Last Week in Psychedelic Sundays

There is a wealth of information built into us … tucked away in the genetic material in every one of our cells … without some means of access, there is no way even to begin to guess at the extent and quality of what is there. The psychedelic drugs allow exploration of this interior world and insights into its nature. (ALEXANDER SHULGIN)

Psychedelics help to accelerate a maturation process, where we can see that we’re not operating within silos. Instead, we’re operating as part of a larger collective and part of a larger community. Thanks to the revival of psychedelic science, we’ve (re)discovered that psychedelic therapy can benefit sufferers of severely debilitating conditions where current treatments fail. We’ve started to develop an understanding of what psychedelics do to the brain, and how psychedelics can have such transformative power…

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It’s time to debunk prohibitionist narratives and calls for monopolies within psychedelic science

Since the early years of psychedelic awareness within the US, psychoactive plants, fungi, and compounds have presented a significant challenge to the status quo of dominant culture. Psychedelically-inspired actors opposed the war in Vietnam, provided food, clothes, and medicine to people in their communities, experimented with communal forms of living, and otherwise attempted to subvert the oppressive, hierarchical systems of what some of today’s psychedelic communities might term “the default world.” Amid the recent push for “psychedelic legitimacy,” numerous advocates of medicalizing and mainstreaming psychedelics have attempted to deny or suppress the vital connection between psychedelics and these legacies of rebellion. Hiding from the lineages of psychedelic political engagement not only whitewashes these histories, it does a disservice to the revolutionary potential of these compounds.

A New High: Phase 2 MDMA Study Results in 76% Success Rate for Treating PTSD

A study published last month in Journal of Psychopharmacology supports the idea that MDMA (the psychoactive compound in the street drug known as “ecstasy”) may be one of the most viable options we have in our proverbial toolkit. It found that 76 percent of participants in a Phase 2 trial didn’t meet the standard clinical criteria for PTSD one year after receiving MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, a quite impressive result.

This is extremely unique because the MDMA is only administered a few times, contrary to the typical medications prescribed for PTSD which are usually taken daily for years, and often for the remainder of one’s life. Could it really be true that taking MDMA and talking to a therapist a couple of times might be a safer and more effective way to treat people suffering from this stressful condition? What exactly did the researchers do to achieve such a tremendous success?

Psychedelic Technology, Blockchain Woes and Meta Set and Setting

It’s a history that has been coming to light more recently with the psychedelic revival. Even five or six years ago I don’t think it was as well known. There was this entanglement between the psychedelic scene of the 60’s and 70’s and what was going on with computer science around the same time. The more that story can be told, the better it will be for psychedelics. Technology is not really a controversial issue— we all love our Macs and our smartphones or whatever— so to know that so many people behind those things are also endorsing psychedelics is a good thing to share.

Its funny to me because my definition of technology has a lot to do with this principle of linear, rational thinking. Technologies are tools— they are means toward ends, and not ends in themselves. That is one definition I have for the word “technology.” We’re in a society that is obsessed with making tools and accomplishing goals based on the tools we have, and then developing better tools so that we can achieve bigger goals. The fact that psychedelics were at the heart of that story of computer science and technology is difficult for me to reconcile. The story that I tell myself is that what innovation really means is the breaking of patterns.

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The First Step Act is not the criminal justice reform we need. But it’s a start.

The First Step Act also reforms other mandatory minimum guidelines—not to be applied retroactively. It expands the “safety valve” that federal judges can use to avoid prescribing mandatory minimum sentences. They will now be able to use this exemption not only for people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses with no prior criminal record, but also for people with limited criminal histories. This can affect up to 2,000 people each year according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

LSD Impacts Brain Disorders to Heal

Researchers at Yale and the University of Zurich provide new insight into the psychedelic effects of LSD on the brain and potential therapeutic uses of the drug.

Psychedelic drug impacts human consciousness, particularly perception, and is responsible for remembrance in the future events. Researchers found the effects of psychedelic drug LSD on the brain and medicinal uses of the drug. They discovered that LSD is responsible to reduce the functional connections between regions of the brain governing cognitive processes and increases the sensory functional connections with the brain. The findings were published in the journal eLife (October 25, 2018).

7 Books For Ayahuasca Explorers

I was recently asked for some book recommendations by someone who is exploring journeywork with Ayahuasca. I figured I might as well put this list here, so that other people can enjoy as well. Some of the books I’ve only read part of, but I’ve certainly enjoyed what I’ve gotten out of them thus far.