As transformational technologies begin to scale within the psychedelic renaissance, equitable business structures and corporate approaches to reciprocity with Indigenous peoples have become a central point of discussion. Many are looking to Journey Colab, a biopharmaceutical company developing psychedelic treatments for addiction, that is pioneering a stakeholder business model centering benefit sharing and consultation with Indigenous peoples to build an ethical for-profit company. As the contemporary world begins to turn towards the acceptance of traditional knowledge and principles, it is critical to explore how to develop equitable business structures that drive equitable outcomes and stakeholder engagement. The Journey Reciprocity Trust was developed by Journey Colab’s founding team to serve as a mechanism to share the value generated by the success of the business with Indigenous communities that traditionally use psychedelics—a major sea change, as Indigenous communities have historically been excluded in large part from wealth creation in capitalist structures. The Journey Reciprocity Trust is a perpetual purpose trust that holds ten percent of Journey Colab’s founding equity, which is to be used for the benefit of Indigenous communities that traditionally use psychedelics, as well as for the benefit of other important and related causes, including increasing equitable access to mental healthcare and benefitting the ecological conservation of naturally occurring psychedelics, including the sacraments of many Indigenous communities. Journey Colab’s unique consultation process is inspired by United Nations principles and protocols regarding consultation and benefit sharing with Indigenous peoples and is designed to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits with Indigenous groups through the Journey Reciprocity Trust. Journey Colab’s process aligns with the third objective set forth by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, and the Nagoya protocol. This white paper will define and describe Journey Colab’s approach to reciprocity through consultation and benefit sharing.
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