DENVER — It’s not just Aaron Rodgers interested in psychedelics.
In a conversation Wednesday night at the unlikely venue of the Psychedelic Science 2023 conference, the Jets quarterback said he has been approached by athletes across sports after speaking publicly about his experiences with ayahuasca — a psychedelic plant-based tea — and talked about partaking with NFL teammates.
“I’ve been fortunate enough in the last few years to be able to sit in ceremony with teammates,” said Rodgers, who was on the Packers for 18 seasons before joining the Jets this offseason. “I’m telling you, it is radically life-changing and it’s wild to be in a locker room and look over and just know, like, I’ve been in the maloca [an indigenous South American dwelling] with you, guy. It’s pretty special.
“It changes the dynamic, for sure.
“And in this process, like I said, there’s been hundreds of NFL guys who have reached out. … It’s been really fun to be able to connect with these guys who’ve done this work or was fascinated by it and want to learn more about it.
“But I’m really really thankful for those opportunities because it just changes the dynamic when you’re in a room with somebody, you’re in a huddle with somebody, on a team with somebody, you’re talking, and like, man I’ve been there with you and that’s my brother.”
In the nearly hour-long talk with the podcaster and self-proclaimed “psychonaut” Aubrey Marcus, Rodgers also pledged his support for what he called a “movement” to secure acceptance and legal rights for the use of psychedelics.
“We have the opportunity to change the conversation by dispelling these archaic myths about the dangers of them or the negative side effects or whatever might be and start to share the actual wisdom and truth about it,” Rodgers said.
“It’s a permission slip for other people to stand up and talk about their own experiences, to join in and to dive in and to learn about it.
“And I think that’s how we move this conversation forward is more people to be out there comfortable talking about their own journeys. Their spiritual journey, their medicine journey, their ceremonies. So we can bring this to people who need it.”