Herbal Ecstasy & The Billion Dollar Smart Drug Boom

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin sits down with entrepreneur Shaahin Cheyene, creator of the controversial 1990s supplement "Herbal Ecstasy," which helped launch the legal smart-drug movement.

Find full show notes and links here:
https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-348/?ref=278

Shaahin shares how he built a multimillion-dollar business at just fifteen by creating a legal herbal alternative to MDMA during a shortage in the rave scene.

The conversation explores 1990s rave culture, the ethics of prohibition, and how natural supplements intersect with psychedelics, entrepreneurship, and personal freedom. They also discuss his later ventures in Amazon commerce, podcast media, and YouTube.

Shaahin Cheyene is the creator of Herbal Ecstasy, a supplement that helped spark the legal smart-drug movement in the 1990s. He built the business as a teenager into a multimillion-dollar company.

Over the past three decades, Shaahin has become an award-winning entrepreneur, Amazon expert, inventor, author, and filmmaker whose ventures have generated over a billion dollars in revenue. He is the founder of PodcastCola and Viral Mirage.

Through his businesses, Shaahin continues to mentor entrepreneurs and develop health and wellness products focused on optimizing human performance.

Highlights:

• Creating Herbal Ecstasy at age fifteen
• The MDMA shortage that created opportunity
• Rave culture and the 1990s club scene
• Natural supplements as legal alternatives
• Freedom, regulation, and drug policy debates
• Health and wellness entrepreneurship
• Building product brands in emerging markets
• Podcasting and YouTube as influence platforms

Episode Links:

• Shaahin's website
• PodcastCola
• Billion: How I Became King of the Thrill Pill Cult – Shaahin Cheyene
  
  

Episode Sponsors:

• The Microdosing Practitioner Certification at Psychedelic Coaching Institute.
• The Practitioner Certification Program by Third Wave's Psychedelic Coaching Institute.

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Jonathan Dickinson, CEO and Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences, about the evolving role of ibogaine in psychedelic medicine.

Listen to the full episode: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-347/?ref=278

Jonathan shares his path from leading the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance to helping build one of the field's most prominent ibogaine treatment organizations. Together they explore ibogaine's expanding therapeutic potential for traumatic brain injury, addiction, and neurological conditions, along with the clinical realities of delivering this powerful medicine safely.

They also discuss the challenges of scaling ibogaine treatment, the importance of preparation and integration, and how traditional Bwiti knowledge from Gabon continues to shape ethical and culturally grounded approaches to this work.

Jonathan Dickinson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences and a leading expert on ibogaine therapy. With more than 15 years of experience in psychedelic research, clinical care, and traditional practice, he has helped shape global safety standards for ibogaine treatment.

A Mexico-licensed psychologist and former Executive Director of the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance, Jonathan has published research on ibogaine's therapeutic potential for trauma, traumatic brain injury, and neurological conditions. He has also been initiated into the Bwiti traditions of Gabon and holds a Nagoya-compliant export license for Tabernanthe iboga root.

Highlights:

• Jonathan Dickinson's path from the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance to Ambio Life Sciences
• How ibogaine treatment expanded beyond opioid detox
• The growing use of ibogaine for traumatic brain injury and veterans' recovery
• Why ibogaine treatment requires extensive medical screening and preparation
• The importance of integration and community support after treatment
• What Bwiti traditions in Gabon teach about working with iboga
• The challenges of scaling ibogaine treatment safely
• Why ibogaine may create a longer window for lasting change

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Christopher Solomon, founder of Salvia Healings, about how Salvia divinorum can be approached as a therapeutic and introspective tool when used with preparation and somatic awareness.

Find full show notes and links here:
https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-346/?ref=278

They discuss dosage, harm reduction, and the importance of building a supportive container for working with intense altered states. The conversation explores how somatic awareness, breath, and pacing can help transform the Salvia experience into an opportunity for meditation, trauma processing, and self guided healing.

Christopher Solomon is a somatic Salvia guide and educator focused on helping people approach Salvia with safety, structure, and intention. Drawing from his training in somatic psychotherapy, he teaches how to work with this powerful plant in ways that support introspection and personal growth.

Highlights:

• Reframing Salvia's cultural reputation
• Set and setting with Salvia
• Somatic awareness during altered states
• Microdosing vs threshold experiences
• Harm reduction and preparation

Episode Links:

• Christopher's website
• Somatic Salvia Network
  
  

Episode Sponsors:

• The Microdosing Practitioner Certification at Psychedelic Coaching Institute.
• The Practitioner Certification Program by Third Wave's Psychedelic Coaching Institute.
• Golden Rule - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout

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