research
To maintain momentum, the Psychedelic Renaissance must go mainstream. What I learned by joining the conversation
This guest post is by Magdalena Tanev, Co-host of the Brains Byte Back podcast and Senior Writer at Publicize. The tides have turned regarding public opinion about psychedelics. Since Nixon’s 1970 Controlled Substances Act, which criminalized LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and DMT, potential uses for these drugs have been legally stopped in their tracks and engulfed by a widespread moral panic. Until now. Not only are we seeing an uptick in vital research for clinical and therapeutic applications of drugs like psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ketamine, but big names from across the spectrum are speaking out in support of...
Coronavirus Silver Lining How the psychedelic community can leverage today’s renewed focus on mental health
Isn’t it time for a little good news? Today’s guest post by Lucia Huang is about Osmind, an organization offering a ray of sunshine in a time of cloudy uncertainty. This month, calls to the U.S. crisis hotline jumped 891%. Almost half of adults sheltering in place say that coronavirus has had a negative impact on their mental health. COVID-19 has also halted or slowed U.S. clinical trials advancing new medicines, many in behavioral health and psychedelic medicine including trials on MDMA and psilocybin. The pandemic has both short- and long-term implications on our mental health and is...
The Science of Microdosing Psychedelics Why millions of dollars are being poured into further research
Millions of dollars are being poured into microdosing research. The latest video of Dope Science, brought to you by FreeThink, explains why.
Cultivating Inner Growth The Inner Healing Intelligence in MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy
This article is by Shannon Clare, M.A., the Associate Director of Training & Supervision at the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation. It first appeared in the MAPS Bulletin Winter 2018: Vol. 28, No. 3 and is reprinted here with permission. Please consider donating monthly (or even just once) to support the incredible work that MAPS does to advance psychedelic science and profound healing. Just as a seed has within it the knowledge to grow, humans have an innate capacity to heal, when given the right environment to do so. When help is needed to create that environment, psychotherapy, like a greenhouse,...
‘Magic Medicine’ Author Featured on Psychedelic Milk Cody Johnson Talks About Awe, Hallucinations, and Tripping in Narnia
Have you heard of Psychedelic Milk? You should definitely check it out. Psychedelic Milk is a podcast hosted by Ed Liu, all about alternative medicine for scientific healing purposes and spiritual growth. As you might have guessed, he often discusses psychedelics, but dives into all kinds of tangents from Taoist spirituality to flow states. Ed’s always searching for something fresh, and he’s produced over a hundred episodes of high-quality conversations with a range of sparkling personalities. Ed invited me on his show, and I’m happy to announce that I’m featured on Episode 109: Magic Medicine with Cody Johnson |...
Michael Pollan Opens Up About His Powerful Psilocybin Trip on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show Pollan tried LSD, Psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT for his New Book
It sure seems like psychedelics are finally going mainstream. Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, turns his attention to psychedelic science and medicine in his latest book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. Pollan went on The Late Show to talk about tripping and the ego with Stephen Colbert. As an “immersion journalist,” Pollan decided to try LSD, psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT — a compound from the venom of the Sonoran desert toad — as research for his book. About his psilocybin trip, Pollan says:...
First Peek at My New Book ‘Magic Medicine’
It’s finally here! Two years ago I started researching and writing Magic Medicine: A Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants & Substances. After much tweaking and editing, the first printed copy is here! (The public release date is June 5th.) From the very beginning, I wanted the book to more than just fascinating in its subject matter — I wanted it to be a beautiful object, something you would be proud to have on your nightstand or bookshelf. I wanted a book that would demand your attention and spark conversations, a book you could not help but...
Coming Back to Life My Story of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD
This story by Rachel Kaplan first appeared in the MAPS Winter Bulletin 2017. As I sit in a field of tall green grasses, feeling the earth beneath me and listening to the songs of meadowlarks, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for not only being alive but for finally wanting to be alive. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for often feeling a sense of peace in my self and feeling connected with myself, with others and the world. These are all new experiences for me that I never believed where possible until now, after being a participant in the...
Microdosing LSD: Smart Drug or Placebo?
This guest post is by Marlene Rupp, whose fantastic writings and illustrations appear at Sapiensoup.com. Microdosing LSD promises to act like a mix of Adderall and Prozac but without the side effects. Sounds too good to be true; is it? Some swear by microdosing while others call it a placebo effect. We researched the scientific explanations why microdosing might actually work, the risks involved and evaluated the evidence as of today. Here is what we found. Microdosing gained currency in Silicon Valley in late 2015 and is spreading like wildfire across the rest of the world. Software developers...
James Fadiman Discusses the Many Benefits of Microdosing
Altered Conference (3-4 November, 2017 in Berlin) is an international gathering of consciousness explorers from all backgrounds to take part in talks, workshops and rituals on the subject of psychedelics, conscious practices, and social issues facilitated by leading experts and researchers. Interested in attending? Use code PSYCHEDELICFRONTIER which is good for a 20% discount. At the conference, Dr. James Fadiman & Dr. Sophia Korb will provide a talk called about their microdosing research project, which has enrolled over a thousand subjects around the world. I caught up with Dr. Fadiman — a leading psychedelic researcher and author of the popular trip...
Video: Can Ketamine Help You Reduce Problem Drinking?
In this episode of Vice Video’s High Society series, a young man embarks on a full-blown ketamine trip in the hopes of reducing his compulsive drinking habit. It’s part of a controlled study led by Dr. Ravi Das, a psychopharmacologist at University College London, to examine whether ketamine can weaken certain memory connections — and thereby loosen the grip of addictive substances over people’s minds. From the Vice Video description: Timmy Davis is not an alcoholic. But like many twenty-something students, he’s worried he may be drinking too much. Timmy has volunteered for Dr. Das’ latest experiment, in which...
Scientists Unlock the Mystery of Magic Mushrooms, Allowing for Mass Production of Psilocybin
Some sixty years ago, Albert Hofmann — the Swiss chemist better known for discovering LSD — first isolated the active components of “magic” mushrooms, psilocybin and psilocin. Yet the question of how, exactly, the mushrooms produced these unique compounds remained a mystery ever since. Until now, that is. Scientists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany have identified the four key enzymes used by these fungal bio-factories to produce their magical ingredients. To accomplish this, Dr. Dirk Hoffmeister and his team sequenced the entire genome of two psilocybin mushroom species, Psilocybe cubensis and Psilocybe cyanescens. Even more impressive, they were...