Dr. Case Newsom - Creating Safe Spaces: The Zendo Project's Approach to Psychedelic Support

Psychedelic harm reduction at large events is moving toward medical event medicine, with emergency physician Dr. Case Newsom explaining how Zendo Project principles can be integrated into venues and EMS workflows. Newsom describes Zendo Project as a peer support based harm reduction group focused on creating grounded, safe spaces for people in psychological distress, originally growing out of Burning Man and expanding into other festival and psychedelic industry settings. He also explains how Stadium Medical provides front facing healthcare coverage for major Denver area concerts and sporting events, including on site management designed to reduce unnecessary ER transports. The conversation covers practical triage and sitter safety approaches used at venues, plus Colorado as a hub for harm reduction innovation. It also highlights legal constraints affecting drug checking and related services, points to the need for research and data collection to prove value to first responders, and raises future concerns such as ibogaine cardiotoxic risks and the clinical role of ketamine in the ER when used with care.