Chemical World | July 2026Chemical World | July 2026
Chemical World
In July’s Chemical World, Mugsy talks with Kat Hardy of Current Ritual on…
27:26•13 Jul 2026
Psychedelics, Harm Reduction and Your “Current Ritual” in Chemical World
Episode Overview
- Healing is most effective when mind, body, spirit, culture and environment are addressed together rather than in isolation.
- Colorado’s current legal psychedelic model focuses on a single macrodose with minimal preparation and integration, which can be risky for many people.
- Slower, longitudinal care with microdosing, therapy and regular check‑ins may reduce harm and help people decide whether a large psychedelic dose is actually needed.
- Peak psychedelic experiences do not create lasting change on their own; daily behaviours and rituals are what ultimately reshape the brain and support recovery.
- Psychedelics are powerful amplifiers and should sit alongside other tools such as breath work, light‑based therapies, bodywork and everyday self‑care practices.
“Psychedelics should be one of the tools in a very deep toolkit that you are fostering.”
What resources and support systems are available for sobriety and mental health in a changing drug landscape? Chemical World’s July 2026 instalment offers a grounded chat between host Mugsy Fay and guest Kat Hardy that zeroes in on psychedelics, nervous system care, and harm reduction in Colorado.
You’ll hear Kat, who also hosts the Current Ritual public affairs show, explain how her work centres on “maintaining and stewarding a healthy nervous system” and how that connects directly with mental health, consciousness, and psychedelic use.
Mugsy frames the conversation with a biopsychosocial view of treatment, stressing that “if we’re not addressing the mind, the spirit and the body all at once, we can’t really seek to heal anything.” The pair walk through Colorado’s evolving approach to plant medicines: decriminalisation of natural psychedelics, a pay‑to‑play legal access model, and the concern that current systems push people into one big macrodose with minimal preparation and follow‑up.
Kat questions whether this is safe, pointing out that a single large dose can destabilise the brain for weeks and risks re‑traumatising people who aren’t ready. Kat shares her alternative: longer‑term preparation, microdosing with rest days, behavioural therapy, and three months of integration focused on actual daily patterns rather than chasing peak experiences.
As she puts it, “These substances are amplifiers… you’re ultimately causing the change,” and psychedelics should sit inside a wider toolkit that includes breath work, light‑based consciousness work, bodywork, and everyday self‑care rituals.
Throughout, the tone stays warm, funny, and very real, especially when Mugsy admits bafflement at quick one‑off assessments and Kat jokes about trying to keep her teaching at “fourth grade reading level.” If you’re curious about how psychedelics, harm reduction, and holistic care can fit into recovery and mental health support, this conversation offers plenty to chew on and a reminder to ask: what’s your current ritual, and is it really supporting the life you want?
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