A still image from the video in my first post.

To see the top ten posts of the past year, scroll down.

My first post — a video of a neon tree that I shot in Austin, Texas while tripping on shrooms — went online one year ago. And what a year it’s been!

Say hello on Twitter or Facebook!

In its first year, Psychedelic Frontier gathered around 500 Facebook fans, a thousand Twitter followers, and hundreds of thousands of views from people all around the world. But the numbers mean nothing compared to engagement — what really thrills me is when I get to interact with my readers, and interview people like filmmakers Rak Razam and Oliver Hockenhull.

I consider every post to be an invitation for discussion, and I love when people leave comments about their own experiences and perspectives. So for reading, commenting, and sharing, thank you all very much! I’ve learned a great deal about writing, online publishing, and myself. It’s all been made possible by you, my readers.

When I started this site, I knew we were at the beginning of a revival of psychedelic research. Year one has confirmed my suspicions. MAPS completed the first therapeutic LSD study in over 40 years, showing that it could be safely administered in terminal patients to reduce end-of-life anxiety. A study from the Lieber Institute showed that low doses of psilocybin could increase nerve growth and extinguish conditioned fear responses, indicating potential therapeutic uses in humans. Scientists at Cottonwood Research discovered DMT in the pineal glands of live rats, lending credence to Rick Strassman’s hypothesis that DMT is produced in the human pineal gland. Yet another study linked psychedelic use to a lower incidence of mental illness. And the blog’s first guest post summarized the finding that psilocybin actually reduces blood flow to several key connective areas of the brain.

Way to go, Uruguay!

Political and social changes have been equally momentous. The FDA approved lorcaserin (Belviq), a weight loss drug, for prescription use — the first 5-HT_2A agonist to get approved for medical use in decades. Uruguay approved the first national market for recreational cannabis, as did two US states. Several digital black markets came and went, as Bitcoin prices went through the roof. New Zealand passed a Synthetic Drug Law, the first of its kind, establishing a legal framework for new psychoactive substances.

I began a fruitful collaboration with HighExistence.com which led to three guest posts here by Martijn Schirp, and four of my articles becoming popular on High Existence. Two articles were also published on Stoned Society, and a variety of blogs and forums posted links to my articles.

My favorite posts, however, are not about psychedelic research and news. The main reason I started this site was to share stories and techniques for tripping. I bared all when I told you about my first solo LSD trip, my first ever psychedelic experience, and the time my friend Jason almost caught a star. I showed you how to create open-eye visuals using your hand, conjure visions in a cloud of smoke, and my friend Lee explained how to prepare a spiritual DMT ceremony.

Just wait until you see what year two has in store!