Culture
SXSW Is Considering Marijuana And Psychedelics Panel Proposals For 2027 Festival, And You Can Vote On Them
The South by Southwest (SXSW) is once again accepting public votes on which panels will be a part of the annual festival—and people can choose from a variety of marijuana- and psychedelics-focused proposals for the 2027 edition of the event.
As in years past, potential SXSW attendees should have plenty of cannabis and drug policy sessions to choose from.
According to a search of SXSW’s panel picker tool, seven proposed sessions mention “cannabis” in the description, while 20 use the word “psychedelic.”
Here are a few of the highlights:
The Rise, Regulation & Retail of Hemp Beverages
Representatives of Willie Nelson’s Juneshine Hemp Beverages and the law firm Vicente LLP “will examine what sustainable growth in this category actually requires.” The panel will look at how THC drinks “have already become a disruptive force at the intersection of the $120 billion alcohol market and the $17 billion legal cannabis market.”
Capitalizing on POTUS Exec Order: Right to Try Psychedelics
An advocate with Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS) will lead a panel exploring how the “landscape for psychedelic medicine is changing rapidly”—including in the wake of a psychedelics executive order signed by President Donald Trump this year. Among other questions, it will explore, “What role should the FDA, DEA, state governments, physicians, researchers, and patient advocates play in implementing meaningful access?”
What Happens after FDA Approval: Psychedelic Clinic of 2030
“FDA approval is only the beginning. As psychedelic therapies move from research studies into clinical practice, the biggest challenges become implementation, not efficacy,” the proposed session’s description says. “What will the neuroplastogen/psychedelic clinic of 2030 look like? How will clinicians integrate DMT, MDMA, psilocybin, and future therapies with psychotherapy, neuromodulation, AI, biomarkers, and insurance?”
Hidden Impacts: “Weird Science” Behind the Air We Breathe
This broad-scoped panel featuring federal officials from the National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will explore things affecting air quality and pollution—”from cannabis farm emissions to daily deodorant to Olympic athletics.”
The future of psilocybin: Matching strains to patients
“Rather than viewing all mushrooms the same, researchers and clinicians are exploring how different strains, cultivation methods and chemical profiles may produce distinct therapeutic effects,” the proposal’s description says. “Through the perspectives of a U.S. veteran/patient, therapist and cultivator, this panel examines how matching specific psilocybin strains to individual needs could improve outcomes for PTSD, depression and other mental health conditions while advancing the future of precision psychedelic medicine.”
How Cannabis Beverages Are Building a New Consumer Category
This session will “explore what it takes to create a stable, consistent and great-tasting product; navigate hemp and regulated markets; and earn consumer trust,” its description says. “Panelists will discuss formulation, dosing, retail access and why beverages may be the most approachable entry point into cannabis. Not everyone knows how to inhale, but everyone knows how to drink.”
Invisible Wounds of War: Inside the Movement to Heal PTSD
Subjects of the Emmy Award-winning documentary In Waves and War will “discuss how sharing their deeply personal stories sparked a movement to expand access to breakthrough PTSD treatments like ibogaine and challenge decades-old stigmas around mental health.”
Psychedelics & AI: Building for Consciousness Expansion
This session will shed light on how “AI and Psychedelics have intertwined, creating new problems and possibilities for developers, deployers, practitioners, and advocates alike.” Participants will “offer their perspectives on AI’s relationship to psychedelic community values, including how data privacy, anti-censorship efforts, and growing compliance concerns should and will impact the deployment of AI in psychedelic medicine, psychedelic community spaces, and businesses built around psychedelic access.”
People can vote on the proposed panels through Sunday. The festival will be held in Austin, Texas from March 15-21, 2027.
In the past, SXSW has designated specific tracks of panels dedicated to cannabis and psychedelics, but that won’t be the case for next year’s event.
Image element courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos.
