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All upcoming and past interviews can be found (in chronological order) 
on our youtube channel

Jessica Fitzmaurice, ASN, RN and Tarin S Hale, JD, Esq - Attorney-at-Law
01:02:57

Jessica Fitzmaurice, ASN, RN and Tarin S Hale, JD, Esq - Attorney-at-Law

Jessica  Fitzmaurice, RN, Co-Director, Decriminalize Nature Northwest Arkansas   Jessica  Fitzmaurice is a registered nurse, mother of five, an enthusiastic mountain biker and a lover of the outdoors where she finds a deep connection in nature. Jessica also has suffered from unresponsive severe depression and anxiety for the past 20 years. After researching the research on psilocybin and microdosing as a treatment for depression   Jessica tried growing psilocybin mushrooms for microdosing as a treatment and was successful in both regards. Her efforts did not go unnoticed and her “grow operation” was disclosed to the authorities. During an early morning raid in hazmat suits, Jessica’s operation was confiscated, and she was arrested. Jessica was charged with manufacturing a schedule 1 substance and faced up to 30 years in prison.  She will share what happened next in her interview. Since this time when her felony conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor and her nursing license is in the process of being reinstated.  During her probation Jessica completed specialized training in psychedelic therapy and integration through the VITAL program. Jessica is a passionate advocate for the Decriminalization of Psychedelics and the Right to Try these compounds for life saving transformational experiences. Jessica strongly believes that individuals should not have to face the legal repercussions she experienced for cultivating, sharing, or using these natural, sacred compounds.   Tarin S. Hale, Esq Attorney-at-Law      Tarin has been practicing law in Ohio for over 30 years. Starting out in a small town and navigating his way through many areas of practice, Tarin offers a holistic approach to his practice of law and his clients.  In 1999, Tarin received national attention for his defense of a 12-year-old accused of murder based on a false confession. The case was featured on ABC’s 20/20 news program in 1999, and it was revisited for a 2-hour special in 2020, titled "Gone Before the Storm." The injustice of that case was a turning point for Tarin, triggering a series of events sending him into a personal/spiritual crisis. active-duty a severe depression, Tarin was guided to plant based spiritual work that he credits with saving his life.   Since that time, Tarin has melded his law practice with advocacy for entheogenic plant sacraments and the related legal issues. While most of his work has been out of public view, several recent projects have received some public attention. In 2021, Tarin intervened in Jessica’s case utilizing his extensive contacts in the psychedelic community to quickly recruit six experts from across the country to write opinions in support of the nurse. In 2022-23, Tarin also worked behind the scenes in assisting Lt. Sarko Gregerian to become the first active-duty police officer to receive permission from his department to attend a “Psychedelic Church.”  Tarin’s approach to entheogenic sacred plant work is to focus on the Spiritual/Religious context, which he believes is at the core of the transformational/mystical experiences.
Diana Zamora and Kayla Kinsman- Nursing Pathways in Psychedelics
01:02:48

Diana Zamora and Kayla Kinsman- Nursing Pathways in Psychedelics

Diana G. Zamora RN, BSN, NCBC  holds nursing, respiratory therapy, and environmental science degrees. She has over ten years of experience working in long-term acute facilities and ICUs and served as a member of the patient ethics board at in Houston, Texas.  For the last eight years she has worked with rural California Tribal communities. She has led several statewide educational campaigns for HIV/STD/HCV  and created and help coordinated community health worker (CHW) and medical assistant (MA) healthcare training programs. Diana supports the professional development of healthcare staff working in Tribal organizations with coaching, strategic planning, and training guidance for working in community health, she is a passionate advocate for health equity. Diana holds board certification in integrated nurse coaching and is a graduate of the California Institute of Integral Studies in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies & Research program. Kayla Kinsman is a DNP prepared Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) who performs diagnostic psychiatric evaluations and follow ups to provide psychiatric medication management as well as ketamine assisted psychotherapy. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Sacramento State and then attended Dominican University of California to earn a second bachelor’s degree in nursing to be able to work as a psychiatric nurse. While working as an RN, Kayla found herself with a desire to be involved in more in-depth care with her clients and decided to go back to school to earn her master’s degree at UCSF to become a PMHNP. After starting as a nurse practitioner, Kayla was accepted into OHSU where she earned her DNP with a research project focus on bringing psychedelic assisted therapies to veterans with PTSD. She is dedicated to learning all she can about the space of healing and has knowledge in psychiatric medications, psychedelic medicine, herbalism, functional medicine, and other psychotherapeutic modalities. Kayla believes it is important to investigate all aspects of a person when formulating a treatment plan and utilizes active listening in her practice. She has been working in the mental health field for nearly 10 years with most of those years serving veterans with PTSD, SUDs, and homelessness in a residential treatment setting. In her spare time, Kayla enjoys visiting with her family and friends, camping, hiking, reading, and of course learning!
Psychedelic Chat with Melanie King Kawashima Velez, DNP, PMHNP, BSN, RN -OR-Based Psilocybin Trainer
01:01:31

Psychedelic Chat with Melanie King Kawashima Velez, DNP, PMHNP, BSN, RN -OR-Based Psilocybin Trainer

Melanie King Kawashima Velez is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) in a community mental health agency in Eugene, Oregon serving: addiction medicine, court-mandated adult sexual behavior problems, perinatal, and general psychiatry programs. Her post-doctoral work focused on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy primarily with ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA. Currently she is one of only a few practitioners offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to individuals served by Medicaid in the United States. Dr. Kawashima Velez is a graduate of the California Institute of Integral Studies Center for Psychedelic Therapies & Research program (2022) and is an instructor with the Subtle Winds Psilocybin Facilitator Training Program focusing on community-supported wellness and harm reduction. Melanie received psychedelic/ketamine assisted psychotherapy training from CIIS, Temenos Center, and Polaris Insight Center. For the past two decades she has offered volunteer psychedelic harm reduction support and now also offers integration services, ketamine assisted psychotherapy, and ketamine therapy apprenticeships in her private practice at Velez Psychiatric Services. Melanie also works at the Center for Family Development offering psychiatric medication management and therapy for adult & child psychiatry, addiction medicine, and the perinatal psychiatry programs. She is the founder of the Oregon Psychiatric Round table consultation group, co-lead of her local consultation circle for BIPOC-identifying individuals, and works with many Oregon entities to reduce risks of legal psilocybin and ketamine psychedelic experiences in the state.
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