MSO CEO Goes to Ayahuasca Retreat to Become Better Person, Returns Somehow Worse

According to three people who have sat in meetings with him since, a multi-state cannabis operator CEO recently returned from an ayahuasca retreat with less empathy, more confidence, and a brand-new way to explain why layoffs are actually healing.

The retreat, described in internal Slack messages as “transformational,” “life-altering,” and “definitely tax-deductible”, took place at a luxury jungle compound where the CEO reportedly “met his true self,” then immediately promoted that version to Executive Chairman.

“I Saw the System From Above”

Prior to the retreat, the CEO was your standard MSO archetype:

• Former finance guy

• Big on synergy

• Neutral evil

After returning, something shifted.

“He keeps saying things like ‘I’ve zoomed out,’” said one VP of Ops. “But all his decisions got… colder.”

In the first week back:

• He eliminated a wellness stipend

• Fired a director for “vibrational misalignment”

• Announced a new company mantra: “Ego death, margin life.”

Witnesses say he now opens meetings by closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and saying, “This may feel uncomfortable, but growth always does.” Then he cuts payroll.

Ayahuasca Didn’t Kill His Ego, It Gave It a Podcast

Rather than emerging humbled, sources say the experience convinced the CEO he was:

• Chosen

• Awakened

• And uniquely qualified to decide who deserves health insurance

“He talks about the medicine like it promoted him,” said one former employee. “Like he leveled up spiritually and now we’re NPCs.”

He reportedly refers to frontline staff as:

“Souls in earlier chapters.”

Which is wild to say to someone trimming weed for $18 an hour.

Cannabis Culture Meets Spiritual Capitalism

Upon his return, the CEO immediately announced a “values realignment,” which included:

• Replacing employee feedback surveys with “silent reflection”

• Rebranding HR as “Human Energy Resources”

• Launching a new product line called Integration™, priced 22% higher with no change to the flower

When asked why prices were increasing, he allegedly responded:

“Abundance requires sacrifice. Usually by others.”

Budtenders Notice the Change

Retail staff say interactions have gotten… unsettling.

“He used to ignore us,” one budtender said. “Now he makes eye contact and asks if we’re ‘honoring our truth.’ Then he denies our PTO request.”

Another employee reported the CEO told them:

“The plant will provide.” (It did not.)

The Final Enlightenment

Insiders say the retreat’s real outcome wasn’t compassion, it was detachment with confidence.

Before ayahuasca:

• He felt bad about decisions

After ayahuasca:

• He believes they’re divinely correct

Which is arguably worse.

“He didn’t come back kinder,” said one exec. “He came back certain.”

Boof Du Jour’s Take

Ayahuasca doesn’t make you a better person.

It makes you more of whatever you already are, with better vocabulary and a story you won’t shut up about.

And in cannabis, an industry already drowning in spiritual branding and moral gymnastics, the last thing anyone needed was a CEO who thinks firing people is part of their journey.

Sometimes the ego doesn’t die in the jungle.

Sometimes it comes back with a vision board.

— Boof du Jour