Empower Psychedelics

With an opportunity to break the stigma, create awareness and normalize the Sports Cannabis Conversation, former Elite Athletes turned Entrepreneurs, Jonathan Hill and Nigel Smith of Empower Psychedelics joined Sports Cannabis Interviews.

Nigel Smith is a Retired Pro Minor Hockey Player with career highlights that include playing for the ECHL and a call up to the AHL.  Today, Nigel is the Co-Founder of Empower Psychedelics, a First Responder, Entrepreneur and undertaking a Master’s in Clinical Neuroscience.

Jonathan Hill is a Retired Rugby Legend with career highlights that include; Australia First Grade Rugby Union, Selected to the Third World University Games for Canada’s Rugby 7’s and he was selected to the National Senior Men’s 7 Training Team.  Shortly after retiring Jonathan moved from the field to the boardroom, founding three startup companies and most recently Co-Founding Empower Psychedelics. 

Today, Jonathan and Nigel are committed to helping others, teaming up to create Empower Psychedelics, a unique platform focused on education and research initiatives specific to the cannabis and psychedelic industries. 

Sports Cannabis & Empower Psychedelics | Interview //26

Sports Cannabis :

It’s great to have you on Sports Cannabis.  Jonathan & Nigel are retired elite athletes and huge advocates within the cannabis and psychedelic world.  There’s a sense that you’re both always pushing yourselves to the limit. Where does that drive in that relentless pursuit come from?

Jonathan :

“Thanks for having us, it’s great to be here. For me, It’s always been there, to be honest. You know, even in pre High School and moving into high school, I really pushed myself with school and sports and it was always, you know, full steam ahead at all times. And for me, it never changed. And when they got into the business world, and even with my own engineering background, everything that I’ve been doing in that regard, I always try to do my best and I always try to keep myself extremely busy, and my plate very full, it’s what helps me feel alive.”

Nigel :

“You know, I took a big shift in my life after my hockey career, I moved into business. In general, I was on the brokering side of things, investments. I wanted to shift towards having a greater impact on people, I became a first responder as a result, and I am a firefighter in the area to have that impact. Beyond that, just looking to my own experiences with things like cannabis and how it’s helped me. I wanted to further get involved in the cannabis space, and now the focus is on the mental health and therapeutic side. And that’s what drew me to psychedelics.”

Sports Cannabis :

Before we take a deep dive into everything that you’re taking on in the cannabis and psychedelic world, what ultimately hooked you to athletics?

Nigel :

“Yeah, you know what, I think it was a family thing. It was an interest for my father and for my grandfather. I grew up with it, loving it from far before I was able to skate or do any of that stuff. And as we’re sort of playing in our basement, and one thing led to another progressing into playing minor hockey, and I sort of realized in my high school years, I wanted to pursue it a bit further and took it more seriously in terms of training. I was a little late to the game in that regard, and  in terms of really taking it seriously, but I knew I wanted to take it as far as I could push myself as much as I could and see what I could achieve.”

Jonathan :

“For myself, in high school, I moved from Edmonton to Vancouver when I was 14. Rugby was a big sport. In our school, we had a pretty athletic based school, and rugby was probably the most popular sport. All my friends that I’d made when I moved were playing and it was actually my gym teacher who suggested I join the team. I was playing hockey very competitively and took it quite seriously. You know, of course, keeping my plate full, I decided to do both and also played a bit of volleyball competitively prior to that as well. I had to pretty much make a choice between hockey and rugby, and to be honest, after getting cut from my Junior A team and grade 12, I quit hockey on the spot essentially, and decided to pursue rugby. I was getting pretty excited about it and really enjoyed playing during the 15 season and sevens in the summer. I thought it was such a great game and took it pretty seriously and got a scholarship to go to UBC and play with some really great guys. As a result I was able to and Yeah, very, very fortunate to have been involved for such a long time as I was.”

Sports Cannabis :

We’re talking about your love for sports, one thing that we know about any sport is that it consists of a brutal training schedule. You’re constantly dealing with nagging injuries, bruising, inflammation. When were you both ultimately introduced to cannabis for training, for recovery and relief? And what was that aha moment for both of you?

Nigel :

“You know, and I will say cannabis was not something I considered partly because I was taking my training very seriously, I was very conscious of what I was putting into my body at the time. So playing collegiate hockey and then into my professional, short, professional career. I didn’t really use cannabis until sort of the end when like you mentioned there were injuries. Beyond just sort of nagging minor things, I started to have a lot of inflammation in my knee in particular as well as my shoulder. I looked at some different options, CBD as well as cannabis in the offseason and I found it extremely helpful in that regard, not just in, in inflammation, but in pain management and movement. For training, I thought it was extremely helpful. It sort of drew me to the whole space in general, as you know, something that’s not only non harmful, but has these direct positive impacts for athletes, and I saw that early on. Most of my involvement has been post playing career, but I’m certainly an advocate for it, for athletes and moving forward.”

Jonathan :

“Yeah, to be honest, I didn’t even try cannabis until grade 11 grade 12, I think. There was such a stigma around it in our family and even, you know, in some of the surrounding influences, I was setting myself for a lifetime of damnation by taking the devil’s lettuce.

Early, it was really that bad, and you know, to have even, you know, given it a try and starting to learn to accept it through, you know, my own means and my friend groups. It was a strange transition. And that was something where I believe that the stigma needs to be broken and the conversation needs to change because of the amount of benefits that I started to see. In the offseason, in university when I started to actually use it for pain management, and even mental rehabilitation to some extent. It really made such an impact and really allowed me to look at things differently and feel differently, and that changed the conversation in my own head. That’s definitely part of why we’re driving, and what we are doing at Empower for psychedelics and also for cannabis, because I believe that conversation needs to change -as soon as it did, in my own head, it made a world of a difference.”

Sports Cannabis :

You’re talking about finding cannabis and starting that cannabis conversation with yourself. Understanding what type of relief it could play for you.  How prevalent was that conversation amongst other athletes that you were with at that time, or coaches?

Nigel :

“You know, I found it wasn’t it wasn’t regarded as a legitimate option by a lot of people at that time. We’re talking, you know, over a decade ago, it was far less prevalent, something that was a vast minority of athletes using because there was very little research on the matter at the time. It was just also not spoken of, and as far as we knew, it was a matter of inhaling smoke, things like that, that they were adverse to, we didn’t want to do and put into our bodies in that regard. Diving a little deeper into the research, I realized there’s options in terms of oils in terms of capsules, or edibles other products along with vaporization that allow you to consume that cannabis in non harmful ways. Or in ways that I deemed more acceptable being an athlete.”

Sports Cannabis :

Where did you both find cannabis helped you the most as athletes?

Nigel :

“I think in a couple of different regards, like I mentioned, the sort of inflammation and pain management was massive, I am very finicky. As you say about substances I put into my body, I wasn’t really willing to last unless there’s a last resort, go towards traditional pain management methods and drugs. And it was a great option in that regard. Furthermore, I just found that it allowed me some mental relief in terms of recovery time. It’s a very difficult process, having injuries and having to be on the sideline feeling that you’re missing out, or that you’re missing opportunities. I found that there was a mental relief in the use of cannabis in a controlled manner.”

Jonathan :

“To be honest, I really enjoyed using it for training, I really enjoyed the stimulation that certain strains would give me when it came to running or even lifting weights, which is something you know, you would almost never think about without having that experience. And then of course, when you get into the more, you know, sedative strains, which are quite nice to rest and relax and ease your mind and body with the right combinations. So for me, it was such an impactful thing to even test different strains and start to realize that there was such a spectrum and such a range of you know, products within the plant so to speak, that were practical and useful. But, you know, there’s still definitely a stigma that has only recently started to change. And there is, you know, not even a whole lot of clinical research, especially in Canada, related to cannabis and the effects of different strains. So that’s something we’re really excited to be a part of, as well.”

Sports Cannabis :

We’re part of an incredible moment, there is an opportunity for policymakers, athletes, organizations and medical professionals to create a real change and provide a new identity for cannabis and psychedelics. You’re both tackling this conversation in a much larger sense, teaming up to create Empower Research Psychedelics. Give us a sense of the high level of what you guys have created with Empower Research/Psychedelics  today.

Jonathan :

“We are looking to open up access to psychedelic substances for professionals in conjunction with traditional therapies. So where there’s a lot of business in the space right now towards mental health, which makes a lot of sense, it’s the most topical, and the most relevant right now in the conversation for psychedelics. We’re taking an angle of physical therapies, along with physical rehabilitation and mental rehabilitation and first responders. The idea around that is that there are mental and physical components to rehabilitation, especially if you’re talking about injuries. So by pursuing that stream, not only are we differentiating, but we’re also looking to enable traditional therapies like acupuncture, IMS, massage physiotherapy, to have access to psychedelic substances, in conjunction with their feeding methods. It’s very exciting because there are opportunities in the sports world, which of course, we’re very passionate about. But at the end of the day, you know, the core altruism of what we’re doing is to help people and to ensure that the most useful options are available for whatever treatments people are seeking.”

Nigel :

“And – We’re excited about the potential for both cannabis products as well as psychedelics. I, being a first responder, as I mentioned, and we’re both ex athletes and dealing with a lot of the fallout from injuries from the mental difficulties that come from both of those. We saw the potential in both those areas, from the research that’s emerging. And we’re looking at performing research in the meantime, on athletes on first responders in both mental health and physical rehabilitation space for the use of cannabis, but also some choice psychedelics for mental therapies.“

Sports Cannabis :

When we look at Empower Research, what would you say your ultimate mission and goal is for the next two to three years?

Nigel :

“We are driving research as we speak, so that’s going to further our understanding, along with the whole industry’s understanding of some of the potentials there. But beyond that, we want to open up a clinical space and provide access to the general public to first responders in need, to athletes in recovery and beyond for anyone that’s in need of these alternative therapies that are showing immense promise. But perhaps most of all breaking the stigma, you spoke on that. We see such massive potential in these treatments and in these alternative medicines, but there is still a remaining stigma surrounding them and it prevents people from having access to them. A part of our mission is definitely trying to break that stigma, help educate the public, along with ourselves as to what these substances can do any sort of harm profiles, and, and just making it a more mainstream conversation.“

Jonathan :

“We’ve also been working on launching a more or less global study around Europe, North America and Oceania, where we’re going to be gathering information from first responders on their current psychedelic use as well as intended interest in psychedelic assisted clinical research. So right now we know within our own network that there already are a lot of people who are; quote on quote, illegally using psychedelics off duty. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, because this is something that, you know, is becoming quite commonplace. What we want to do is to provide with scientific data, the fact that there is an extreme interest in this and in certain substances, so that we can then work with governments and authorities in order to plan for clinical research in that regard and provide access to certain substances for first responders that they feel are the most applicable for their ongoing rehabilitation.”

Sports Cannabis :

With everything that we’ve discussed, talk to us about some of your upcoming initiatives and projects and a little bit more about what’s going on right now with “the first responder study on use of substance and assisted therapies”?

Empower Psychedelics :

“That’s sort of our first large, large scale study that we’re going forward with, it’s about to be rolled out to first responders across North America, actually, in terms of their openness, understanding and experience with psychedelic drugs and therapies. I think it’s going to open the door, we hope for further treatment potential, and that regard for first responders, something that is sorely needed.  It seems that many people are on the same page when dealing with issues like PTSD, physical recovery, physical injuries, all of those go hand in hand with some of the amazing applications of both cannabis and psychedelics, and we’re trying to bring that forward. Beyond that study, we’re looking at a few others in terms of international sporting events. So I guess all I can say right now in those regards, but I’ll keep you posted as those roll out. And then like we mentioned, we’re on a path to opening clinical practices to be able to bring these processes and medicines to the wider public.”

Sports Cannabis :

When we look at this first clinical study that you guys have taken on, why first responders, why choose that demographic in that group?

Nigel :

“I think there’s an acute need for it. Like, you know, I’ve mentioned myself being a first responder and firefighter and I see it on a first hand basis, and I think that’s a big part of the draw to this industry in the first place for myself.  Certainly, we see a large problem with things like PTSD, with anxiety and depression that are affecting the mental health of first responders across North America. It’s something that is treatment resistant, and a lot of other regards and traditional treatments, and these other options are showing tremendous promise. We want to break that stigma and bring that option to first responders who are sorely in need even more acutely than a lot of the general public”

Sports Cannabis :

Why do you both believe having an open and transparent conversation is ultimately what will push the plant and the psychedelic industry in the right direction?

Empower Psychedelics :

“We think that the data speaks for itself in a lot of regards with with both cannabis and psychedelics, and as a result is important to for that information, push it forward to the public, so they can understand there’s a bad part of that stigma is a misunderstanding of what those substances are, how they interact with the body with the mind and what they do. A lot of people have sort of written them off due to generations of prohibition on the matter with both substance classes. Like us, once we fully began to understand what they are capable of, what they can do, and some of the alternative benefits of them, it just makes sense to move towards an openness towards them.

Sports Cannabis :

Where do you see the industry in the next two to three years? And what do you believe should be the key focus?

Empower Psychedelics :

“Yeah, we agree with you on the education factor. We think part of that is  the research. Currently companies and organized individuales are working on tremendous research initiatives that are going to bring about further education on the subjects and on the substances. We think that that’s going to continue to emerge throughout the next decade, (we hope), even more so with more specialized studies as there’s a bit more openness, more access to them, and more funding. We think that’s a part of this that, as there’s more education, more understanding on the matter, there’s going to be more funding opening up as people see the potential. Beyond that we want to see more access to these substances and these therapies. We have, of course, access here in Canada to cannabis products, but not necessarily in line with therapies and therapeutic usage. We think there could be more education on the matter. And in terms of psychedelics, we need access as well as education, we were still in that prohibition stage from decades ago, that is an outdated sort of mindset. That’s as a result of the stigma behind them. As we begin to break down that stigma that we’ve talked about, we’ll see more and more open access, potentially, at least on the therapeutic side, but potentially a bit more open access, whether that’s in a clinical space, or in sort of dispensary mode, the way that cannabis has progressed.”

Sports Cannabis :

How do you ultimately find a balance with everything that you’re both taking on?

Jonathan :

“It’s being creative, I’ve got into a bunch of different music projects going on. My brother and I, who were both actively involved with jungle house records, our record label.  We really got into cannabis together. And we got excited about it together as a creative outlet for music specifically, before I really even got into it for sports, or for any sort of mental or physical rehabilitation applications. It was used as a creative outlet. It was used as some way to think differently and to expand horizons in terms of not only being creative, but also pushing and motivating ourselves. Often, music production can be weird, and it’s not always the easiest thing to do, and to push yourself through and you know, accept and to be creative and move along the process.”

Nigel :

“Yeah, I’m certainly busy with with with my regular full time job as a first responder I spend majority of the rest of my time working on in Empower initiatives, the research and then to be honest, beyond that, I’m also undertaking a Master’s in Clinical Neuroscience for the cause for empowers further research, as well as just understanding some of the the content with with psychedelics with cannabis and some of those substances, applications. It is a very, very busy schedule, but I feel so deeply passionate about it drives me forward. I can spend all day every day working on this stuff, and I pretty much do. But I really feel there is such massive potential to help people in a large scale way that drives me forward.”

Sports Cannabis :

So your balance is knowing that in the future, you’re going to have created a massive positive ripple,

Nigel :

“Yeah, you know, I think there’s something to be said for believing in your cause, and being able to spend your extra hours doing these things, because you see where it’s leading. And I certainly can visualize much healthier, both mentally and physically, society as a result of the progress we’re making here.”

Sports Cannabis :

For other athletes or individuals listening to our conversation today that are looking to follow in your footsteps. If you could offer them one piece of advice, what would that be?

Jonathan :

“Be open to change, really be open to taking a new path to accepting that there are ways to heal, and that, you know, post athletics there, there is a healing that needs to take place, both mentally and physically. I think it’s important to not only plan ahead and think about what other options may be available to keep you engaged and excited about life, but really be open to what may come and maybe it is through the use of cannabis and psychedelics that you’ll open up your mind to new alternatives and opportunities.”

Nigel :

“I think, you know, in further to what I was talking about my motivation. If they truly believe in the cause, and understand that, then I think that’s what they need to follow. I mean, they can follow their hearts and follow what they’re passionate about. And, you know, as you talk to any successful entrepreneur, anyone that’s done anything worthwhile, is passionate about what they do. Because you have to spend that amount of time and energy on something and I think that, yeah, it’s just about following your heart.”

Sports Cannabis :

If either of you could select a book, past experience or piece of technology that has changed your life, what would it be and why?

Nigel :

“I would choose a book called “How to change your mind” by Michael Pollan. It sort of opened my eyes to the potential of the psychedelic space and influenced me enough so that I was able to make the leap into having my own experience and it is sort of a progression that really started the change in my life.”