Soft light poured out the windows of an old bricklayer’s mansion turned event space in Wilkinsburg. Inside, roughly 20 people sat around two dining room tables, guarded by a maze of brightly colored halls and side rooms filled with plants and sculptures. The attendees passed around a mushroom risotto over heaping plates of turkey, stuffing and other Thanksgiving hallmarks. Over fast-emptying bottles of wine, conversations between old friends and new connections flowed. One man, gently bouncing on his heels to soothe his 10-month-old son strapped to his chest, talked about proper ketamine dosing. Another shared how he first did LSD in the 1960s at the height of Jimi Hendrix’s fame. This was the scene at the Nov. 18 Friendsgiving dinner of the Psychedelic Club of Pittsburgh, an open-to-all discussion group for the psychedelically curious and inclined. The Psychedelic Club of Pittsburgh was founded in 2019 and holds a general meeting once a month at a rotation of cafes and other venues that agree to host. The meetings are open to all, charge no admission to attend and foster free-form conversations about everything from psychedelic experiences to safe means of consumption. They also serve as an unofficial legislative breeding ground for those with an interest in deregulating psychedelic substances to meet and discuss initiatives. Gregory Paustenbach, the president of the club, said its purpose is to provide a “safe place for individuals to talk about everything psychedelic.” He said the club strictly prohibits soliciting substances at meetings and doesn’t even directly condone psychedelic substance consumption. “But what you do outside of those meetings is entirely up to you,” Paustenbach said.

Photo credit: Psychedelic Club of Pittsburgh