The NYC March for Cognitive Liberty

Cognitive liberty is the right to sovereignty over one’s own mind and the foundational liberty from which all other freedoms flow.

At a moment when the world can often feel dark, divided, and uncertain, we’re bringing that principle into the public square: a visible, collective affirmation of mental self-determination and the freedom to explore altered states of consciousness responsibly and openly.

Rather than a protest defined by anger, the March for Cognitive Liberty will be a joyful, colorful, and unapologetically psychedelic expression of everything this community represents. Creativity, curiosity, healing, and wonder, right in the heart of New York City.

Think bright colors, bicycles, costumes, art cars, music, puppets, dancing, bubbles, and creative expression in every form it takes. A moving, forward-thinking celebration of imagination and possibility.

Our message to New York City is simple: we are your neighbors, your colleagues, your friends, and your community. We are veterans and therapists, artists and scientists, parents and students. People from every walk of life who believe that the ability to explore consciousness and pursue healing should not be stigmatized or hidden in the shadows.

The more people who see this diverse community standing proud in solidarity, the faster the stigma surrounding psychedelics will dissolve.

We’ll be joined by Leonard Pickard, Congressional candidate Laura Dunn (NY-12), Dr. Julie Holland, with additional speakers and community leaders, as well as the Manhattan marching route TBA soon.

ABOUT LEONARD PICKARD:

William Leonard Pickard, once alleged to have produced 90% of the world's LSD, is a former Harvard and UCLA drug policy expert who presciently warned of the fentanyl epidemic in 1996. Despite his background, Leonard served 20 years of a double life sentence in maximum security federal prisons before being granted compassionate release in 2020. While imprisoned, he authored "The Rose of Paracelsus," now published by Synergetic Press and Mondadori.Today, he is the Science Officer for JLS Fund II LP, an advisor to the Fireside Project, and a research affiliate with Harvard Law School's Petrie-Flom Center, focusing on psychedelics law and regulation. Leonard speaks publicly on topics ranging from the history and future of psychedelics to the fentanyl epidemic and criminal justice reform.

https://williamleonardpickard.com/

Dr. Julie Holland is a psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist, and author of the NYT bestsellers Moody Bitches and Weekends at Bellevue. She is the editor of two non-profit books: Ecstasy: The Complete Guide and The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis. While now a medical advisor to MAPS, she was a medical monitor for several clinical studies examining the efficacy of using cannabis or MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her newest book is Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection, From Soul to Psychedelics.

https://drholland.com/

Laura L. Dunn is running for U.S. Congress in NY-12. As an award-winning, nationally recognized civil rights attorney, her platform is fearlessly for the people. She stands for truth and justice (not party and class), representing the victimized and the marginalized as a queer woman of Latina heritage.

Dunn has over two decades of experience holding powerful institutions accountable and bringing abusers to justice in the courtroom. As an advocate, Dunn successfully drafted and passed Section 304 of the 2013 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization. She did so by using her personal story as a campus sexual assault survivor to lobby with the U.S. Senate Judicary Committee and the Democratic Leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives.

For this work, Senator Leahy recognized Dunn on the floor of the Senate and offered her a clerkship on the U.S. Senate Judicary Committee, where she worked on a pathway to citizenship, ending human trafficking, addressing Pr*son sexual violence, prosecuting military sex assault, and vetting judicial nominations. In 2017, AAUW awarded her the Eleanor Roosevelt Fund Award and in the U.S. Department of Justice awarded her the Special Courage Award.

As a pragmatic progressive, she brings accountability to Washington, affordability to New York City, and advancement of responsible technology to our nation.

https://lauradunnforcongress.com/

The Route:

We’ll gather at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza at 1:00 PM on April 19, 2026. At 2:00 PM, we’ll begin marching west along 47th Street before turning north up 5th Avenue.

We’ll conclude at the Pulitzer Fountain at Central Park South, where we’ll come together for a series of closing speeches.

Thank you to the following organizations for their show of solidarity for this event:

DanceSafe

Global Psychedelic Society

InnerMost

MAPS

PSYCA

Psychedelic Parenthood Community

TCIPS

YAWN

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