Podcast Archives | Psychedelics Today

May 26, 2023

Psychedelics Weekly – New LSD Research and The Challenges Facing a Rapidly Growing Psychedelic Guide Industry

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, Kyle and David meet up to talk news, but end up mostly having a discussion about the numerous challenges facing the rapidly growing industry of psychedelic therapists, guides, and facilitators.

That discussion comes from the article, “Psychedelic workers of the world, unite!”, which breaks down the shortcomings and risks of an industry many are flocking to without realizing what they’ll likely have to deal with: unprecedented legal and financial risks, burnout, misalignment with management, transference and countertransference, and what happens when one finds themselves in the middle of a genuine emergency? While these issues could be found in any industry, a big reason why they seem so prevalent and dangerous in the psychedelic world is our lack of elders and passed-down experience – and the faster this all grows, the more we need that guidance.

And for news, they talk about Ohio State making history as the first U.S. University to receive a license to grow psilocybin mushrooms; a new study showing that LSD enhanced learning, exploratory thinking, and sensitivity to feedback; and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funding $1.5 million to research the efficacy of psychedelics for substance use disorder – which spurs a conversation about research, funding, and the idea that maybe we’re spending too much time and money on neuroscience.

Links

(bolded links are the discussed articles)

Navigating Psychedelics For Clinicians and Therapists – Live Sessions (the next round launches in July)

Ecstaticintegration.org: Psychedelic workers of the world, unite!

Theguardian.com: Alternative reality: two kambo deaths spark soul-searching in Australia’s counter-culture capital

Thelantern.com: Ohio State Becomes First American University to be Granted DEA License for Psychedelic Mushroom Growth

Arizonaphysician.com: Challenging Medicine’s Status Quo: Sue Sisley, MD

Thedebrief.org: New Research Reveals LSD’s Mind-Altering Power to Enhance Learning and Exploratory Thinking

Psychedelics Today: PT245 – Robin Carhart-Harris – Psychedelics, Entropy, and Plasticity

Neurosciencenews.com: How Neurons That Wire Together Fire Together

Marijuanamoment.net: Federal Agency Announces $1.5 Million In Funding For Research On Psychedelics To Treat Drug Addiction

Mindmatters.ai: Why Pioneer Neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield Said the Mind is More Than the Brain

Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in Psychotherapy, by Stanislav Grof

May 23, 2023May 23, 2023

PT411 – The Humanity of Healthcare Professionals, Ancient Psychedelic Use, and Breaking the Cycle of Colonialism

In this episode, Joe interviews Priyanka Wali, MD: board-certified practicing physician in Internal Medicine, MAPS-trained psychedelic facilitator, comedian, and co-host (with Sean Hayes of “Will & Grace” fame) of the HypochondriActor podcast, where they discuss interesting medical issues in a funny (and hopefully uplifting) way.

She talks about recognizing and protecting the humanity of healthcare professionals, and how medical school is creating a cycle of hurt people trying to help other hurt people. She believes we need to become more holistic, especially in embracing Indigenous ways of thinking, as their frameworks may be the only way to explain phenomena with which Western science can’t yet come to terms.

They talk a lot about ancient psychedelic use: the use of a soma described in the Rigveda; Egyptian culture and mushrooms observed in statues; Plato; the work of Brian Muraresku and Graham Hancock; and Vedic chants, Kashmiri Bhajans, and how singing (especially in a group) can be especially healing to the nervous system. And as Wali experienced first-hand the Kashmiri Pandit genocide of 1990, she discusses how much colonialism has changed cultures, and how much our cycles of oppression relate to our collective inability to experience pain and fear.

They discuss the psychological impact of living through major catastrophes; the special and hard-to-describe feeling of returning to your home (especially in a world changed by colonization and constant conflict); the sad case of Ignaz Semmelweis and hand washing; ghosts of Japan’s 2011 tsunami, the concept of ‘future primitive,’ and more.

Notable Quotes

“We’re only thinking about it from a certain perspective. And this is where you think about principles of colonization come in: looking at things only from one perspective. If you start to bring in Indigenous systems [and] Indigenous ways of looking at data, then suddenly, we do actually have ways to account for these other phenomenon that can’t be objectively tabulated.”

“In traditional Kashmiri culture, it was routine to gather together and sing together. We humans: we’re supposed to gather around the fire and dance and chant. There’s actually something very healing for our bodies. And let’s not forget how our nervous systems regulate with each other, so being physically together as a group, as a collective, singing, using our bodies: it’s actually very healing for the nervous system. We need more of that.”

“I think the next shift in consciousness is recognizing that we experience fear as part of the human experience, but we can choose not to give into it. We can be with it, we can allow it to be there, we can even honor it, but we don’t have to act on it. And we can, instead, choose the path of peace or love, or not even choose those paths, but just choose not to do anything with the fear; choose not to oppress someone, judge someone, lash it out, [or] numb it. …Unless we, in the present day, begin to start being with our fear, we will continue to perpetuate these cycles of oppression.”

Links

Priyankawali.com

Apple podcasts: The HypochondriActor podcast

Wikipedia.org: Kashmiri Pandits

Ripleys.com: The Hallucinatory Voices That Saved a Woman’s Life

When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary, by Stanislav Grof Ph.D.

Cosmic Trigger I: Final Secret of the Illuminati, by Robert Anton Wilson

Researchgate.net: Evolution of ephedra as the Soma of Rigveda

Tripsavvy.com: Philae Temple Complex, Egypt: The Complete Guide

Sciencedirect.com: The entheomycological origin of Egyptian crowns and the esoteric underpinnings of Egyptian religion (Stephen R. Berlant)

Libcom.org: What is anarcho-syndicalism?

Psychedelics Today: PTSF 35 (with Brian Muraresku)

Psychedelics Today: Lost Civilizations, DMT Entities, & Altered States of Consciousness and Early Religion, featuring: Graham Hancock

Netflix.com: Ancient Apocalypse

Psychologytoday.com: Kirtan: The Easy Meditation That Can Improve Your Brain

Paannyaar.com: Kashmiri Bhajans – List Of Most Popular Bhajans In Kashmiri

Wikipedia.org: Sankofa

Psychedelicmedicinecoalition.org

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas S. Kuhn

Npr.org: The Doctor Who Championed Hand-Washing And Briefly Saved Lives

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, by Resmaa Menakem

Historicalindia.org: Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits

Allthatsinteresting.com: Inside The Disturbing Legend Of The ‘Tsunami Spirits’ That Have Haunted Japan Ever Since Its 2011 Disaster

Confronting Collapse: The Crisis of Energy and Money in a Post Peak Oil World: A 25-Point Program for Action, by Michael C. Ruppert

Apple podcasts: SmartLess

HempLucid‘s function-based mushroom/cannabinoid gummies are a great option for those seeking targeted solutions for sleep, stress, and focus. Save 10% off by using the code PSYCHEDELICS10 at checkout.

May 19, 2023May 19, 2023

Psychedelics Weekly – Challenging the ‘Gifting’ Part of Prop 122, Public Perception in Oregon, and The Medicine of Music

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, Joe and Kyle are both on the road, so David and Alexa take the helm.

They cover news stories about:

-a man in Colorado facing a Class 3 drug felony for giving people psilocybin mushrooms in exchange for monetary donations – pointing out the bold (or stupid?) stances some are taking to highlight the absurdity of legislation that allows possession and donation as long as no money changes hands;

-a study showing what many of us have felt ourselves: that the day after psilocybin-assisted therapy, depressed patients had a stronger brain response to music and saw improvements in the ability to find pleasure in previously empty activities;

-a trip report from a psychedelically-naive 50-year old, showing the power and beauty of MDMA-assisted therapy;

-the New Hampshire state Senate continuing to be behind the times and voting down House Bill 639, which would have created a legal recreational cannabis framework for the state;

-a video where people on the street in Oregon were asked how much they thought psilocybin therapy would cost, showing a drastic misalignment between public perception and reality;

and a local TV news feature touring Rose City Laboratories, the first licensed psilocybin testing lab in Oregon.

And in conversation, they talk about some of the lesser-discussed (and often dismissed) tools like CBD, THC patches, and very low-dose edibles; the problem with drug dealers and harm reduction; the power of music in guiding a psychedelic experience (and in living a pleasurable life); and the importance of dosing and listening to your body to know what’s right for you.

Links

(bolded links are the discussed articles)

Myjewishlearning.com: Why Cheesecake on Shavuot?

Tales of Transformation: A panel on how psychedelic experiences can evolve into collective transformation and new life callings, featuring Ifetayo Harvey, Juliana Mulligan, Raad Seraj

Hemplucid.com (Use PSYCHEDELICS10 for 10% off)

YouTube: “Moms on Mushrooms”: A Growing Trend? (Tracey Tee on Dr. Phil)

Our IG live with Tracey Tee, hosted by Victoria

Entheoventures substack: Balancing the Psychedelic Narrative: A Call for Accuracy and Responsibility from All Sides

Summitdaily.com: Dillon man accused of selling psychedelic ‘magic mushrooms’ claims he was gifting them under Colorado’s new proposition

Psypost.org: Psilocybin therapy for depression appears to have a curious effect on the brain’s response to music

Sciencedirect.com: Increased low-frequency brain responses to music after psilocybin therapy for depression

Journal of Psychopharmacology: Changes in music-evoked emotion and ventral striatal functional connectivity after psilocybin therapy for depression

Alexa Jesse (with Host Bodies)- “Hourglass”

Psychedelicscene.com: The Healing Beauty of Ecstasy

Erowid.org

Hightimes.com: New Hampshire Senate Votes Down Cannabis Legalization Bill

Marysmedicinals.com

Wweek.com: How Much Would You Expect to Pay for Psilocybin Mushroom Therapy?

Epichealingeugene.com

Kgw.com: Touring the first Oregon lab licensed to test the strength of legal psilocybin

Psycon.org

Psychedelicscience.org (use code PT15 for 15% off)

May 16, 2023

PT410 – Manufacturing MDMA and Why Creating MDMA Analogs Is So Important

In this episode, Joe interviews Nick Kadysh: Founder and CEO of PharmAla Biotech and member of the board of directors for The Canadian Psychedelic Businesses Association.

PharmAla Biotech is a Toronto-based Life Sciences company with two focuses: contracting with manufacturers to provide researchers with GMP MDMA (created under Good Manufacturing Practice regulations), and creating and researching novel analogs of MDMA. And just today, they announced that Health Canada has authorized them (and their distribution partner, Shaman Pharma) to supply their LaNeo™ MDMA for the treatment of a patient under Canada’s Special Access Program – the first time this has happened in Canada.

He discusses the creation of PharmAla and why their model changed from primarily researching analogs to manufacturing; why they’re operating out of Canada and using manufacturers instead of running the lab themselves; the excitement around Australia’s recent about-face on MDMA and psilocybin-assisted therapy; the bureaucracy of U.S. drug policy and how much a broken supply chain affects the whole industry; bad IP and companies filing rapid fire patents; why creating new analogs of MDMA is so important; and why the psychedelic space needs to bring culture along with us.

He also talks about Spravato, cannabis and risks of cancer, THC nasal sprays, and research he’s most excited about: that MDMA seems to alleviate dyskinesia caused from Parkinson’s disease, and that MDMA could improve social anxiety in people with autism. He’s aiming to run a clinical trial and believes they have developed a safe MDMA analog that the autistic community will respond to very well.

Notable Quotes

“I don’t want to give the impression that we think that MDMA is unsafe. In the case of PTSD-assisted psychotherapy the way that it’s being presented by MAPS, I think it’s remarkably safe. But, you know, better is still possible.”

“If you told me that you have a brand new drug that was developed in a lab that nobody has ever seen or tried or tested before, and let’s call it drug A. And then you have drug B, which is derived from a mushroom, that people have been consuming regularly for the past 5,000 years and no one’s died. And you’re asking me which one is safer? It’s the mushroom, man. It’s not even a question.”

“We owe it to ourselves in this industry to take the population along for the ride. This is why I think safety is so important, because if you’re working on safety, people like that. People trust that. That’s what happened last time: there was the counterculture and the culture, and the culture won, and we’re still paying for it today. So let’s bring the culture along.”

Links

Pharmala.ca

News.bbc.co.uk: Ecstasy ‘not worse than riding’

Revivethera.com

Tga.gov.au: Change to classification of psilocybin and MDMA to enable prescribing by authorised psychiatrists

Psychedelics Today: Canada’s SAP Expansion Signals a Step Forward for Psychedelics

The Canadian Psychedelic Businesses Association

Uams.edu: William E. Fantegrossi, Ph.D.

YouTube: Researchers look at Ecstacy to ease Parkinsons Agony

Maps.org: MDMA-Assisted Therapy Shows Promise for Reducing Social Anxiety in Autistic Adults, New Study Shows

Psychedelics Today: Can Psychedelics Provide Relief for Autistic Individuals?

Autisticpsychedelic.com

Psychedelics Today: PT233 – JR Rahn of MindMed – LSD, ADHD, and Decriminalization

Pharmaphorum.com: J&J builds case for antidepressant Spravato with head-to-head trial

National Library of Medicine: The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research.

Feather.com: THC and CBD Rapid Sprays

Thecse.com: Pharmala Biotech Holdings Inc.

May 12, 2023May 12, 2023

Psychedelics Weekly – Multi-Stakeholder Capitalism, Psilocybin Service Centers Begin Opening in Oregon, and Vancouver’s ‘The Drugs Store’

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, Joe and temporary-Colorado-resident Kyle once again record in-person, discussing how psychedelics could change business, the drug war and safe supply, and more.

They cover:

-a Rolling Stone profile on David Bronner, who makes the case for multi-stakeholder capitalism; where businesses are accountable to their workers, customers, the environment, and surrounding Indigenous communities instead of just investors – an idea more people would likely align with after a psychedelic experience;

-The first psilocybin service center in Oregon (EPIC Healing Eugene) finally receiving their license via the Oregon Health Authority;

-A man who saw his color blindness improve for four months after a 5g mushroom experience;

-Delaware officially legalizing recreational cannabis;

-The opening of ‘The Drugs Store’ in Vancouver, British Columbia: a mobile store selling drugs illegally as a response to the opioid epidemic and constant influx of untested and laced drugs – the “inevitable result of the government doing nothing” towards offering a safe supply;

-and a survey from the CDC showing that cannabis use among teenagers has declined since legal dispensaries began opening, disproving one of the most common prohibitionist arguments that legalization would only increase use.

And of course, these topics bring on a lot of conversation: how businesses need to be more reflective on how they’re operating; concern over if too much regulation is nerfing the world; the human cost of the drug war and the ever-escalating amount of ODs and drug poisoning cases; HPPD and the need for research around psychedelics and vision/perception; why we will always need both clinical access and the recreational underground, and more.

Links

(bolded links are the discussed articles)

Rollingstone.com: ‘It’s Ripped the World Apart’: David Bronner on How Psychedelics Could Be a Cure for Capitalism

Psychedelics Today: PT367 – Colorado Proposition 122 and the Decriminalization of Natural Medicines

Marijuanamoment.net: Oregon Approves Nation’s First Psilocybin Service Center For Adults To Receive Psychedelic Treatment

Epichealingeugene.com

Imdb.com: Wall-E

Goodreads.com: Janis Joplin quote

Saving Normal: An Insider’s Revolt Against Out-Of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life, by Allen Frances

Technologynetworks.com: Consuming Psychedelics Temporarily Improves Man’s Color Blindness

Louisville.edu: UofL researchers discover procedure to regenerate dormant cone cells, potentially to improve vision in retinitis pigmentosa

Psychedelics Today: PT229 – Dr. Matthew Johnson – What is Consciousness?

Psychedelics Today: HPPD and Flashbacks: Everything You Need To Know – And What We Don’t Know, Too, by Ed Prideaux

Futureconevents.com

Cato.org: Jeffrey Singer

Victorialitmanlaw.com

Lhthehealingground.com (Veronica Lightning Horse)

The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct, by Thomas S. Szasz, M.D.

Studentsforliberty.org

Vice.com: A Store Selling Heroin, Meth, and Cocaine Just Opened in Canada

Dancesafe.org

Teen Marijuana Use Has Been Declining Since Legal Dispensaries Started Opening, Federal CDC Study Shows

May 9, 2023May 9, 2023

PT409 – Pathology, The DSM, and The Ontological Shock of Psychedelic Experiences

In this episode, Joe interviews Erica Rex: award-winning journalist, past guest and writer, and participant in one of the first ever clinical trials using psilocybin to treat cancer-related depression; and Mona Sobhani, Ph.D.: cognitive neuroscientist and the author of Proof of Spiritual Phenomena: A Neuroscientist’s Discovery of the Ineffable Mysteries of the Universe.

As Rex discovered the power of psychedelics through a clinical trial, she discusses a huge problem she discovered: that researchers are not preparing participants enough for the ontological shock they may go through in trying to match unexplainable happenings to a rigid framework (or match the normal to a framework that has suddenly shifted) – that while patients have support at the clinic, it all disappears when they return to normal life. She believes that all too often, researchers are doing only what is necessary to be able to continue to receive funding, push drugs through the FDA, and prescribe a pill.

And as psychedelics changed Sobhani from very constrained scientific thinking to being very open to new ideas about consciousness and spirituality, she learned that many scientists had similar stories, and that coming out of the psychedelic closet is sometimes the best thing to do to normalize these ways of healing.

They discuss the challenges of newcomers trying to explain their experience without having the necessary language; how we still don’t truly understand mental illness; how the DSM just clusters symptoms to fit ‘disorders’ into a box; how society has started pathologizing anything we find unpleasant (which of course, is a part of being human); Gary Fisher’s research on using LSD and psilocybin for schizophrenic children, why science needs to combine consciousness research and psychedelics research, and more.

Notable Quotes

“I think most people (neuroscientists, a lot of psychologists): we don’t like labels. We don’t like the DSM (especially neuroscientists). It doesn’t make any sense; all you’re doing is clustering symptoms and calling it a disorder. It’s useful, but it’s not explanatory. …Everyone’s so focused on ‘What are the brain mechanisms?’ but we do need to pull out and [ask]: ‘What are the societal mechanisms? How is our society not supporting [us]? Why do we see such an increase in some of these disorders? It’s a really big question.” -Mona

“There was a big move to get grief made into a pathology that was defined in the DSM so it could be treated with a pill. Grief. This was during COVID. So now grief is a pathology and you can be diagnosed with ‘grieving disorder’ and treated for it. …Anything that does not serve the machine is now considered a disease and disorder and has to be fixed, which is unfortunate because it takes us away from every piece of authentic experience that we could ever possibly have. And that is dehumanizing, profoundly.” -Erica

“Our whole society’s not built around humanity, even though we talk a lot about humanity. But there’s no humane principles in business or in society. Nothing is built around what the human needs, and that’s why, even in psychiatry, you see [that] grief or these normal human needs are pathologized. …We’re just cutting off parts of ourselves and not catering to being a human because we hate being human so much, apparently. We hate the things that are inconvenient about it, that it’s like we just have to cut it off and block it off and go forward. But you can’t do that; then you have all these coping mechanisms that emerge and then all these disorders, because you’re not functioning in an environment that supports you being what you are.” -Mona

Links

Psychedelics Today: PT273 – Erica Rex – Clinical Trials and Spontaneous Mystical Experiences

Madinamerica.com: Psychedelic Therapy Will Not Save Us, by Erica Rex

Madinamerica.com: The Culture Is the Poison: Why Psychedelics Are Dangerous Medicine in a Neoliberal Society, by Erica Rex

Scientificamerican.com: The Power of Psychedelics: They worked for my depression. Could they be the future of psychiatry? By Erica Rex

Scientificamerican.com: Hallucinogens Could Ease Existential Terror, by Erica Rex

Psychedelics Today: Could the Sonoran Desert Toad Cure Narcissism? by Erica Rex

Her NIH/NCI talk, “A Breast Cancer Patient’s Perspectives on the Uses of Psychedelics in Medicine” (begins at 1:04:41)

Npr.org: The ’60s Are Gone, But Psychedelic Research Trip Continues

Monasobhaniphd.com

Proof of Spiritual Phenomena: A Neuroscientist’s Discovery of the Ineffable Mysteries of the Universe, by Mona Sobhani, Ph.D.

Brave New World of Psychedelic Science substack

Exploring Consciousness: A community of curious (neuro)scientists

Globenewswire.com: COMPASS Pathways presents largest ever study of psilocybin therapy, at American Psychiatric Association annual meeting

Treatment of Childhood Schizophrenia Utilizing LSD and Psilocybin, by Gary Fisher, Ph.D.

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness, by Elyn R. Saks

The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture, by Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté

The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct, by Thomas S Szasz

Saving Normal: An Insider’s Revolt Against Out-Of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, Dsm-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life, by Allen Frances

Jamanetwork.com: Association of Religious and Spiritual Factors With Patient-Reported Outcomes of Anxiety, Depressive Symptoms, Fatigue, and Pain Interference Among Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer

Ecotopia, by Ernest Callenbach

May 5, 2023May 5, 2023

Psychedelics Weekly – Psychedelics and Sports, The Risks of Over-Regulation, and What Makes Music Psychedelic?

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, Joe and Kyle record in-person again, discussing psychedelics and parenthood, sports, music, and more.

They cover:

-an Elle (!) article about how mushrooms are becoming the new ‘Cali sober,’ with more and more people starting to microdose – including parents;

-ESPN’s documentary, “Peace of Mind,” highlighting the rise of psychedelic use among athletes, including retired NHL player, Riley Cote;

-An article discussing how interest in psychedelics has skyrocketed in Oregon since the passing of Measure 109, and how over-regulation and the glacial speed of the government is only driving the growth of the black market;

-An essay attempting to define what it is that leads people to describe music as psychedelic (with several recommendations from Joe);

-DMT aficionados using AI to create and catalog depictions of the entities they’ve seen;

and more!

And they have larger discussions about the drug war, how famous athletes are opening people’s minds to psychedelics, how strict regulation in psychedelic legislation can create more harm, how we need to collaborate more in the psychedelic space, the concept of a DMT ‘hyper-slap,’ and the problem of psychedelic exceptionalism and thinking your drug is good while others are bad.

Links

(bolded links are the discussed articles)

Psychedelic Neuroscience Demystified: How Psychedelics Alter Consciousness and Produce Therapeutic Effects

PT403 – Understanding the Brain: Psychedelic Neuroscience Demystified, featuring: Melanie Pincus, Ph.D. & Manesh Girn

Trailblazerspresents.com

Psychedelics Weekly – Breaking Convention, Decolonizing the Psychedelic Space, and How Colorado’s Senate Bill 23-290 Will Affect Prop 122 (Kyle and David break down SB23-290)

Psychedelics Today: PT217 – Erika Dyck – Canadian Psychedelic History

Elle.com: Shrooms Are the New Cali Sober

Psychedelics Today: Psychedelics Weekly – Roland Griffiths Faces the End, The NBA Lifts Its Cannabis Ban, and The Rising Popularity of Mushrooms for Moms

Espnpressroom.com: New ESPN E60 Examines Use of Psychedelics in Mental Health Treatment of Athletes

Wweek.com: Oregon’s Appetite for Psilocybin Is Being Fed Outside the Law in the Mushroom Underground

Cnn.com: High Profits (available to purchase on Amazon)

Psilotemple.org

Wikipedia.org: Fugio Cent

The Politics of Experience, by R.D. Laing

Psychedelicmedicinepac.com

Mapsbcorp.com: American Medical Association to Issue First New Code for Psychedelic Therapies

Psychedelicscene.com: What Makes Psychedelic Music Psychedelic?

YouTube: Shpongle – Hammock Therapy

Spotify: The Mars Volta – The Bedlam in Goliath (not their most acclaimed, but it’s this show notes writer’s favorite, and I think, most psychedelic)

The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (Joe called it “Animal Sounds”…)

YouTube: The Beatles – Revolution 9 (Remastered 2009)

Spotify: LSDREAM

YouTube: Paul McCartney flipping people off

YouTube: Grateful Dead – Drums/Space – 12/28/1980 – Oakland Auditorium (Official)

Vice.com: DMT Users Are Using AI to Draw the Strange Beings They Meet While Tripping

Women of Visionary Art, by David Jay Brown & Rebecca Ann Hill

Psychedelics Today: Daniel McQueen – DMTx and Future Psychedelic Technologies

Reddit.com: Ever been hyperslapped? What happened?

Joe’s tweet about psychedelic exceptionalism

Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear, by Carl L. Hart

Psychedelics Today: PT236 – Drugs: Honesty, Responsibility, and Logic, featuring: Dr. Carl Hart

May 2, 2023May 2, 2023

PT408 – Fireside Project: Harm Reduction Through Free Peer Support

In this episode, David interviews two of the founding members of Fireside Project: activist, healing justice practitioner, musician, and Chief Ambassador, Hanifa Nayo Washington; and lawyer, aspiring researcher, and Executive Director, Joshua White, Esq.

Fireside Project was created after White volunteered for a help line for years and realized a few things: that follow-up calls made a big difference; that the state of mental health in the U.S. was a disaster (he was talking to some of the same people for years); and that while psychedelics were becoming popular, they would likely only be accessible to the wealthy. Alongside Washington, they realized the most effective thing they could do would be creating a free help line where people could call for peer support during a psychedelic experience, and receive support in integrating that experience afterward. They’ve focused on finding volunteers who may be marginalized or who have been persecuted from the war on drugs, but most importantly, have real experience and true compassion (rather than letters after their name proving their credentials). They are on track to receive 10,000 calls over their first two years.

They discuss Fireside’s Burning Man origin story; the serendipity they’ve seen in the organization’s beginnings and so many calls; where the name came from; how they prepare volunteers; what true equity looks like; and how, while it’s a common challenge for therapists and facilitators to hold back and not try to fix a problem, that may be even more important here.

Fireside Project takes calls every day from 11am – 11pm PST, and while there is an app you can download, they recommend saving their number in your phone for when you need it (62-FIRESIDE). And to destroy the notion of being afraid to ask for help, they encourage everyone to share their stories on social media: the times that you’ve used Fireside Project or the times you had a challenging experience and wish you had known about them. Many newcomers have no idea this support exists, and it could truly be life-changing for them.

Notable Quotes

“What’s revolutionary about what we’re doing in this idea of democratizing care is that these are volunteers, and they come as peers. They come to the experiences having had their own experiences, and desiring to hold space for others as they navigate their experiences and navigate their processing afterwards. …They’re not doing therapy. They’re not diagnosing. They’re really with the person (the caller, the texter) as somebody who gets it.” -Hanifa

“I think some of the most powerful moments on the line come when we say absolutely nothing at all, when we just allow the silence to become almost palpable, to really feel that ember. I think silence has led to so many of the most beautiful moments that I’ve been lucky enough to see on the line.” -Josh

“By being able to create a safe and non-judgmental space for people by phone, then yes, that absolutely can reduce the risks of their psychedelic experiences. And I think there’s kind of a yin and yang here, which is that when a person is in a space of non-judgment, and when they do feel deeply seen and heard and listened to, then that not only reduces the risks, but it also allows someone to really turn towards their psychedelic experience and to unwrap the gift that’s before them.” -Josh

Links

Firesideproject.org

Handsofhanifa.com

Year of Yes, by Shonda Rhimes

Safe and Sound: TALK Line

Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection from Soul to Psychedelics, by Julie Holland (*Josh called it The Chemistry of Connection, but that’s a different book)

Onevillagehealing.org

Check out Odyssey, a sparking mushroom beverage providing holistic support for the body and mind, supporting energy, endurance, focus, immunity, and mood. Use code PSYCHEDELICS for 20% off at odysseyelixir.com.

April 28, 2023

Psychedelics Weekly – Breaking Convention, Decolonizing the Psychedelic Space, and How Colorado’s Senate Bill 23-290 Will Affect Prop 122

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, David speaks with Kyle, who recorded at Joe’s place while he was away at Trailblazers in NYC.

They talk about David’s trip to the UK last week for Breaking Convention, then discuss a recent Vice article about looking outside the binary and confined thinking of Western medicine and embracing the underground – that there are cheaper and more accessible peer support models and affinity groups for everyone, but in going underground, we need to be careful that more accessible models aren’t dangerous or re-traumatizing. While businesses are competing to make headway in the psychedelic space, nobody is controlling all of it, which leads to both possibility and risk.

They cover SB23-290, the bill Senate President Steve Fenberg created to establish a regulatory framework for psilocybin access and administration in Colorado in lieu of the advisory board that should have been put in place as part of Prop 122. They break down the positives and negatives of this framework, and ask: how much do these committees who are passing legislation really know about psilocybin?

And they briefly discuss an article on what MDMA therapy may look like when MAPS hopefully gets approval via the FDA early next year, Rick Doblin’s speech at Breaking Convention, and his concept of society eventually having “net zero trauma.”

Links

(bolded links are the discussed articles)

Breakingconvention.co.uk

Philosophy and Psychedelics: Frameworks for Exceptional Experience, edited by Christine Hauskeller & Peter Sjostedt-Hughes

Breaking Convention: Celia Morgan

Breaking Convention: Leor Roseman

The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World, by Michael Pollan

Vice.com: Inside the Quest to Decolonise Psychedelics

Marijuanamoment.net: Colorado Senate Passes Psychedelics Regulation Bill

Senate Bill 23-290

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, by Anne Fadiman

Nature.com: US could soon approve MDMA therapy — opening an era of psychedelic medicine

YouTube: PSYCH Interview: Rick Doblin – Net Zero Trauma by 2050

April 25, 2023April 26, 2023

PT407 – The Planet, Psychedelics, and Psyche: Optimism in Ecology

In this episode, Joe interviews Deborah Parrish Snyder: ecologist, Director and VP of the Institute of Ecotechnics, and Co-owner and CEO of Synergetic Press, which has published over 40 books on ethnobotany, psychedelics, biospherics, and social and ecological justice.

Straddling the line between ecology, psychedelics, and psyche, she discusses the many projects of the Institute: Biosphere 2, the large-scale closed ecological system she helped design in 1986; London’s “October Gallery,” a man-made city biome project that could be a model for other cities; their “Eden in Iraq” wastewater project; and the Heraclitus, an 82-foot ship which has sailed 270k miles around the earth, studying different cultures, mapping coral reefs, and more, and will soon be setting sail again after being rebuilt for the last decade.

She talks about where we’re at as a society in regards to the environment: how we’re in a period of consequences and it’s easy to feel hopeless, but much of the youth are “solutionists” who don’t want to hear apologies, and instead, want to do something about it. She believes that while schools don’t teach ecology, it’s never too late to learn, and non-ordinary states of consciousness could help people remember our connection to nature, care about our planet, and find the others who feel the same way. Consider pairing your self-exploration with improving the world around you: what can you do to turn your perfect, overly fertilized lawn into a regenerative landscape instead?

Notable Quotes

“We are nature. It’s not like we are part of nature, we are actually nature. This is an Indigenous concept that Western culture has abandoned (or never had to begin with, I’m not sure). Whenever our industrial, technological revolution gave us ways that we could start to live without nature as our main support system, that’s when we started to lose the plot, because there wasn’t closed loop thinking, there wasn’t [understanding of] what would be the long term effects of these things. So we’re starting to see that now. I don’t think humanity went into this intentionally, but at the same time, as we start to recognize the science, we should not be in denial; we should be activated to right the course of the ship.”

“I think that economics continues to drive that complex, but the more people that are awake and connected, the better. And as the war on drugs begins to become rational, and decriminalization of these tools becomes more accessible, we can start to build a society, I think, that is a bit more connected with nature and a bit more connected to each other, because these things don’t just give you an ‘Aha!’ connection with nature, they also give them connection with yourself and they can give you connection with others. …So keep your eyes open. If you’re not happy in your community, look for the others. Find the others; they’re out there.”

“The Western mindset of ‘we are going to conquer nature’: hopefully that worldview is starting to crack. It’s better that we become more like gardeners of the Earth, instead of plundering and pillaging.”

Links

Synergeticpress.com

Ecotechnics.edu

Psychedelics Today: PT312 – Deborah Snyder – Ecology, Synergy, and the Biosphere

Psychedelics Today: T228 – Deborah Snyder from Synergetic Press

Ecotechnics.edu: Research Vessel Heraclitus

Heraclitus video

Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, by R. Buckminster Fuller

Synergia Ranch

Social Forestry: Tending the Land as People of Place, by Tomi Hazel Vaarde

Ecotechnics.edu: Las Casas de la Selva

Ecotechnics.edu: October Gallery

Ecotechnics.edu: Birdwood Downs

Ecotechnics.edu: Bioshphere 2

Dutch government ordered to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling

Confessions of a Hope Fiend Paperback, by Timothy Leary

Openfuturecoalition.org

Seaclifforganics.nz: DIY – Johnson Su Bioreactor

Ecotechnics.edu: Eden in Iraq

Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss: My Life with Terence McKenna, by Dennis McKenna, Ph.D.

Psychedelics Today: Wade Davis – Ayahuasca and a New Hope for Colombia

The Amazon Conservation Team

Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

April 21, 2023April 21, 2023

Psychedelics Weekly – The Church of Psilomethoxin Controversy, Psychedelics for Long COVID, and The Growth of Bicycle Day

In this episode of Psychedelics Weekly, Joe and Kyle once again record in person, diving into novel compounds, changing opinions, Bicycle Day, and more.

They start by dissecting a very recent controversy around The Church of Psilomethoxin and whether the sacrament they label as psilomethoxin – supposedly created by adding 5-MeO-DMT to the substrate of cultivated Psilocybe mushrooms – actually contains any psilomethoxin in it. Usona Institute published a paper last week reporting on their analysis of a sample they allegedly collected from the Church, which only showed what we’d see in a sample of a typical psilocybin-containing mushroom. While the Church has issues with Usona’s data collection, analytical methods, and motives, they also reiterate a main component of the church: that their “claims to the existence of Psilomethoxin, at this time, are solely based on faith,” and bolstered by their “own direct experiences with the Sacrament.” It’s a very interesting story that touches on faith, consent, personal safety, and the harms of the drug war, which Joe covered extensively in a Twitter Space last night with Andrew Gallimore and the writer of a very critical article, Mario de la Fuente.

They also discuss:

-a Time magazine article about the mystery of Long COVID, and how many believe the anti-inflammatory and neuroplastic benefits of psychedelics could be the answer;

-how Bicycle Day may soon become more popular than 4/20, likely due to society’s warmer reception to the life-changing effects of psychedelics (as opposed to their propagandized and unmoving beliefs about cannabis);

-how some analysts believe that seven in 10 ketamine companies will likely face financial challenges as the industry grows too quickly;

and why Snoop Dogg apparently microwaves blunts before smoking them (and does that actually do anything?).

Links

(bolded links are for the discussed articles)

Andrew Gallimore’s twitter thread about psilomethoxin

Chemrxiv.org: Fungi Fiction: Analytical Investigation into the Church Of Psilomethoxin’s Alleged Novel Compound Using UPLC-HRMS

Psychedelicalpha.com: Opinions | The Church of Psilomethoxin: Fantasy Chemistry Gets Fact Checked

Psilomethoxin.com: Psychedelic Capitalism, Scientific Integrity, and a Wider Look Into Current Events; Response to USONA Article

Psychedelics Today: PT393 – Religious Freedom and the Church of Psilomethoxin, featuring: Greg Lake, Esq.

You Have the Right to Remain Innocent, by James Duane

Time.com: The Latest Promising Long COVID Treatment? Psychedelic Drugs

Psychedelics Today: PT369 – Chronic Pain and Phantom Limb Pain: Could Psilocybin Be the Answer? featuring: Timothy Furnish, MD & Joel Castellanos, MD

Marijuanamoment.net: Top Colorado Senator Files Psychedelics Regulations Bill, Drawing Mixed Reactions

Marijuanamoment.net: Majority Of Americans Back Legalizing Psychedelics Therapy And Federally Decriminalizing Substances Like Psilocybin, Poll Finds

Breakthroughbulletin.com: New Poll Shows Strong Support For Psychedelic Medicine

Theatlantic.com: The Pandemic Did Not Affect Mental Health the Way You Think

Forbes.com: Bicycle Day May Soon Overtake Cannabis Holiday 4/20

Dosed 2

Psychedelics Today: PT271 – Jeremy Narby, Ph.D. – Anthropology, Ayahuasca, and Plant Teachers

Psychedelics Today: PT406 – Alex & Allyson Grey – Bicycle Day, Unveiling Entheon, & the Mystical Experience Through Art

PT’s Bicycle Day Instagram post showcasing submitted art

PT’s 2nd Bicycle Day Instagram post showcasing submitted art

Theguardian.com: Ketamine clinics have emerged across the US. They’re already going bust

Benzinga.com: Snoop Dogg Microwaves His Blunts Before Smoking And For Good Reason, Here’s Why

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023

PT406 – Bicycle Day, Unveiling Entheon, and The Mystical Experience Through Art

In this episode, on the eve of Bicycle Day, Victoria and Kyle interview two long-standing icons of visionary psychedelic art: Alex and Allyson Grey.

They talk about the LSD trip that saved Alex’s life, connected him to Allyson, inspired his art, and even made him change his name; his decades-in-the-making “Sacred Mirrors” project of 21 7-foot tall pieces depicting the complex layers of human existence; the interconnectedness of life; the history of psychedelic art; how imagination and non-ordinary states help us connect with the divine; and the value of art in conveying the mystical experience.

Alex and Allyson are the Co-Founders of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, an interspiritual church/retreat center in upstate New York that, after years of work, is debuting Entheon: an art sanctuary and psychedelic reliquary featuring much of their art and work from favorite artists, a shrine to Tool (who Alex has worked with for most of their career), and a collection of relics from psychedelic legends that includes Albert Hofmann’s glasses, art signed by Stan Grof and the Shulgins, and even Timothy Leary’s ashes. Entheon opens on June 3, on the anniversary of the first acid trip the Greys took together, which gave them a framework for understanding life and an inspiration for art they still follow to this day.

And in honor of Bicycle Day, Alex talks about two pieces dedicated to Albert Hofmann, and continues his Bicycle Day tradition of reading a statement Hofmann made a year before he passed about psychedelics being the “absolute highest importance to consciousness change.” In celebration of Albert Hofmann and the gift he gave us, and with inspiration from the incredibly complex and beautiful art Alex and Allyson create, have a happy, safe, and creative Bicycle Day!

“St. Albert and the LSD Revelation Revolution” by Alex Grey

Notable Quotes

“I hadn’t had any insight that would prove to me any kind of spiritual reality was really there, even though I was making art. And I think from my perspective now: hey, if you’re being creative, you’re evidence. The creative spirit is what birthed the universe, and you’re an expression here and now of it. You’re evolving on that wavefront of reality that is binding time together and our beings together.” -Alex

“We could see the vast vista of fountains and drains of everyone, and every being and thing in the universe was interconnected and made of light, and in that, I think we felt connected rather than disconnected. We felt like we were individual and independent, but also interconnected with all beings and things. [It] makes you feel like there’s some importance to yourself, that you really are necessary in the web of the eternal.” -Allyson

“You’re making love with the divine in the mystical experience, in the divine imagination. That’s where the small self meets the larger self and becomes no self. So I think that the mystical experience is the cornerstone of the sacred traditions, and the artistic sacred traditions as well.” -Alex

“It took me right outside of my miserable psychodrama self and immediately, I got a psychic swirlie to show me the way. So that was a confirmation, and all my prayers basically were answered in that, and I got to meet the love of my life, really, because of it. So we’re very thankful, and it’s one of the reasons why we’ve always loved celebrating Bicycle Day.” -Alex