The person Donald Trump chose to be the new surgeon general said in a book that people might want to try psychedelic drugs for therapy, even though they are not proven to work. She also wrote in a newsletter that using mushrooms helped her find someone to date.

Dr. Casey Means suggests thinking about therapy that uses psilocybin with guidance. This is interesting because psilocybin is not legal according to the main laws of the country. It is called a Schedule 1 drug, which means it's seen as having no accepted medical use and a high chance of being misused. However, Oregon and Colorado have made this type of therapy legal, but some cities in Oregon have stopped it again.

The main job of the surgeon general is to give Americans good information about how to be healthier and avoid getting sick or hurt. In the past, surgeons general have taught people about health issues like AIDS and stopping suicide. In 1964, the surgeon general warned people about the dangers of smoking, and this helped to make America healthier.

Some people became famous and changed rules, like Dr. C. Everett Koop, who worked for President Ronald Reagan. But others were easily forgotten.

Means was chosen like others Trump picked, who were famous instead of experts. Trump said he picked Means because Robert F. Kennedy Jr. liked her. Trump said, "Bobby thought she was great," and that he didn't know her himself.

Means studied at Stanford University and got her degrees there. She started working as a doctor in Oregon, but she didn't finish. Her medical license is not active now. When we called her, she didn't want to talk about it.

In her book "Good Energy" from 2024, she suggested things about psychedelic drugs. She wrote the book with her brother, Calley Means, who is a businessman. He now works for the government as a health advisor and has said he put money into companies that make psychedelic medicines.

The book talks a lot about metabolic health, which Casey Means calls "good energy." She gives some ideas to help people deal with problems and bad thoughts that stop them from being healthy and happy.

One idea is to "think about therapy with psilocybin," which is a substance in magic mushrooms. She writes about her ideas on this in a long piece of writing.

She said that if you want to, you should try special therapy with psilocybin. She added that studies show this therapy can be a very important experience for some, like it was for her.

Some studies say that psychedelics might be good for you, but we don't know if the good things are more important than the bad things. Psilocybin can make you see things for hours, and these visions can be nice or scary. It has been tested with talking to a therapist to help people with mental health problems and drinking too much, but not much research has been done on healthy people. You might get a fast heartbeat, feel sick, or get a headache. It can be dangerous to take it without someone watching you. The visions could make you walk into the road or do other risky things.

Means said that psilocybin and other similar drugs have been seen in a bad way. She said that MDMA, also called ecstasy, can help people who have PTSD. But last year, the Food and Drug Administration did not agree to use MDMA as a treatment for PTSD because some experts thought the research was not good enough and it could be risky.

In her book, Means calls psychedelics "plant medicine." She writes about taking mushrooms for the first time around January 1, 2021. She says she did it because she felt like she heard a voice inside her head telling her it was time to get ready.

She wrote that she felt like she belonged to a very long line of mothers and babies from the start of life. She also said that, for her, magic mushrooms could open a door to a new world where she didn't feel trapped by her own thoughts, feelings, and past.

In a newsletter from October, Means said she used psychedelics to help her be ready to find love at 35. She wrote that she "tried plant medicine with people she trusted" to get ready for a relationship, and added a mushroom picture. She also said she wasn't telling other people to do the same thing.

This month, Means wrote about what she wants for health policy. She wants schools to serve healthier food and thinks ultra-processed foods should have warning labels. She also wants people to check if vaccines are safe and to stop conflicts of interest. She didn't talk about psychedelics, but said that researchers don't want to study "normal, natural, and drugs you can't get a patent for." She thinks some research money should go to other ways to stay healthy.

Calley Means has also said he supports using psychedelic drugs. In a blog post from 2021, he wrote that he first used psilocybin when he was having a difficult time. He said it was the most important experience of his life, for his personal life, work, and beliefs. In 2022, he said he sold all of his retirement money and bought shares in two companies that are working on psychedelic drugs. He did not reply to messages asking for his opinion.

Casey Means' hearing to become Surgeon General hasn't been planned yet. Trump chose Means after people had questions about Janette Nesheiwat's work history. Nesheiwat used to work for Fox News and was Trump's first choice, but he took back her name.