- Press Release – Chacruna Institute Launches 2026 Course on Ayahuasca: Healing, Science, and Indigenous Knowledge - March 18, 2026
- Membership Support Internship (OPEN) - March 9, 2026
- Course: Ayahuasca Healing, Science and Indigenous Knowledge - February 10, 2026
July 9th, 2025 12:00 PM CST
Register for this event here.
We are delighted to invite you to Chacruna’s upcoming Community Forum, which will explore the evolving landscape of cannabis use in today’s society. This discussion will challenge outdated models of cannabis prohibition and treatment, and instead foster nuanced, safety-based conversations about mindful and moderate consumption. How can we approach cannabis more like exercise — acknowledging both its benefits and its risks? In what ways has prohibition-driven “all or nothing” thinking prevented realistic dialogues about cannabis use? With a growing array of products and easier access than ever before, how can American adults find balance and moderation amidst the marketing and normalization of consumption? Furthermore, how do new product forms like edibles and vape pens, and the increasing prevalence of multiple daily use, shape our relationships with cannabis? We will also discuss how traditional substance use treatment models often fall short for cannabis users, and why new approaches — rooted in harm reduction and the recognition that cannabis can have real benefits — are essential for addressing Cannabis Use Disorder without erasing the positive aspects of cannabis use. Join us as we hear from Amanda Reiman, a longtime researcher, educator — holding a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley — and founder of Personal Plants, an educational platform dedicated to cultivating healthy, balanced relationships with cannabis. Also joining us is Owen Wheeler, a Master’s student in Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation at UW Madison and Chacruna’s Education Program Intern. Let’s come together to rethink the story of cannabis and uncover paths to mindful, moderate use.
Amanda Reiman is the founder of Personal Plants, an education platform focused on helping people develop healthy, balanced relationships with cannabis. Personal Plants includes a collection of articles relating to cannabis use, harm reduction and public health, and a weekly web series that uses science to answer questions about the risks and benefits of cannabis use. In development is a 10-week online program called Cannabis in Balance which helps people identify and change unhealthy behaviors around cannabis use. Dr. Reiman earned her PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley and conducted one of the first research studies on medical cannabis patients and the use of cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs. She then taught courses on substance abuse, drug policy and sexuality at Berkeley for 11 years. She is in the process of publishing a textbook on harm reduction approaches to working with adolescents who use substances.
Owen Wheeler is an education support intern for the Chacruna Institute and a MSc candidate in Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Initially trained in social and cognitive sciences, Owen is most interested in psychosocial and sociocultural elements of psychedelics, including but not limited to epistemologies of efficacy; the knowledge and practices constructed around psychedelics by various communities; how art, language, symbolism, and culture permeate therapeutic processes; social stratification of access to psychedelic therapies and how this affects experiences and outcomes; pharmacovigilance/pharmacoeconomics; and naturalistic use/real-world efficacy. As a resident of Colorado, Owen is particularly interested in how these themes materialize in the context of state-regulated programs such as the Natural Medicine Health Act and how they affect the feasibility and longevity of such programs.
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