Last Week in Psychedelic Sundays

“I suddenly became strangely inebriated. The external world became changed as in a dream. Objects appeared to gain in relief; they assumed unusual dimensions; and colours became more glowing. Even self-perception and the sense of time were changed. When the eyes were closed, coloured pictures flashed past in a quickly changing kaleidoscope. After a few hours, the not unpleasant inebriation, which had been experienced whilst I was fully conscious, disappeared. What had caused this condition?” – Dr. Albert Hofmann – Laboratory Notes (1943)

In this post, I will share with you some of the hidden gems of my recent journey through the psychedelic digital jungle of interesting articles, podcast, and studies that I have found.

---

Mushrooms: Today Denver, tomorrow all of Colorado?

After their surprise ballot victory in Denver’s election last month that decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms, advocates of the hallucinogenic fungi can be excused for thinking big and imagining they can take their crusade statewide.

Oakland Lawmakers Advance Psychedelic Decriminalization Measure

Oakland, California is taking a step towards becoming the second city in the United States to decriminalize the possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms containing psilocybin.
But going even further than a measure recently approved by voters in Denver, the resolution given initial approval on Tuesday also seeks to end criminal penalties for other plant-based psychedelics, including ayahuasca, mescaline and ibogaine.

---

Psilocybin Could Open the Door to Legal Hallucinogens

Earlier this month, the people of Denver narrowly voted to decriminalize magic mushrooms. Initiative 301 does not technically legalize the psilocybin-based hallucinogens but “deprioritizes” them, which means police won’t arrest or prosecute anyone found with them. The result is significant not because it will free up police time — only 90 people in Denver were arrested for possession of magic mushrooms between 2016 and 2018 — but for what it says about progressive attitudes toward therapeutic and recreational use of drugs.

The Case for Taking Psychedelics Seriously

Psychedelics are not toys that young people want to abuse for a good time; they are powerful, life-altering substances that could be the equivalent of a telescope for our studies of the mind. It is time for conservatives to begin taking these drugs seriously. If they do, society at large will benefit.

---

The Shaman’s Treasure: The Many Plants Added to the Ayahuasca Brew

It is a known fact that ayahuasca and yagé drinks consist of a pair of plants: vine or leaves of ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) and leaves of chacruna (Psychotria viridis) or oko yagé (Diplopterys cabrerana). The last two contain the visionary DMT molecule, while the vine produces the harmine and harmaline alkaloids. The molecules of the vine, due to their property of inhibiting the MAO enzymes, allow DMT to be absorbed in the gut and to manifest its visionary effects. This is the basic plant formula, which we can define the mother brew of ayahuasca and yagé. To this mother brew the natives of the Amazon have added many other plant ingredients. This articles looks at the wide variety of plants that shamans add to their ayahuasca brews and considers potential elements of their effects.

Can and Should Ayahuasca Become Part of Western Medicine?

Ayahuasca therapy is not for the faint of heart and not for everyone. It is remarkably different from typical Western medicines and in ways that challenge dominant ideas about illness, suffering, healing, and health. Given its radical nature, can ayahuasca be integrated into modern healthcare systems? Below, I explore some of the core challenges of this complex encounter between ayahuasca and modern medicine.

When the Ayahuasca Ceremony Goes Wrong

The dance that arises can be chaotic, yes, absolutely. Ayahuasca can be intensely, superbly chthonic. And this chaos needs to unfold within the boundaries of an intentional time and protected place. This is the famed “setting” of psychedelic lore. This is why ayahuasca is customarily drunk in ceremony—in some kind of formal ritual enactment, not an anarchic shitstorm.