Benzinga, Double Blind, and others follow up on Jack Gorsline’s reporting on the upcoming Bay State ballot initiative
Jack Gorsline isn’t the first BINJ intern who showed up in our program with a strong interest in covering psychedelics. That designation belongs to Juliet Isselbacher, who way back in 2021 reported on how “there is actually agreement and momentum toward psychedelic decriminalization in Mass.”
It turns out that her instincts and sources were right, while Juliet’s detailed reporting provides an incomparably comprehensive survey of the burgeoning movement at that point. Looking back, her features are a testament to why we go the distance and take months to research and write these three, four, and even five-thousand word treatments—because when reporters, advocates, attorneys, politicians, and the public need to check the record to see who laid groundwork and where, they will hopefully find our pieces.
That is certainly what has been happening with Jack’s recent writing on the movement to regulate access to psychedelic substances through the ballot box, as well as the opposition front against the measure. His work, which was co-published with Talking Joints Memo and syndicated by local news outlets through the BINJ MassWire, is getting noticed in the Bay State and beyond—by stakeholders, elected officials, and national news outlets alike.
As we noted after his investigation into an apparent case of stolen valor in the psychedelics world was published, the office of state Rep. Nicholas Boldyga released a statement that the “allegations” in the piece, “if true” (which they are), are “disturbing.” “As a former police officer,” Boldyga’s office wrote, “among the many compelling reasons that Representative Boldyga supports the legalization of natural plant medicines, are the countless number of lives they have saved. Particularly within the veteran and first responder community.”
And more recently, Jack’s reporting has caught the attention of the larger psychedelics universe, with independent investigative journalist Sasha Sisko checking and confirming his research, and national sites like Benzinga and Double Blind following up. From the latter:
The initiative to legalize psychedelics in Massachusetts is facing uncertainty and heightened drama in the lead-up to the upcoming November elections, which will feature not only the Presidential race, but also a ballot measure regarding the legalization of psychedelics. At the heart of the drama are allegations of fraud and identity theft involving James Davis, founder of Bay Staters for Natural Medicine (BSNM), and Mike Botelho, co-founder of New England Veterans for Plant Medicine (NEVPM).
According to an investigation by Talking Joints Memo, the two psychedelic advocacy groups joined forces last year to push for drug reform in Massachusetts and scored some high-profile media attention on their efforts to decriminalize magic mushrooms. When Botelho decided to relocate to another state last fall, he stepped down from his leadership position and gave Davis permission to write letters to politicians seeking support for psychedelic legislation, as long as Botelho was able to review and edit said letters before they were sent.
Meanwhile, Jack is also racking up some major bylines of his own. You can check out his first piece for Filter, “Student Group in Renewed Bid to Block DEA Psychedelics Ban,” here. Also, you can follow all the ins and outs of psychedelics in Mass and elsewhere in his Psychedelic State(s) of America newsletter covering the people, policies, and science driving the ongoing psychedelic science revolution.
