About
About The Cedar Institute
Origin
Why This Exists
The Cedar Institute was founded in 2026 by a parent, operator, and advocate who saw a gap in the psychedelic medicine landscape that no one was filling. Neurodivergent adults — particularly those on the autism spectrum — face elevated rates of depression, anxiety, sensory overwhelm, and emotional dysregulation. They have been largely excluded from the most promising wave of therapeutic innovation in a generation.
This foundation exists to direct rigorous scientific attention and philanthropic capital toward that gap — beginning with a compound that has been overlooked by the research establishment despite a compelling pharmacological thesis and decades of anecdotal therapeutic reports.
Context
Historical Context
2C-B was synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974 and documented in PiHKAL (1991) as a compound with therapeutic potential. It was briefly marketed in the 1980s as an adjunct to psychotherapy before being placed under international control in 2001. Unlike MDMA (which was criminalized in 1985 after widespread recreational use) or psilocybin (criminalized in 1970 amid cultural backlash), 2C-B never had a clinical research program to disrupt.
The result: a compound with a compelling pharmacological profile and decades of anecdotal therapeutic reports — but zero controlled clinical trials in any population, let alone neurodivergent populations. The Cedar Institute exists to correct this historical oversight.
We are not advocating for recreational use. We are advocating for the right of neurodivergent adults to access evidence-based therapeutic options — and for the research community to investigate compounds that may reduce suffering, regardless of their regulatory history.
Structure
Governance and Structure
The Cedar Institute is organized as a nonprofit public charity under the laws of the State of California, governed by an independent board of directors. Our governance model is designed for transparency, accountability, and structural independence. Board members are selected for expertise across neuroscience, psychedelic research, nonprofit governance, and neurodivergent advocacy. The foundation maintains strict conflict-of-interest policies and operates independently from any family business or commercial enterprise. The Cedar Institute intends to apply for federal tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3).
Ethics
Ethical Framework
All research we fund will be neurodivergent-centered — meaning autistic and neurodivergent individuals are involved in study design, consent processes, and interpretation of findings. We will convene community advisory panels at every phase. Trauma-informed consent protocols will be mandatory.
We do not measure success by productivity, employment, or "normalization." We measure success by reduction in suffering, improvement in quality of life, and the restoration of agency. The intervention is justified by the right to effective treatment — not by economic utility.
We acknowledge the historical harm done to neurodivergent populations by medical and psychiatric institutions. We commit to transparency, accountability, and the principle that no research should be conducted on neurodivergent people — only with them.
Values
Our Principles
Science first. Always.
Every claim we make is grounded in peer-reviewed evidence. Where evidence is limited, we say so.
Protect the people we serve.
The privacy, dignity, and autonomy of neurodivergent individuals and their families is non-negotiable.
Credibility over speed.
One well-designed clinical study published in a respected journal is worth more than a hundred press releases.
Transparency in funding and findings.
Donors will always know where their money goes. The public will always have access to our results.
This is a ten-year commitment.
We are not chasing a news cycle. We are building an evidence base that will outlast us.