perspectives. Attendees can even take advantage of workshops and wellness activities, including sound healing, breathwork, somatic work, yoga, and more. The expo also looks to explore the inter- sections between cannabis and psychedelics. “People open to cannabis generally tend to be open to psychedelics as well,” Dr. Lichter explains. “They’ve both been criminalized since the 1970s and both challenge Western medicine’s conventional thinking. They’re also both psychoactive — and obviously, both big at Grateful Dead shows.” Beyond their cultural parallels, these sub- stances have also faced their fair share of le- galization issues, especially in Florida. But, as Dr. Lichter points out, there is a growing domino effect of states becoming more open to the value of psychoactive drugs. In 2020, Oregon became the first state to legalize psi- locybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms. Col- orado followed in 2023, and New Mexico joined the exclusive club just this month. And while Florida failed to meet the 60 percent supermajority threshold required to legalize recreational marijuana last year, an over- whelming majority (55 percent) voted in fa- vor of legalization. “It’s frustrating,” Dr. Lichter says of the re- cent electoral defeat. “Especially when you see the economic potential, the public health benefits, and the sheer number of people who already use these substances responsi- bly. The ads against legalization were ridicu- lous. One claimed we’d be handing out weed in schools. Another said only big corpora- tions would profit. It’s fear-mongering, plain and simple.” Still, he remains optimistic. “The fact that more than half the state said ‘yes’ to weed shows how far we’ve come. Ten years ago, that would’ve been unthink- able.” Cannadelic Miami 2025. 9 a.m. Friday and Satur- day, May 23 and 24, at the Miami Airport Convention Center, 711 NW 72nd Ave., Miami; cannadelic.miami. Tickets cost $10 to $249. Culture@ MiamiNewTimes.com ▼ Culture Culture Cannadelic photo Cannadelic Miami 2025 courts psychedelic scientists, cannabis entrepreneurs, spiritual seekers, and the merely curious.
