Hi there,

This week’s highlights include a guide to natural nootropics 🧠🍄🌱🐟 and a mushroom farm in Abu Dhabi 🍄🌵🏜️ ☀️ .

Michigan senator proposes psychedelic decriminalization bill

Add another state to the list of proposals 📜 “Ann Arbor Senator Jeff Irwin (D) introduced SB 499 to the Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee last week. The bill intends to amend Michigan drug laws by excluding entheogenic substances. According to the legislation, an entheogen is “a plant or fungus of any species in which there is naturally occurring.” The approved compounds include dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocin. Any adult in possession of these substances would not violate the state’s public health code drug policies as long as they are not selling the substances. Sen. Irwin noted that Michigan’s current drug laws were made with more dangerous substances in mind, such as meth, cocaine, and heroin. The original bill finds the use of all classified Schedule I or II substances a felony crime punishable by life in prison or incredibly high fines. Irwin believes this law is unjust. ‘Should people go to jail for this? Should we spend money for these crimes? My answer is no,’ he said to Fox 2 Detroit.” — Seraiah Alexander

Read more about the proposed legislation.

Natural nootropics for the brain & body

Your daily dose 🧠 Nootropics are mind-benders that amp up cognitive function and memory. They're like nature's brain steroids without the sweaty side effects, and there are two approaches to adding them to your life: short-term brain power seekers (focus fighters) & long-term brain health champs (dementia dodgers). Nootropics come in all shapes and sizes, but the most common nootropics are coffee, L-theanine, creatine, Huperzine A, Lion’s Mane mushrooms, ginkgo biloba, bacopa monnieri, ashwagandha, and fish oil. Food isn’t just fuel, it’s medicine for the mind.

Read more about these eight natural nootropics.

Around the web

• Mushroom maven Robert Courteau isn't just your average fungi enthusiast – he's on a quest, and he's taking the internet with him. FungiQuest, his massive North American bio-blitz, had over 34,538 nature lovers snapping pics of mushrooms, slime molds, and lichen last fall. With a whopping 148,214 sightings covering 4,393 species, this fungi fiesta observed almost half of all mushroom types known in North America. 📍🗺️

• A farm in Abu Dhabi is making waves by cultivating specialty mushrooms amidst scorching sands and 104°F heat. Not just relying on magic, they’ve innovated pressurized chambers and upcycled date palms to produce a whopping ton of fungi monthly, with a sprinkle of sustainability. 🍄🌵

• Wiz Khalifa isn’t just all about the green these days. He’s now the fungi aficionado behind MISTERCAP'S, a mushroom-centric wellness brand selling at-home grow kits featuring Oyster, Shiitake, and Lion's Mane. Oh, and they're doing good, too. A slice (2%) of their earnings will support the world's first fungi curriculum in schools via the Fungi Foundation. 📦🪴

Featured artist: Nicole Gustafsson

From forest floors to funky art decor, artist Nicole Gustafsson, who goes by nimasprout on Instagram, turns mushrooms into miniature metropolises. These woodsy wonders are part of a series of fantastical worlds she recently returned to, as mentioned in a recent interview with Colossal. While custom commissions are on a rain check, you can still snag some spore-tacular stickers and prints from her shop.