From Prosecutor to Psychedelic Advocate: Victoria Cvitanovic on Healing, Justice & Plant Medicine

“The biggest delusion we’ve all been sold is that there’s such a thing as other people.”– Victoria J. Cvitanovic

This episode features Victoria Cvitanovic, psychedelic advocate and attorney, as she shares her personal story of healing and transformation through plant medicine. When Victoria Cvitanovic sat down with me for this episode of The Canna Boss Babes, I knew we’d be covering a lot of ground—but I didn’t expect to walk away feeling so deeply moved, inspired, and hopeful.

Victoria Cvitanovic is a leading psychedelic advocate working at the intersection of plant medicine, disability rights, and healing through the law as a cannabis and psychedelic medicine attorney at Rudick Law Group, PLLC. She’s also a Zen Buddhist, meditation instructor, patient advocate, and disability rights champion. But what makes her voice so powerful isn’t just her professional experience—it’s her personal story.

A Wake-Up Call from Within

Victoria began her legal career as a narcotics prosecutor in New Orleans, where she quickly saw firsthand the failures of our drug policy. People who needed help—who should have been patients—were being punished. But it wasn’t until a devastating injury changed her own life that she found herself on the other side of that line.

After breaking her back in a freak accident during aerial silks, Victoria was thrust into chronic pain, depression, and a complete unraveling of the life she had built. She tried to power through. She tried to heal. But nothing worked—until one of her clients, a psychedelic-assisted therapist, made an unusual offer... and then went to her priest when she turned it down.

What followed was a spiritual and emotional awakening that led Victoria to Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, and eventually, a complete shift in her life’s work.

“I realized I didn’t have to suffer. And if I didn’t, maybe others didn’t either. But they needed access. They needed advocacy.”

The Stigma Inside the System

Victoria’s healing journey didn’t come without consequences. Even after receiving legal, doctor-prescribed psychedelic treatment, she feared professional backlash simply for speaking openly about it. She was even asked during a job interview, in 2024, whether what she was doing was “evil.”

This stigma is exactly why voices like Victoria’s are so critical in reshaping the narrative—not just around cannabis and psychedelics, but around disability, chronic pain, and what healing should look like.

“The disability community is the only one anyone can join in an instant,” she told me. “And it’s our responsibility to make sure people have access to the care they need when they do.”

Zen, Sobriety & Serving the Overlooked

Victoria co-founded Sober Zen, a meditation group for people exploring the intersection of sobriety and mindfulness. She also serves as President of the Board for Kinship Center, a wellness hub for people over 65, where she began by simply teaching meditation.

Her legal expertise is matched by her compassion—and by her belief that healing happens when we stop treating people as “other.”

“Psychedelics helped me put my pain down long enough to rejoin the community. That’s what this work is about.”

What We Talked About in the Episode:

• Why she left prosecution to become a plant medicine advocate

• Her first experience with Ketamine-Assisted Therapy and what it changed

• The legal and regulatory differences between cannabis and psychedelics

• The role of faith, compassion, and Buddhist practice in her healing

• Neurodiversity, masking, and the power of accommodations in law

• Why accessibility and patient care must remain central in legalization

🎧 Listen Now!

This is more than just a conversation about law—it’s a conversation about humanity. And I hope it inspires you as much as it did me.

About Victoria Cvitanovic: Psychedelic Advocate & Attorney

Victoria is a psychedelic medicine, cannabis, and healthcare attorney with Rudick Law Group, PLLC. A former prosecutor and person living with a disability, she now works at the intersection of law, healing, and accessibility—advocating for providers and patients alike. She is also the cofounder of Sober Zen and the President of Kinship Center in New Mexico. You can connect with her on Linkedin here.