Parents for Plant Medicine Founder Jamie Lasserre Morey was born and raised outside of Jackson, Mississippi, moving to the South Shore of Massachusetts at age 15. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UMass Boston, she began a 25+ year career in opinion and behavioral research, working for a number of strategic marketing research firms primarily on a freelance basis while raising a family.
A sudden and serious decline in her children’s physical and mental health in 2017 and the diagnosis of a devastating neurological autoimmune disorder, PANS (Pediatric Acute Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome), forever changed her family’s life and pushed Jamie onto a new path of personal and political advocacy to help raise awareness of this inflammatory brain disorder and the various infectious and environmental triggers that can cause it (such as Lyme, long Covid, and toxic mold exposure), as well as to seek alternative solutions for healing.
After her children were put on countless pharmaceuticals, with little improvement and often with side effects worse than the symptoms they were intended to treat, Jamie decided to have them try a more natural route with medical cannabis, which proved extremely beneficial for alleviating many of their physical and mental health symptoms. Medical treatment grants allowed her oldest 2 children to receive IV ketamine infusions to address long lasting and severe treatment resistant depression and the immense (but short lived) relief from ketamine therapy led Jamie to begin researching psilocybin as an alternative treatment for them as well as their father, an Iraq veteran suffering from debilitating PTSD. In attempting to deal with her own personal trauma, Jamie found relief microdosing psilocybin and attended an overseas psychedelic PTSD retreat with the veteran non profit Heroic Hearts/Hope Project, which let her experience the healing power of psychedelic assisted therapy firsthand.
Her eagerness to share her experiences with other parents seeking to heal themselves and/or their children with plant medicine, and frustration with the stigma and legal restrictions surrounding both cannabis and psychedelics, led to the birth of Parents for Plant Medicine. Currently, Jamie works as the Community Engagement Director for MA for Mental Health Options/Yes on 4, the ballot campaign for legalizing naturally occurring psychedelics in Massachusetts, where she continues her ongoing fight for legal and affordable access to plant medicine for all.
Parents for Plant Medicine Vision:
Advocacy - P4PM works to destigmatize and decriminalize/legalize cannabis and psychedelics at the local and national level. Raise awareness around mental health, addiction and suicide crisis in our country, the damage they cause to families and the positive impact plant medicine can have in treating them by highlighting personal stories of parents/children using them for healing. Advocate for the use of natural healing (plant medicine over pharmaceuticals where possible + nature, community, movement, creative arts).
Research - P4PM uses background in social science, survey research, data collection/analysis to explore real world usage and benefits of plant medicine. Use research, data, and logic to counteract fear, stigma, and lies of the drug war.
Education - P4PM shares information and resources on the benefits of plant medicine geared towards parents seeking to heal themselves and/or their children.
Access - P4PM shares information and resources on how to gain access to plant medicine. Post-legalization in MA, work to make psychedelic healing affordable and accessible for all families who need it.
