SXSW Festival Opens Voting On Cannabis And Psychedelics Panels For 2025 Event

Voting is now open for panels to be part of next year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) conference, allowing anyone with an opinion to weigh in on what topics the festival covers and whose views are featured onstage.

There are more than a dozen proposed panels on cannabis, including both marijuana and hemp, and more than 60 on psychedelics. That’s a decline compared to what was offered in recentyears.

Among the proposals are 21 cannabis panels, including seven around hemp and its derivatives and 14 around marijuana. They fall into broad categories such as culture, government and civic engagement, climate and sustainability as well as branding and advertising.

Next year’s conference will also, like this year’s event, host a separate panel track for psychedelics—an indiction of the ongoing interest the more recent mainstream movement holds for festivalgoers. There are 64 panel submissions in the psychedelics panel track that voters can pick from with the online voting tool.

Here are examples of some of the noteworthy panels being considered for SXSW 2025:

Cannabis/marijuana

Rescheduling, criminal justice and culture-related proposals feature prominently in the cannabis-related options for next year’s SXSW. There’s also a bevy of offerings on brand strategy and marketing amid the changing legal environments at the state and federal levels.

Members of the legal justice advocacy group Last Prisoner Project have submitted a proposed panel on “Pathways to Cannabis Justice” that centers on a pair of former bunkies in a Kansas prison who “have emerged as successful entrepreneurs in the legal cannabis industry,” according to a description of the proposal. “This panel will explore their journey from incarceration to freedom, their entrepreneurial ventures, and their unwavering commitment to advocating for the release of other cannabis prisoners,” it says.

Among the other marijuana offerings for the festival’s government and civic engagement track include a broad panel with members of law and industry discussing the history of marijuana prohibition and what’s ahead as well as a conversation around track-and-trace issues.

In the advertising and brand experience track, a proposed panel would explore what rescheduling would mean for cannabis marketing and brand strategy. And while technically submitted for a different track, another proposal focuses on strategies for brands on how to be attractive acquisition targets.

Culture-related submissions, meanwhile, include proposed panels on the influence of marijuana within hip-hop culture, whether to “buy weed from a dispensary or grow weed at home” and discussion of a film focusing on social equity in the cannabis industry.

Another offering on the SXSW conference’s culture track is a proposed session with the founder and CEO of Raw Rolling Paper discussing “changes in the culture of cannabis consumption…from the mid 90s to today.”

On the climate and sustainability track, a proposal centers on the environmental impacts of cannabis and tobacco—which a description says could affect both product quality and consumer prices—and how industry members are working to lessen those impacts.

Your chance to shape the 2025 #SXSW Conference is here! PanelPicker Community Voting is open now through August 18. 🗳️ https://t.co/ULjsF92FiLpic.twitter.com/RaCHJHI63L

— SXSW (@sxsw) August 6, 2024

Hemp

Amid the ongoing commotion around hemp-derived cannabinoids, two separate proposed panels—each titled “High Stakes”—discuss the business opportunities and around converting hemp into forms of THC. One proposal features panelists from the companies Delta Emerald, Sunderstorm, Curaleaf and Find Wunder, while the other includes leaders of Kiva Confections, Cann and 1906.

Another offering, “Navigating Schedule III: Regulatory, Social Equity and Hemp,” features consultants and industry members discussing the possible hemp-related changes around marijuana’s proposed move to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

On the climate and sustainability front, a proposed talk covers how hemp has emerged as “a versatile solution to many of our sustainability challenges,” creating new frontiers in fuel, textiles and high-tech products. Another zooms in on how hempcrete and other agricultural building products can help minimize environmental impacts—an issue the federal government recently spent millions on to explore further.

Related to hemp, one proposal is a talk on “finding distribution for your indie film” that centers on a documentary about a hemp farmer.

Psychedelics

The simplest way to sort through the dozens of panel submissions around psychedelics is by selecting the “SXSW 2025” conference on the festival’s PanelPicker tool and filtering by the psychedelics track.

Some of the proposals look at the growing phenomenon of psychedelics-assisted therapy. A group that features heavily in the ongoing discussion around MDMA-assisted therapy, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), has members on a few proposed panels for SXSW 2025. One, organized with the group Drugs Over Dinner, is billed as “an interactive workshop where we will explore personal stories of self-discovery and transformation through psychedelics,” while another looks at psychedelics applications in war-torn areas, including Palestine and Ukraine.

There’s also a proposed standalone talk from MAPS founder and president Rick Doblin titled “MDMA-Assisted Therapy: Going to the Trauma, Not the Profits,” in which Doblin will discuss MAPS’s “domestic and global projects to prioritize access to MDMA-assisted therapy for communities with the largest burden of trauma and fewest resources for treatment.”

Other prospective panels notable attempts to look beyond the current focus on clinical applications of psychedelics. One, for example, attempts to “rekindle a conversation” from before prohibition about how entheogens “can facilitate creative problem solving. It involves discussion of a University of Texas project in collaboration with Bruce Damer’s Center for MINDS “that is testing the effects of psilocybin on these neurocognitive mechanisms and the potential for psychedelics to induce false insights.” (A standalone panel with Damer is also on offer for next year’s festival.)

Another offers what it describes as a behind-the-scenes look at what led to the current psychedelics renaissance. “Perhaps you’ve heard dinner party stories of an ayahuasca retreat, seen new neighborhood ketamine clinics, or learned about parents microdosing mushrooms. How did we get here?” it asks. Writers and a patent attorney plan a wide-ranging discussion on “science, industry, commercialization, culture, policy, and more.”

Many of the panels feature speakers who have personal stories about how psychedelics helped improve their lives. One in particular features “three patients whose pain was dramatically reduced and their lives transformed by the use of psychedelic medicines,” according to a description, “providing healing for a spinal cord injury, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and long-COVID.” It includes a rehabilitation specialist from the University of California San Diego’s Center for Psychedelic Research and a retired Air Force Judge Advocate General.

As for issues of social justice and psychedelics, some noteworthy panels include one from members of Last Prisoner Project, New Approach PAC, MAPS and the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) that looks at “the complexities and pitfalls of successfully joining social justice efforts with drug policy reforms and how we can decriminalize psychedelics,” according to a description. Another proposal argues that the “current psychedelic landscape is being molded by cisgender, heterosexual, and capitalistic notions of how these medicines might find a place within our culture” and instead proposes “a different view of psychedelics informed by queer theory and activism.”

It’s also impossible to ignore allure of some of the more unusual presentations, such as a panel that asks, “Can we take a snapshot of the psychedelic mindset with VR?” The proposal, from an Australian research team, says it will reveal how challenging the status quo of targeting symptoms “let to an accidental development of a digital telepathy prototype.” An event description tantalizingly promises that attendees “will be the first to experience a smart combination of immersive tech and psychedelics that reveals and freezes in time our deepest layers.”

Community voting will make up 30 percent of the final programming decision, organizers said as they announced the opening of polls on Tuesday. Voting can be done online until August 18, and the final lineup of speaking panels is expected to be unveiled later this year.

The SXSW conference runs March 7 to March 16, 2025.

The slate of more than 450 sessions chosen last year for the 2024 conference included a handful of panels focused on legal marijuana and a whopping 13 sessions on psychedelics.

For the first time since 2018, however, this year’s event did not feature a dedicated cannabis track.

The psychedelics track included sessions on MDMA, transformative psychedelics “beyond MDMA,” psychedelic training, entheogens and people of color, the commercialization of psilocybin therapy, an open-ended psychedelics meetup and more.

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Image element courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos.

SXSW Announces 2024 Lineup, Leaning Into Psychedelics While Nixing Cannabis Track

Organizers at SXSW this week unveiled a slate of more than 450 sessions chosen for the conference set to kick off in March. Among them are a handful of panels focused on legal marijuana and a whopping 13 sessions on psychedelics. It’s a sign of the shifting interest of the cutting edge conference as cannabis becomes more embedded into the mainstream and psychedelics emerge as the next big thing in drug policy.

The sessions on MDMA, psilocybin and other substances are part of a new psychedelics-specific track at SXSW 2024, one of two dozen different themed focus areas to be featured at the festival. “As therapeutic applications of psychedelics gain more traction in the mainstream consciousness,” a description says, “explore how breakthrough research and a growing business environment will impact the future applications of novel and traditional drugs.”

For the first time since 2018, however, the event won’t feature a dedicated cannabis track. A handful of individual panels will nevertheless focus on opportunities for marijuana businesses, how advocacy has impacted cannabis policy and how to find a healthy relationship with psychoactive plants.

The psychedelics track, meanwhile, includes sessions on MDMA, transformative psychedelics “beyond MDMA,” psychedelic training, entheogens and people of color, the commercialization of psilocybin therapy, an open-ended psychedelics meetup and more.

Sessions were selected by SXSW staff and through community voting on hundreds of ideas submitted by experts, advocates, celebrities and everyday people.

SXSW 2024 is slated to run March 8–16 in Austin, Texas.

Here are examples of sessions featured in SXSW’s psychedelics track:

FDA Approved Love? Exploring MDMA’s Psychedelic Journey

With the Food and Drug Administration on pace to approve therapeutic MDMA as soon as next year, this panel—featuring Rick Doblin and Julie Holland of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)—looks at how MDMA went “from the dance floor to late-state clinical trials to…potentially the therapist’s couch.”

Finding Balance: Your Relationship with Psychoactive Plants

In this panel, Amanda Reiman, a public health researcher and harm reduction advocate who’s spent more than two decades studying cannabis policy, delves into how to develop mindful, healthy relationships with psychedelics, marijuana and other psychoactive plants. The session will also include tips on what healthy consumption patterns look like and what to do if one’s consumption becomes dangerous or problematic.

I am thrilled to announce that I will be presenting at @sxsw in the Psychedelics Track! Since I founded @PlantsPersonal in 2020, my goal has been to help people make safe decisions about their use of cannabis and psychedelics. I can't wait to address this in my session: Finding…

— Dr. Amanda (@AmandaReiman) November 1, 2023

MDMA Saved My Life: Psychedelics and Healing From Sexual Trauma

This panel, featuring therapists along with representatives from the Urban Indigenous Collective and The Phoenix Project, “explores personal journeys of healing from sexual abuse and the pivotal role psychedelics play in facilitating that process.”

The Bar’s New Top Shelf: Elevation Over Inebriation

Acknowledging that “public demand is rising for alcohol substitutes that provide an experience,” this panel looks at the legal status of all sorts of other consciousness-altering substances, including kanna, kava, psilocybin, kratom, coca, damiana, mescaline, cannabis, ketamine GHB and other compounds. “For centuries, humans have safely used natural substances to unwind and socialize, but societal norms and outdated laws make competing with alcohol a challenge,” a description says. “What will it take to create a post-alcohol world?”

Man vs. Nature: The Commercialization of Psilocybin Medicine

Researchers and experts sit down to discuss the legal and commercial implications of psilocybin research and legalization as part of this panel, which features researcher Sue Sisley and Shawn Hauser, a partner at the law firm Vicente LLP who works with psychedelics and cannabis businesses. Speakers will explain why nearly all clinical studies around psilocybin use synthetic versions of the substance even though it’s made naturally by various mushrooms, and why some researchers are fighting to study natural products.

Psychedelic Leadership and Systems Change

From Steve Jobs to former Twitter head Jack Dorsey to Elon Musk, business leaders in prominent positions have increasingly embraced altered states of consciousness. This panel, featuring a Google vice president along with members of the Psychedelic Leadership Company and MAPS Public Benefit Corporation, asks, “Can psychedelic experiences improve leadership by fostering qualities such as creativity and open-mindedness? Can they help us live in balance by encouraging prosocial behavior and empathy? Or are they likely to amplify narcissism and extractive behaviors?”

We're back with another round of sessions for the #SXSW Conference! Explore 450+ community-sourced sessions across 24 tracks. Dive into the schedule and start planning your SX adventure today. https://t.co/ZICg1kHemS

— SXSW (@sxsw) November 1, 2023

Here are descriptions are some of the sessions dealing with marijuana:

From Prison to Prosperity: How Advocacy Can Impact Cannabis

Despite the majority of states having legalized at least some form of marijuana, people incarcerated for cannabis crimes, or those with past convictions, continue to face collateral consequences. This panel, featuring Mutulu “M-1” Olugbala from the hip-hop duo Dead Prez and members of the nonprofit Last Prisoner Project, explores “the power of advocacy through storytelling, activist collaborations, and direct policy change to improve the lives of those harmed by cannabis criminalization.”

Cannabis Around the World: Where Are the Big Opportunities?

Nancy Whiteman of Wana Brands leads this discussion on marijuana markets outside the United States, for example in the 22 European Union countries where medical cannabis is legal and the handful that are now pursuing legalization. Panelists will also touch on Thailand, where nearly 6,000 cannabis licenses have been approved since the country legalized cannabis in 2022.

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Image element courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos.

SXSW Opens Voting On More Than 100 Marijuana And Psychedelics Panels For 2024 Festival

Voting is officially open for the 2024 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival—and this time, there are more than 100 marijuana and psychedelics panels that are up for consideration.

Drug policy reform issues have been regularly featured at the Austin-based event over the past several years as the cannabis legalization movement has spread and interest in psychedelics reform has boomed at the local, state and federal levels.

Psychedelics-related panels have especially boomed during recent SXSW festivals, reflecting the rapid pace of the reform movement and research around substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ayahuasca. This year, there’s a panel track designated for psychedelics—but not marijuana, even though there are a comparable number of events up for votes for both topics.

This is first time that proposed psychedelics panels, of which there are 56 this year, have outpaced those for cannabis, which has 49 proposals for the upcoming festival.

The SXSW PanelPicker voting period to help determine which panels will appear at the March 2024 festival started on Tuesday and ends on August 20.

Here are some examples of the marijuana panels that voters are able to select from: 

From Prison to Prosperity: How Advocacy Can Impact Cannabis

The Last Prisoner Project will host this panel on the importance of “storytelling, activist collaborations, and direct policy change” for advocates working to reform marijuana laws and repair the harms of prohibition. Attendees will learn about “how to navigate direct lobbying to policymakers, build a grassroots movement, and translate advocacy to real policy change.”

Cannabis & The Campaign Trail: Promises, Politics, & Potency

The panel will discuss the evolving politics of cannabis and the the “motivations behind politicians’ support or opposition” for reform, delving into the complex dynamics that go into the industry’s work to influence legislation. Politico reporter Natalie Fertig, VS Strategies’s Mason Tvert, Useful Strategies’s Justin Strekal and Verano Holdings Corp. President Darren Weiss will speak at the event.

Designing the Future of Cannabis Consumption

Rolling Stone culture editor Elisabeth Garber-Paul and cannabis entrepreneurs will talk about how consumers trends are shifting as the legalization movement evolves and states open the doors to novel license types like social consumption lounges. They will go over how design intersects with consumer experiences and preferences, while also examining the influence of women in the marijuana space.

Stigma to Success: Embracing the Cannabis Boom in the South

An appropriate panel for the Texas-based event, this discussion will focus on the “booming cannabis industry in the southern United States, where a diverse group of successful leaders will converge to explore the unique challenges and opportunities faced in cannabis operations.” Leafly senior editor David Downs, Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition Founder Paul McLean and cannabis industry executives will participate.

Redressing the War on Drugs’s Impact Through Business

Weldon Angelos, the founder of the Weldon Project who received a presidential pardon for his own federal cannabis conviction during the Trump administration, will speak with Makr House CEO Amber Senter about that role that businesses can play in enacting positive change in the cannabis space and uplifting communities that have been disproportionately impacted under prohibition.

Ready, set, vote 🗳️ PanelPicker Community Voting is now open! Help shape the Conference programming for #SXSW 2024. https://t.co/EnWaZ0AwaM

— SXSW (@sxsw) August 8, 2023

Here are some psychedelics panel options: 

Psychedelic Leadership and Systems Change

“Can psychedelic experiences improve leadership by fostering qualities such as creativity and open-mindedness? Can they help us live in balance by encouraging prosocial behavior and empathy? Or are they likely to amplify narcissism and extractive behaviors?” Those are some of the questions that this panel—which will feature Google vice president of Transformation Labs Isadora Tang, MAPS Public Benefit Corporation CEO Amy Emerson and others—will try to answer.

Psychedelics for Mental Health: A Framework for the Future

Professors at the University of Texas at Austin will discuss the “numerous unanswered questions and controversies that remain to be addressed” when it comes to psychedelic-assisted therapy. They will consider issues such as dosages, routes of administration and the function of subjective experiences in the therapeutic setting.

Psychedelics and Preventing Deaths of Despair

Executives at the non-profit Reason for Hope will share their personal experiences losing loved ones to diseases of despair and the therapeutic potential that certain psychedelics hold in treating severe mental health conditions that can contribute to such losses. They will also discuss their advocacy work to secure funding for clinical research into these psychedelics that could inform future drug development.

The Future of Psychedelics: Drug Development & Policy Reform

MAPS Founder Rick Doblin will “present an exploration into the future of psychedelics, focusing on both drug policy reform and sponsoring cutting-edge psychedelic research.” The panel will examine policy frameworks for regulated access to psychedelics and the findings of studies looking at how these substances affect conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

FDA Approved Love? Exploring MDMA’s Psychedelic Journey

This panel, which features MAPS representatives and Palo Santo Fund co-founder Daniel Goldberg, will look at the history and future of MDMA, which has been designated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a “breakthrough therapy.” They will talk about why MDMA is at the forefront of the psychedelics reform movement and examine the research behind the growing interest in the substance.

These are just a few of the more than 100 drug policy panels up for consideration for SXSW 2024. After the votes are submitted and the panels are reviewed by event staff and an advisory board, the selections will likely be announced by the end of the year.

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