From a career in marketing to the restaurant and nightclub business, Kevin Bourke underwent what he calls a wellness shift that led to positive lifestyle changes and a transition to the business of plant medicine and psychedelics. He pivoted his 20 years of experience from working with Chris Blackwell at Island Jamaica, marketing Jamaican brands such as Appleton Estate Rum at J Wray & Nephew, and being a co-founder of Usain Bolt’s Tracks & Records to the co-founding of Rose Hill, a premium cultivator and supplier of psilocybin products and biomass.

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain species of mushrooms that shows promising medicinal and therapeutic potential for the treatment of a variety of mental health conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, and substance use disorders. It has also shown potential in providing relief for individuals who suffer from cluster headaches while some research suggests it may enhance creativity and problem-solving abilities by altering thought patterns and encouraging unconventional thinking.

It was through Rose Hill, which Bourke created with co-founders Charles Lazarus, chief cultivation and production officer, and Domenic Suppa, chief operating officer, that he felt he could “give back and create a company that helps people”.

“And obviously, plant medicine is at the epicentre of that, in my opinion, and new medical treatments and breakthroughs and all this wonderful research that’s going on that was suppressed with psychedelics and plant medicine in the sixties,” said Bourke, who holds the title of chief marketing and branding officer with responsibility for strategic partnerships.

Rose Hill consists of three main business channels which include corporate/science and research; consumer brands under the label PATOO; and experiential psilocybin retreats which the company refers to as ONE Retreats.

But the driver behind these three channels is Rose Hill’s agricultural operation based on the Rose Hill Estate, near Runaway Bay, on the north coast of Jamaica. It is an expansive 235-acre estate dating back to 1723, which has been repurposed to cultivate organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and various mushrooms, including psilocybin.

Charles Lazarus, who manages this side of the operation, credits the profound impact that mushrooms and psychedelic experiences had on his life as the catalyst of his involvement in the business.

At the age of 21, he lost both his parents to a tragic car accident — a life-changing event that left him suffering from post-tramatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had already had what he describes as a deep relationship with mushrooms in general from an early age and he related that “it was through medicine [psilocybin from mushrooms] and journeying with the medicine and revelations from the medicine” that he was able to recover from the tragedy.

“Of course, [it was also] through the context of everything I’ve been taught by my parents and my spiritual practices that helped me to overcome the post-traumatic stress disorder from being physically at the scene of the accident with their dead, mangled bodies,” he added. “And without that, I don’t think I would have made it.”

The chief cultivation and production officer noted that while he and others had experienced these benefits first-hand, it was validating to see scientific research catching up.

This scientific development is a process in which Rose Hill plays its own important part being Jamaica’s first legal exporter of psilocybin mushrooms. The company received approval from Health Canada to export psilocybin from Jamaica to Canada — an export operation that supports research and studies on PTSD and depression in Alberta, Canada.

Bourke shared more on this focus on licensing, research, collaboration and expansion with partners in various regions.

“Our licenses are being buttoned up in Oregon right now where we’ll be able to grow and manufacture, and also have serving houses,” he disclosed. “We are also looking at research with partners in Canada and Australia. There are a lot of opportunities coming in our space to help get medicine to research projects all over the world that are looking for ethical and high quality genetics as more and more research unfolds.”

On the manufacturing side, Rose Hill’s consumer brand, PATOO, specialises in psilocybin products which include honey, capsules, and chocolate bars.

The premium chocolate bars are crafted from Jamaican cacao, celebrated for its exceptional quality while the artisanal psilocybin-infused microdose honey is pure, undiluted, and sourced exclusively from Jamaica.

These products are accessible through 28 Jamaican dispensaries and multiple hotels, and are sold directly to leading Jamaican retreats.

Rose Hill spans agriculture, agroprocessing and export but also has a strong tourism component through its ONE Retreats.

“We hosted our first retreat in June 2023 with participants from the Navy Seal community [from the USA] and civilians, and we are honoured to say that the session was well-received by the participants,” Bourke revealed. “We will have two retreats in October. The first session will host members of the Seal community, followed by our Fall Full Moon session on October 21-26 for civilians.”

He highlighted the role of psilocybin in helping veterans and their families find healing and solace.

“It’s just a very fulfilling, humbling experience to share medicine with these guys and see the results of them coming out,” Bourke said. “We get thanks every day from them like ‘I’m doing well in my job’ or ‘I’m thriving’. You know, ‘the family unit is secure’ and ‘I’m going to the park with my child and just kind of just putting things into perspective’ that ‘I am surrounded by love’. And, you know, you come to peace with your past.”

These are the rewards of the business, but the executive admits that it also has its share of complexities.

“The greatest challenges facing Rose Hill are in keeping with those that the legal psychedelic industry at large continues to face,” he concedes. “Between the legal and regulatory hurdles, as well as the need to address public perceptions and stigma associated with psychedelics, it’s not an easy road.”

“But we at Rose Hill are committed to providing greater access to these medicines, and in turn are taking active measures to elevate standards of safety, efficacy, ethical cultivation, and responsible use,” he continued.

The aim is also to reduce the stigma associated with psychedelics.

And the motivation for Rose Hill to meet these challenges comes from what Bourke describes as the “mental health strife that we are seeing first-hand faced by the marginalised communities in Jamaica.”

He has observed that the health-care landscape in Jamaica, while making efforts to attend to mental health requirements, frequently encounters challenges related to limited resources and insufficient infrastructure.

Mental health support remains scarce, he noted, particularly in rural regions, resulting in numerous individuals being unable to access professional assistance. Furthermore, the pervasive stigma surrounding mental health compounds the problem, discouraging individuals from seeking the help they need.

“We believe the mental health crisis in Jamaica is not merely an individual struggle but a reflection of systemic issues,” Bourke explained. “Addressing these challenges necessitates initiatives that empower communities, promote education and awareness, and advocate for policies that address systemic inequalities, which Rose Hill is proud to take part in.”

A positive impact can be made in the nation’s agricultural space as well.

“We have many programmes that we want to instil that we’re working on now, to help the grassroots of this industry and help farmers, and smaller-scale agriculture in the mushroom space, have the tools and the know-how to be in this and collaborate and make it work as it pertains to Rose Hill,” he said.

The vision for the next 10 years is to continue partnering with researchers and brands operating in legal psilocybin markets around the world to contribute to the ongoing advancement of the research and use of psychedelics.

“We believe that psilocybin has enormous potential as a natural medicine, and we’re dedicated to playing a key role in its development and extending its healing benefits to those in need,” Bourke insisted. “You know, there is no health without mental health. So that’s really important to us.”