Makers of the First Legal Psychedelic Beverage to Launch Microdosing Product in 2022

The latest entry onto the alcohol-free scene is Psychedelic Water, a totally legal and effective mood-boosting non-hallucinogenic water that is 100 per cent sober-friendly. So far, it’s been gaining much acclaim and traction in the U.S. as it rolls out into various retail venues, but Canadians haven’t had access to it yet. Accordingly, the waters seemed too good to be true, so we spoke with someone on the Psychedelic Water team to learn more, and we’re smitten, not only by the ethos behind the waters, but also the company’s initiative to make sure that Canadians don’t miss out on the mood-boosting fun.

Ben Rogul is the Head of Marketing at Psychedelic Water. “[Imagine Psychedelic Water as] like having a glass of wine, where it takes the edge off without any of that mental inhibition,” Rogul says. “Your body feels relaxed and you feel good. You feel happy. But at no point do you mentally lose control the same way that you would with alcohol.” 

Kava leaf

It all started in 2011, when Psychedelic Water’s founder Keith Stein, a Toronto-based attorney and an innovator in the cannabis industry who was advocating for the health benefits of CBD and THC, noticed the discrepancy between the amount of research being done into the ability of psychedelics to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and addiction issues, and the lack of a consumer-facing products that would actually put the benefits into people’s hands.

“As [Stein] puts it, he wanted to create a no B.S. product that could open up the conversation around psychedelics, and really help de-stigmatize them,” Rogul says. 

Thus, Keith partnered with food scientists and began research and development for Psychedelic Water, sourcing FDA-approved ingredients that would bring on measurable feelings of calmness and euphoria in consumers. Together, the Psychedelic Water team finally landed on their active ingredients: the waters contain a mixture of damiana leaf, kava root, and green tea extract.

“The reason why we chose these was because they’re FDA compliant, which is very important to us, and they give a really nice, calming, mood-boosting feeling without any hangovers,” Rogul says. “You don't trip out, there's no hallucinations, but it gives you that really nice sort of calm, euphoric feeling.” 

Rogul tells us that those looking to rethink their relationship with alcohol (those who are sober curious), along with those who are sober, are Psychedelic Water’s core demographic. “We find that a lot of our customers, [and] people in general, are moving toward a more sober lifestyle,” Rogul says. “We do have consumers that will have one [water] the day before work just to give themselves a mood boost and then feel good for the day, but a lot of our customers are [also] bringing it to socialize with their friends instead of alcohol on the weekends. But also, if you're meeting up with your friends on Thursday night and you don't want to feel hungover the next day, [then it’s] a great alcohol alternative, [too].”

In other words, Psychedelic Water is a great way to not feel alienated in social settings if you’re looking to cut back on drinking, but also a great tool to have in your alcohol-free kit when you’re looking to have an authentically-relaxing time without the hangover or disrupted sleep that alcohol leads to.

Damiana leaf

So far, however, Psychedelic Water’s amazing benefits can only be enjoyed by Americans. “The main reason for that is that kava is legal in Canada, but Health Canada has claimed it as a dietary supplement,” Rogul says. “Now [Health Canada] has different regulations than the [American] FDA — they say any dietary supplement cannot be added in more than three ounces of liquid.” Each can of Psychedelic Water contains 12 fluid ounces, and so as things stand, the waters cannot be sold in Canada. 

But this doesn’t mean that all hope is lost, Canadians!

“We are working on another product that will be legal in Canada, which is going to be a microdose,” Rogul says. “It's going to be a two ounce little shot that you can take every morning. We use functional mushrooms [in it, such as] lion's mane mushrooms and cordyceps mushrooms, and then we've added nootropics.”

Rogul describes nootropics as a vitamin for the mind; they function to enhance brain performance. In addition to functional mushrooms and nootropics, the microdose contains 5-HTP (a supplement that can be converted to serotonin by the body) and GABA (a chemical that can reduce anxiety). The microdose will be absolutely legal in Canada, Rogul says.

“[The microdose is] meant to enhance your cognitive abilities [in] the same way that microdosing with psilocybin [would],” he says. “It's meant to mimic that, but in a legal way.” In other words, there is no possibility of a face-melting trip.

This microdose will be launched in the New Year.  

Rogul says that Psychedelic Water is looking forward to success in Canada with its microdose product, especially in face of the tremendous success that the brand’s waters have seen in its relatively short time on the market.

“We only launched in February [of this year], and within the first 90 days, we did well over a million dollars in sales and that was with no advertising,” Rogul says. “That was only on our website.” Over the past few weeks, the waters launched on Amazon and within retail stores in Los Angeles, and the feedback Rogul and his team are getting is that they are selling out fast.

“It's been a really incredible journey and we're just really hoping to open up the conversation around psychedelics,” Rogul says. “Psychedelics [aren’t] something that's going to melt your face off. We're really trying to show that there's a whole other side.”