Written By Lydia Mcclendon

After one of the country's largest psychedelic conferences has left Denver, more people than ever are curious about how integrating mushrooms, MDMA and more can help them find some inner peace. With this new wave of interest in psychedelics comes a difficult decision for some “grey market” brands within the psychedelic community. The grey market is nothing new, and has only gotten more advanced with the onset of the age of social media, encrypted apps, and good old-fashioned legalization…well, sort of. 

Decriminalization is slowly making its way across the country, with areas like Denver and Portland quick to explore implementing psychedelic-assisted therapy centers, legal limits, and more- at a price. Social media has allowed those operating in the grey market- not quite able to secure the sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars of licensing needed to operate legally to find their place in a system set to price them out. I was able to connect with Mush-Melo founder Brice, and chat about the future of psychedelics from a grey market point of view. 

Some brands have had the fortune of becoming more recognizable, and therefore more trusted, within the grey market space. Whether it’s for clever marketing, a personable online presence, or plain old word of mouth, brands like Mush Melo and founder Brice have had the pleasure of bringing the benefit of psychedelics to a whole new spectrum of people. I had the pleasure of going over the state of psychedelics, social media, and the grey market with Brice, who’s product Mush Melo has become a fixture of high-quality micro dosing products. 

Brice himself grew up in the Santa Monica mountain range canyons of Malibu, in a household that allowed for self-expression and ample outdoor exploring. Through his own adolescence, he was able to find relief from his ADHD with experimentation. As with many who are finding their mental wellness journey aided by psychedelics and cannabis, Brice felt relief from his ADHD symptoms at a young age with the assistance of mushrooms. And studies are only backing up his own experiences as it is continually shown that psychedelics can help a whole host of mental health issues. 

I felt a common thread between upbringings as Brice explained that his time spent with his father, foraging and learning together outside, has carried into adult life. He’s had the opportunity to set up their first event booth, space s’mores campfire activation, together with his fathers help and continue to grow his business and relationships. At the core of the grey market of psychedelics is an accessible connection, to ourselves as well as the world around us. Brice went on to explain, 

“I grew an affinity to nature and the relationship we hold with plants, animals, earth, and the universe - finding what I would later learn to be classified as entheogens as a guide to discovering purpose among all things and really finding answers to questions I hadn’t previously considered. I learned immediately that psychedelic mushrooms could show me what is important through nature, and my relationship with nature has proven to be one of the most beneficial factors to knowing and loving myself.”

When we talk about mushrooms, especially of the psychedelic variety, we don’t always immediately think of a ready-to-eat tasty treat. For some, it conjures images of peanut butter sandwiches, pizza, or chocolate to mask the mushroom. Mush-Melo offers accessible and aesthetically pleasing-not to mention delicious- psychedelics for all levels of experience. Small batch and authenticity seem to be pillars of Mush-Melo’s success both on and off of social media. 

It was clear that the priority was placed on the people that Mush-melo serves, over viral content or serious social media strategy. Brice went on to explain that for Mush-Melo “word of mouth is all that I really care about. I think especially in this space it is more meaningful to have the approval and recommendation of your peers to establish trust and ethos.” In a market that can be saturated with instagram “dispensaries” and cloned pages to scam you through telegram, the importance of having a moral compass is increasingly clear. 

Through his foolproof word-of-mouth strategy, Mush-Melo has become a recognizable brand in the grey market mushroom space. While there is room for everyone in psychedelics he expanded that, “especially as the industry gains more and more momentum and larger corporations target marketing with “pay to play” strategy, word of mouth will hold its weight in gold.” 

Fortunately for Brice and Mush-Melo “building the brand has been pretty organic, and I wouldn’t say it was very difficult. The biggest hurdle in the age of social media?  Finding good people to work with.” 

 “A lot of companies are entering the space with emphasis on critical therapy and medical application, however it is my belief that there is an equal (if not more significant) benefit to be had from experience with a less serious application. There is so much to gain from sitting around a campfire with friends, no agenda or guide, just a natural and fluid experience. I truly believe this type of application is far more powerful to healing and self-discovery than the traditional feet up on the couch office treatment.”

Psychedelics are booming across the country, from conferences to community centers. Mush-Melo agrees that all of these offerings are valid, and have a space in the world of psychedelics. Brice hopes for a future that puts as much priority on the experience as it does on the mainstream market. Post-MAPS conference glow is flooding through social media accounts recapping their experiences. However, Brice and Mush-Melo had the pleasure of being present at a unique conference experience a full year earlier at a joint cannabis and psychedelics expo, Cannadelic. Cannadelic Miami gave the plant medicine community the unique opportunity to connect, network, and grow together through a common desire for decriminalization and legalization. A sold out expo, beautiful weather, and a common goal of connection made Cannadelic a major success; and a blueprint for other expos to follow. 

To sum it up simply, “The mission we are trying to accomplish through the Mush-Melo brand is the discovery of benefits to be had in more casual settings.” As more elements of psychedelics and psychedelic therapies are introduced, and more government-sanctioned centers are popping up, finding a middle ground that makes mushrooms easier to find (for all) becomes an important topic for grey market brands. While there is a place for psychedelic-assisted therapy in centers and offices, the theme of Mush-Melo and other brands in the grey market psychedelic space, is to take a more human-centered approach to plant medicine.