Hundreds of doctors, researchers, biohackers and curious newcomers gathered in Austin this month for a conference built almost entirely around one once-taboo subject: the therapeutic use of psychedelics. The event drew roughly 600 attendees for talks on psilocybin, MDMA-assisted therapy, ketamine and other substances once confined to the fringes of medicine, now increasingly discussed in clinical and mainstream circles alike.
The gathering, held October 12-14 in Austin, Texas, according to the New York Post, was billed by its organizers as BEYOND Wonderland, described on its own website as a conference built around psychedelic science, consciousness technology and the future of human performance, according to the conference's website. The site describes the event as the first major collaboration between biohacking figure Dave Asprey and psychiatrist and psychedelic researcher Dr. David Rabin, and says the program reached more than 600 seekers and healers. Asprey, who is credited with creating biohacking — a movement focused on improving health, mental performance and longevity — said psychedelics are increasingly being used for enhancement, not just treatment, per the Post's reporting. The gathering was described as an offshoot of Asprey's long-running BEYOND Biohacking conference. Scheduling details vary slightly across sources: the conference website lists the dates as October 12-14, while a prior announcement on prnewswire.com had listed October 13-14.
Sessions Ranged From Clinical Research to Plant Medicine Ceremony
Programming covered a wide spectrum, from clinical research and therapeutic protocols on psilocybin and MDMA-assisted therapy to ketamine, ibogaine and what organizers called “what comes next,” according to the conference's website. Other sessions focused on practices such as breathwork, ceremony, energy psychology and plant-medicine traditions that organizers described as having been used to shift consciousness for tens of thousands of years. General admission tickets included talks, consciousness technology demonstrations and early-morning wisdom circles, per the Post, with one-day passes starting at $599. VIP admission ran $1,699 and included a two-day pass, lunches with Asprey and selected speakers, and access to a dedicated lounge.
Attendees described deeply personal reasons for showing up. Some reported that conventional treatments had failed to relieve their mental health struggles and trauma, the Post reported. One attendee said psychedelics helped her feel connected with her authentic self, while a military veteran attendee said plant medicine helped after years of severe PTSD.
Doctors Weigh Benefits Against Real Risks
Dr. David Rabin, the psychiatrist and researcher behind the event, told the Post that ketamine — one of the few psychedelic-like drugs legally prescribable in the U.S. — can produce strong results for PTSD and depression, with some benefit for ADHD and anxiety disorders. But he also warned that clinicians providing ketamine do not deliver talk therapy alongside treatment in 90% of cases, and that ketamine use without talk therapy can lead people to return to the drug and become dependent on it. Rabin added that U.S. clinicians can legally use only federally legal treatments, a constraint that shapes what is offered inside American clinics even as interest in other substances grows.
Rick Doblin, who founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in 1986, told the Post that psychedelics now appear legitimate, though he cautioned that preparation and follow-up therapy remain important for substances including 5-MEO-DMT, which is being investigated for its potential mental health effects. Doblin said psychedelics should be introduced carefully. Researchers at the conference cautioned that much remains unknown about how psychedelics work, who benefits and what risks they carry, and noted that psychedelics can cause worsening of some mental health conditions, drug interactions and cardiovascular strain, with some experiences triggering intense anxiety, paranoia and panic, the Post reported.
New Research Shows Promise
Emerging research offers preliminary evidence that psychedelic-assisted therapy may help treat depression, PTSD and substance-use disorders.
That tension — real promise paired with real risk — echoes broader trends. The FDA has said interest in and research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs has grown in recent years, particularly for serious mental health conditions, and the agency announced a public hearing to gather feedback on potential future therapeutic use, according to a notice in the Federal Register. A review published in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine found preliminary evidence that psychedelic-assisted therapy may be effective for depression, PTSD and substance-use disorders, noting that psilocybin, MDMA and LSD have all received FDA breakthrough-therapy designations and that patients are increasingly self-treating with psychedelics outside clinical settings, per the journal. The same review found that psychedelics may offer durable effects lasting months or longer after a single dose.
A Shifting Legal and Research Landscape
Institutions including Johns Hopkins and Mount Sinai are investigating potential psychedelic applications in mental health care, the Post reported, while some states and cities have moved to decriminalize certain psychedelics and some jurisdictions have established regulated pathways for psilocybin-assisted therapy. President Trump signed an executive order in April 2026 directing federal agencies to accelerate review of qualifying treatments, covering serious mental illnesses including treatment-resistant depression and PTSD, according to the Post's reporting.
Not everything on offer at the conference carried the same legal clarity. Vendors offered psychedelic products and guided experiences, the Post reported. Among them: Azul Chocolates, which sold vegan, gluten-free and pesticide-free treats made with 70% organic cacao in flavors including blood orange, hibiscus and yuzu — and which, according to the Post, contained psilocybin. Another vendor, Voyager Labs, marketed a product called Plür Beyond Molly, sold in soft-gel capsules and tablets containing 5-MAPB, a psychoactive designer drug that is not federally banned, which the company pitched as an MDMA-like product with purportedly cleaner effects and a milder comedown.
Other booths pointed attendees toward services rather than substances. Guides Collective, per the Post, connects seekers with therapists, facilitators, integration coaches and care providers.
